BRB, LOL, TTYL, these are all common terms found on most people, specifically teens, cell phones these days. Slowly but surely more and more Americans are turning to rapid-fire forms of communication, and they are creating new words and abbreviations such as those previously mentioned. So then are these quick “butcherings” of the English language having a positive or negative impact on peoples writing skills? I believe so, however only to a certain extent. Texting and speaking are two different things whereas one doesn’t necessarily display one’s literacy but the other definitely does. In my own personal experience, the way someone texts typically doesn’t usually portray how good of a writer someone is. However according to a recent report from Pew Internet and American Life Project, "Writing, Technology and Teens," the vast amount of cell phone text-based abbreviated communications teens use is showing up in more formal writing. So then is texting really the downfall of the English language?
According to George Orwell the English language is becoming “ugly and inaccurate” as a result of “bad habits”. Orwell explains that one cause of sloppy language is a result of diction that is meaningless, such as “dead and living” versus “black and white”. Orwell explains that words are becoming misused in modern language. A common example is the words “click” and “clique” one means a noise and the other is a group of people. There are numerous misconceptions about the definitions of words and often times, according to Orwell; people have their own “private definition” of words. So then in relation to texting and the like, words like “cool” don’t typically mean someone thinks the topic is cool but rather it is used as a “filler” in conversati...
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...th can help a person fit in socially with their peers. Also if a person has been “taught” both well then it is easier for them to use whichever one when needed. The problem typically lies where one isn’t as intelligent in their formal or “expected” language as they are in their informal diction.
As technology is becoming more and more dominant, more and more people will use quicker, simpler forms of communication. Whether this a major issue or not basically depends on each persons view. While it makes a person seem more intelligent to use “smarter” words there are also occasions where abbreviations are acceptable, it’s all a matter of interpretation. Language will continue to change over time but as long as people’s main points are put across and they don’t portray themselves as foolish as George Orwell says, then abbreviations and changing informal diction is okay.
“Your Ability to Can Even: A Defense of Internet Linguistics” by Tia Baheri, is a great read. The article focuses on the new language that has been created among Internet users and how some critics think it is a negative impact on the English language and how others, such as Baheri herself, think that there is nothing wrong with the change what so ever. After reading the article, I agree with Tia Baheri, I also think that language is as she states, “Supposed to flex and shape itself to convey what we mean to say as directly and efficiently as possible”. Yes, some who do not spend a lot of time on the Internet may not understand some of the newly used phrases but for others it is the best way to express themselves.
Turkle warns that too much texting can lead to generations hiding behind screens and becoming completely isolated. As technology advances, the world becomes less social and more sheltered behind screens. When texting becomes a main source of communication, there can be words that are lost in transition. People will often take your words and contort them to make it either sound better or worse, depending on the topic of conversation. These twisted words can be used against you and make you look extremely different from what you wanted.
Although, some might say texting is changing the English language for the better in fact it is actually changing it for the worse because of how difficult it is to decipher the shortened meanings.
In this serious article, author Jack Rosenthal argues about language that’s being written and spoken in order to inform readers to know the difference between the two. I can connect this to today’s society. We are now creating our own language by using abbreviations. For example: “OMG”, “LOL”, or “LMAFO”. I notice that what’s not being typed is what we choose to speak. “Spoken language is by nature casual, so its ascendancy has brought informality,” (Rosenthal 15). I believe Rosenthal means that once language is spoken, it can influence everyone to speak the same. I believe this is very true. Without technology, I’m sure I would speak very formally. Now, I see all types of different slang words that I would have never known about unless I had
Chast shows two young teens on their laptop, chatting with each other while they are sitting in the same room, separated by a text box. By using slang in the dialogue, Chast is implying that our society’s communication skills are becoming lazy and incorrect in terms of grammar. Also, his dialogue contrasts entirely with the work of William Shakespeare, who uses complex language, unlike Chast who uses abbreviations. The picture depicts that teens are blinded by technology and do not focus on other important things such as communal relationships with family and friends. I would use this in an essay to display the lack of face to face communication that is developing in today’s world. To continue, I would argue that the diminishing use of verbal communication is a disadvantage rather than an
In support of this blind conformity in people, Blakinger identifies many instances in which people in today’s society blindly accept and follow trends which are imposed upon them through modern technology. Through cell phones, many people access social media platforms, which impose selected messages by advertisers unto easily impressionable users. The presence of Newspeak is simultaneously present in the world of modern technology. Blakinger describes the idea of Newspeak as “where words are strung together and abbreviated to create new words,” which on the elemental level is identical to the use of texting slang. In 1984, it is used to remove words from its language and create a universal common vocabulary.
