Is texting really killing our language? Or are we allowing texting to kill our language? There are many ways to use texting, maybe just the ways some of us are using texting is killing our language. According to John Mcwhorter texting is writing as we speak. What he means by that statement is that we talk how we text or visa versa, basically what he's saying is that texting is used more for our regular day language than our professional language. When we are talking we don't think to punctuate or anything of that cause, we do the same thing when we’re texting, there is barely anyone that will use proper language to text their friends, nowadays we use slang words in our text like saying ima, instead of saying i'm going to or like saying ttyl, …show more content…
Even though texting has its flaws, it also has its success, it might be a problem that texting is so advanced that now we have emojis to the point that we are able to make a whole sentence out of them, but texting also helps us get a message to each other faster. Again we text how we speak, when we’re in front of our friends we speak in our comfortable ways, while we’re texting we speak in our comfortable ways, instead of saying: I think that the exact length of the pole will be equivalent to the exact length of the building, and the amount of pressure that the pole can hold will be able to withstand the weight of the building, we probably will just say something along the lines of: I think the pole is big enough to hold up the building and pole will be able to hold up the building. Those two sentences are saying the same thing, but one sentence is one that we would use in front of our boss, and one is one that we would use on the phone or in front of our friends, there is no problem with both of these sentences, but only one would be accepted in a professional matter. So it's not that texting is a horrible thing, but that texting is used more for loose language and not for educating language as much In other words, our way of speech in texting is not really a professional way of
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.
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
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
In the article, “Is Texting Killing the English Language?” The author focuses on how people think that texting is ruining the English language, but he argues that it is not. The author used specific examples in which he uses to support his claim that texting is just creating its own grammar just like writing. This article can be written in a different perspective such as a different Language, or for a different audience, and it will have some changes in order for it to be a good article. If this article were to be written for a different time, It would not be a good article because texting is a new trend that is going on today in society, so the whole point of the article will change and it will be useless. If this article were to be written
...ely on these electronics to do everything for us, generations from now people more than like won’t know what real connections are. Text messaging is the downfall of many intimate relationships because it has so many flaws. You can send a message and intend for it to mean one thing, but when it arrives to its recipient it can take on a whole new definition. Text messaging you feelings is not always clear.
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.
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.
Texting however keeps people at arm’s length and prevents relationships from getting past a certain level of rapport. Text messages help people create distance between them and another person. This distance can lead to many things, like lost friendship. Friendships can be lost in text messages because of tone. I was texting my sister one day, who types in all capital letters, and finally halfway through the conversation I asked her why she was yelling at me, because that is how I was reading them, as me being yelled at. When she responded she was very confused, and told me that she didn’t realize that she had been yelling at me and was sorry. This can happen to anybody. People can confuse tone in text messages, and that can lead to one person arguing with someone who has no idea that they are in a fight. Text messages are also used by people to purposely keep others away from them, and by some it is used to hide. Alice G Walton, a science journalist with a Ph.D. in Biopsychology and Behavioral Neuroscience says, “People like to text because the message gives them the ability to hide,” (Walton). It is like the saying “a drunken mind speaks a sober heart,” When people are drunk they hide behind being it, and use alcohol as their mask, but when they are texting, it’s the phone. They are able to say what they would like, without having to actually face the person they are talking to, and
“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.
In the sources that I found about text message and teen literacy, it showed and also informed me on how teens take the next talk to the classrooms in schools and how it creates bad grammar among themselves. During my research I found out that many kids and kids use shorthanded text and it affects their literacy in so many ways. We as teens don’t think that our findings will benefit anyone unless they want to have a short knowledge in grammar. As teens we don’t really see how doing something wrong can harm us. Such as texting shorthanded, and with silly faces. It affects our literacy by not knowing how to correctly punctuate their words, grammar and speaking. In the research that I looked up, that teens send about one thousand eight hundred
Texting is killing language,” Ted starts off the video by saying that “The idea is that texting spells the decline and fall of any kind of serious literacy, or at least writing ability, among young people in the United States and now the whole world today (Ted, 2013). Throughout the film discussion, what stuck out to me the most was how drastic language has changed via technology.
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?
Text messaging is damaging our literacy and communication skills as a society. Calling someone on the phone or writing them a letter is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. There is a new language that is being learned and not taught across the globe. It is the language of Textese, and it has quickly consumed the lives of millions across the world. There will always be the protector of language arts. These are the shrinking number of people everyone knows, that will continue to handwrite letters and sign them with proper English and etiquette. It may be as simple as picking up the phone and calling a friend or relative. It may be even simpler than that, in that people put forth an effort to talk to the person sitting next to or across from you and engage them in a conversation. Texting and textisms have become so common and widespread that using proper English, correct spelling, and full sentences is also becoming a thing of the past. People that constantly use text and instant messaging may have difficulty with literacy and expressing themselves in writing form. The research shows that text messaging has deteriorated how we communicate and express ourselves because textisms have become an easier and quicker form of communication that has affected literacy in children and adults.
Talking on the phone requires an immediate response, as opposed to texting. To others, talking with someone is connecting with them on a personal level. For example, when talking to my mother or grandmother I prefer calling them. I don’t see them every day and it always feels so good to hear their voices, which it also allows me to hear and feel their emotions. Texting on the other hand makes it hard to capture their emotions. To me, texting is not as personal; there are no other factors involved on the conversation than what you see on the screen, the text. There is no easy way to feel, or identify the other person’s emotions in a text message clearly; therefore, texting can be a misused form of communication if your objective is to spend hours on the phone to express your