John Mcwhorter's Txting Is Killing Language

885 Words2 Pages

Although writing and speech are commonly both considered as language, both are categorized very differently. In today’s society, writing is much more formal compared to speech. Texting is a mixture of both using informal speech in writing. Texting is often criticized due to the informal nature and improper vocabulary. In John McWhorter’s speech “Txting is killing language. JK!!” the author convinces readers that texting language is not as harmful to society as many would assume while adding his own professional and personal experiences as evidence.
The author of “Txting is killing language. JK!!” John McWhorter begins the passage by giving historical background and facts about speech and writing. The first main topic described is the difference …show more content…

“Increasing evidence is that being bilingual is cognitively beneficial.” This statement from the author that being bilingual can help individuals in a much deeper aspect other than just knowing two languages. This also applies to being bidialectal. McWhorter continues on to explain that texting would be considered a dialect and many young adults are able to balance this bidialectal aspect unconsciously. McWhorter emphasizes most of his speech on the benefits of texting. These statistics along with McWhorter’s background as a linguistic persuade the reader to follow his claim. Although the statistics are not completely related, they are still relevant and the reader is able to comprehend what the author is trying to prove. McWhorter is also a professional linguistic which gives more reasoning and support behind his statistics, because he is …show more content…

During the 19th century and earlier, speech was much more formal similar to writing. McWhorter used an allusion with Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address as an example to indicate the changes of speech over the years. During Lincoln’s era people spoke as they wrote, nowadays speech is much more casual. The author alludes to Abraham Lincoln because he is a very credible and well-known historical figure along with a work that is very familiar to the audience as well. This example persuades the audience well because it is logical to the audience along with the ethical appeal. The author uses historical stories and compares the stories to current scenarios. This allows the audience to analyze the facts and develop ideas

Show More
Related

  • Letter From Birmingham Jail Vs. King's Ain T I A Woman

    652 Words  | 2 Pages

    The writing styles of Truth’s speech and King’s letter are similar, because both use metaphors and rhetorical devices to convey their thoughts to the reader. King’s letter is more extensive because he was well educated. Truth was not as educated as King and her speech reflects it in her

    Read More

  • Covered with Dust: Truman Capote

    1166 Words  | 3 Pages

    Truman Capote understood that using the right words and the right time can persuade readers to not only think as you think, but also make the audiences think deeper into the meanings of the words put in front of them. Using various rhetoric devices Capote sparked insight into Holcomb just by describing simple landmark buildings and the surroundings of the town. In one page the audience can completely grasp the concepts and emotions of the village.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Patrick Henry Speech

    744 Words  | 2 Pages

    Without it, the colonies would not have unified sufficiently to fight Britain. There would have been a United States of Great Britain instead of the United States of America! Henry’s successful ability to persuade the audience was why his speech lives on as the epitome of persuasive writing. As seen throughout the oration, he creates an emotional bond with the crowd and isolates the key points that the audience should remember. His work exemplifies the everlasting importance of rhetoric. The art of persuasion, developed since Ancient Greek times, is a valuable skill that can catalyze advancement in the workforce, which is why it has such a profound historical importance. As the saying goes, “It's not what you say, but how you say

    Read More

  • Does Texting Affect Writing? By Michaela Cullington

    957 Words  | 2 Pages

    Michaela Cullington, a student, wrote a paper “Does Texting Affect Writing?” in 2010 for an English class. The paper is an examination of texting and the belief that it negative effective student’s writing. Cullington goes into detail about textspeak- “language created by these abbreviations”- and their use in formal writings. She organizes the paper in a way that is confusing to understand at first (pg. 1). At the end of the paper, she discusses her finding in her own research which comes to show that texting does not affect writing. But this is contradicting to the information she received from the teachers. The students and the teachers were seeing differences in the use of textspeak in formal writing. Cullington has good support for her

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Speech

    637 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lincoln's style in this speech was inevitably persuasive. His rhetorical strategy appeals to not only the readers senses, but to their intellectual knowledge as w...

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Patrick Henry's Speech In The Virginia Convention

    345 Words  | 1 Pages

    Patrick Henry’s “Speech in the Virginia Convention” is one of the most quoted speeches of all time. Its famous emotion and rhetoric make it that way. Thomas Paine is also one of the great literary figures of the day, but Henry’s speech is more persuasive through his more meaningful rhetorical elements. These include parallelism, rhetorical questions, and most certainly his pathos.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Is Texting Killing The English Language

    1223 Words  | 3 Pages

    Writing, according to an article in Times Magazine titled “Is Texting Killing the English Language” by John McWhorter, is an art that has been around for about 5,500 years. Since writing is deliberate and takes more time to compose, it’s usually better thought out and sounds more sophisticated. Speech, on the other hand, is more of an “unconscious” practice.

    Read More

  • John Mcwhorter: Txtng Is Killing The English Language

    526 Words  | 2 Pages

    Three years ago, linguist John McWhorter spoke at a Ted Talk conference about whether texting is killing language and went so far as to question the definition of language itself. His video, “John McWhorter: Txtng is killing language. JK!!!” distinguished to the reader the difference between writing and speaking and how texting was one in the form of another. Texting, he said, is a way of writing as one speaks, or specifically fingered speech, rather than as many believe, a mutilated version of the English language. According to McWhorter, texting is becoming a second language for many people, and those who do text are actually, in a sense, being bilingual. Texting itself is not very different from a foreign language, other than for its strong

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Should Everybody Write By Dennis Baron

    888 Words  | 2 Pages

    While preparing for one of his college lectures, Dennis Baron, a professor and linguistics at the University of Illinois, began playing with the idea of how writing has changed the world we lived in and materials and tools we use in everyday life. This lecture slowly transitioned into “Should Everybody Write?” An article that has made many wonder if technology has made writing too easy for anyone to use or strengthens a writer's ability to learn and communicate their ideas. Baron uses rhetorical strategies in his article to portray to his audience his positive tone, the contrast and comparison of context and his logical purpose.