It's taking over our lives. We can do it almost anywhere. What is it? It's texting! Texting is a reliable, easy and convenient form of communication that is most commonly used by, but not limited to millenials and those in the workforce. Many people use it as a way to express themselves as well. In Michaela Cullington’s article, “Does Texting Affect Writing?” she targets two different attitudes in relation to texting. Cullington explains that there is often an assumption that students who use abbreviations when they text, will bring those same abbreviations over to their formal writing pieces. Cullington then adds that the other attitude in relation to writing skills and texting insists that texting is harming student’s writing capabilities. Because of her research as well as experiments done by other colleagues of hers, it shows that
For example, if you use slang with your friends, at an interview, use the proper words
These horrific ideas are evident in modern society, particularly the next generation of humanity that has grown up entirely with technological advancements that increase efficiency like texting, as explained by an article of the Sunday Times written in January 2010 by Sian Griffiths and Chris Gourlay titled “Textspeak leaves teens facing a language barrier in jobs market” in which they write, “Teenagers are spending more time communicating through electronic media and text messaging, which is short and brief. We need to help today’s teenagers understand the difference between their textspeak and the formal language they need to succeed in life -800 words will not get you a job [800 words is in reference to their assumption that teens only use a maximum of 800 different words
The use inventive spelling, abbreviations. As high school students start to use short texting, some of their grades dropped due to the spelling errors they make. So many teens get used to wing abbreviating that they just begin to write that that way. Some teenagers writing skills have turned into sentence fragments, because of the limited space they put into text sentence. In my research how does texting affect teen literacy the percentage was 64 percent of students who say they incorporated text language in their writing, 25 percent said they did so to convey have used text shortcuts a lot of students, vocabulary and grammar is also affecting their literacy. The outlook of the teachers is that. Text plus recently released results of its own survey of 1,214 teens that use their services. 43 percent of which have texted in class, they seem to pay more attention to their phone than what the teacher is teaching. They seem to have the phones that will spell the word for them so they have to worry about spelling. In the age of text message, where words are reduce to no stand abbreviating, symbols, But in my research I pointed out that technology has put new emphasis on reading and
How Millennials are Changing the English Language Samuel Tristan Baladad I. Introduction: The English language is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. It is a dominant language. As the time flows, new words are being added to the English dictionary. There are various reasons for the English language to evolve, and one of the reasons that impacts the most is the effect of new technologies being developed over time. In the current generation what demographers refer to as Generation Y also known as millennials, the generation of people born between the early 1980s to 2000s, are causing a gradual change to the English language.
Nine out of ten people you see nowadays are either looking down at their cell phone, scrolling through their social media feed or talking with someone. This is because technology is everywhere. This advanced technology has completely changed the way we communicate. It’s changed just about everything about us to the way we interact with one another. Now, the question is, how has this been affecting the way we communicate with each other? For the most part, verbal communication has gone from face to face contact to technological contact in such a short period of time. Most teenagers nowadays would rather communicate through technology than to have a normal face to face conversation. This has caused a decline teens grammatical and writing skills.
The settlement of the British Isles by north Europeans followed by Norman French paints the backdrop to this essay which will focus on the period between the early 15th and 17th centuries, when a 'standard' English evolved. It will show that modern-day English is very different to that first introduced to the British Isles, but by identifying changes through time, its continuity can be demonstrated. Finally, it will suggest that present day English is in a position analogous to that which existed before the Norman invasion, when there were many varieties and dialects, and that this may lead to its decline as a global language, due to decreasing intelligibility.
Technology has brought about argument on whether we are in the illiteracy age or literacy age. Why some researchers believe that the younger generation writes far more than any generation before them because of the so much socializing that takes place online, while others who think that this generation has produce more illiterate people, points to social networking as the cause. They believe that social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and so on has attributed to sloppy writing and careless reading. The use of abbreviation or short slangs like lol, brb has become the other of the day.
In the last twenty-five years, advancements in technology combined with the unbridled growth of social media, has dramatically altered not only the methods used to communicate but the linguistics as well. The meteoric rise in the use of new media sources have resulted in the creation of a type of shorthand English. With today’s social media, abbreviations such as LOL, OMG, BRB, and ROFL are easily recognizable by its followers yet remain a mystery to those not connected. The preference of the younger generation for social media such as texting, Twitter, and Facebook over face–to-face communication has not only had an effect on communication skills, but has also led to a further disconnect with the adult population. Twenty years ago, when a family went out to dinner it was considered family time; an opportunity for all the family members to get caught up with what was going on in each other’s life. Today, watching that same family outing, one is much more likely to see each of them sitting at the same table, looking down at a smart phone texting, and very little if any co...