    Read More

  • Text Messaging: 2b or not 2b? by David Crystal

    1010 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Our generation doesn't ring the doorbell. They text or call to say they're outside,” this line is from one of the well-known social networks, Tweeter, which shows how the way of communication has change in this modern life. According to 2013 statistics by Business Insider, in United States alone, smartphone owners aged 18 to 24 send 2,022 texts per month on average — 67 texts on a daily basis — and receive another 1,831 texts (Cocotas). Nowadays, technology such as text messaging has practically replaced traditional face to face communication among the society primarily in young generations because texting allows messages to be sent fast and effortless. In order to quickly type what they are trying to say in text messaging, people are frequently using textspeak; the language created by using abbreviation rather than complete words. Based on this phenomenon, David Crystal, an honorary professor of linguistics at the University of Wales has published an article entitled ‘2b or not 2b?’ in the Guardian on July 5, 2008 comes out with the research and studies that state texting can actually improve the literacy of children and create creativity of writing. However, by observing more critically, texting do decrease a person’s ability to switch between textspeak and the normal rules of grammar and adversely affect formal writing and conversational skills.

    Read More

  • How Does Texting Affect Writing By Michaela Cullington Summary

    452 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the article, “Does Texting Affect Writing?”, the author Michaela Cullington conveys her speculation that texting does not correlate to how students write formal essays. At the beginning of the article Cullington introduces the term texting and the convenience texting brings. Later expressing her concern that the texting language “Textspeak” is actually affecting students writing; then contradicts these views by using primary and secondary sources (news articles, books, her own surveys and research). In addition, she uses an anecdote to tell of her own experience with texting and writing. Together with other evidences and research put together, she uncovers the debate between textspeak and formal writing. On the basis of her research, she concludes that the state of texting does not interfere with writing or writing abilities.

    Read More

  • We Never Talk Anymore: The Problem with Text Messaging

    1354 Words  | 3 Pages

    Text messaging has become a norm in our generation, as technology rapidly advances and gives way to more efficient forms of communication in a fast-paced world; and many are skeptical about the influence this new form of interaction is having on our society, especially with our younger generation. David Crystal, a professor at the University of Wales, writes “2b or Not 2b?” in support of text messaging. He insists, despite those who underestimate or negate the beneficial influence text messaging has on language proficiency, that “there is increasing evidence that [texting] helps rather than hinders literacy” and that the fairly recent form of communication has actually been around for a while and “is merely the latest manifestation of the human ability to be linguistically creative and to adopt language to suit the demands of diverse settings. In contrast, Jeffery Kluger argues in “We Never Talk Anymore: The Problem with Text Messaging” that text messaging is rapidly becoming a substitute for more genuine forms of communication and is resulting in difficulty among young peoples of our generation to hold a face-to-face conversation, engage in significant nonverbal expression, and ultimately build effective relationships with family, friends and co-workers. Both writers’ present valid arguments, however, my personal experience with text messaging has led me to agree more with Crystal’s view on the matter. Text messaging is indeed having a positive effect on society by making frequent texters primarily aware of the need to be understood, as well as offering betterment of spelling and writing through practice, and reinventing and expanding on a bygone dimension of our language through the use of rebuses and abbreviations.

    Read More

  • Effects Of Texting On Teen Literacy

    1485 Words  | 3 Pages

    You can say that overuse in texting is determination the way teens, students write formally in the classroom. Teens that spend most of their eyes on their phone has already created their own texting style. Now I am able to answer the question, how does texting affect teen literacy? Texting affects teen literacy because, text messaging does affect our grammar because, teens text like for example; “ttyl”, “gtg”, “wyd”. They find an easy way of texting rather than using the correct way. In order to get what they want done, we wanted to see and learn about the damage that texting can cause on teens and we did learn, we learned that it can affect our grammar, grades, and even your future in trying to get a job, your skills in so much more. I wanted to inform the teens about the damage that texting in short terms can do to you. Encourage them not to write in short term because, they are too

    Read More

  • Research Plan: Does Autocorrect Technology Help Us Learn?

    1038 Words  | 3 Pages

    Drouin, M., & Davis, C. (2009). R U Txting? Is the Use of Text Speak Hurting Your Literacy?. Journal of Literacy Research, 44(1), 46-67. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?q=texting+spelling+grammar&id=EJ862013

    Read More

  • The Pros and Cons of Texting

    1900 Words  | 4 Pages

    Step onto any college campus and take a look around.  You will find clumps of students standing around in circles, phones in hand, typing away.  What is it they are doing? Texting. Ever since the first text message was sent in 1993, the use of text messaging as a means of communication has spread like wild fire, especially amongst the adolescent generation. And with this new form of communication a new language has appeared; text-speak, the shortening of common words into abbreviations and acronyms (Drouin 49).  While texting and the text-speak language seem to have been welcomed by many, what affect is this new technology having on the way we communicate? Is it possible that texting is negatively affecting our ability to use formal written communication, or is this idea just a myth perpetuated by negative media attention? And what changes has texting brought to the way we communicate person-to person? Are these changes positive, negative, or perhaps a mixture of both?

    Read More

More about John Mcwhorter's Txting Is Killing Language

Open Document