I believe that the usage of computer language and texting abbreviations, textism, are degrading the English language and that they represents the modern society. Perhaps, one of the reasons why computer language and texting abbreviations are so popular and common is because our current society is moving at a very fast pace; where every second counts. Everything we do seems to have a time limit and the twenty-four hours we get a day just does not seem to be enough especially when we need to sleep. By shortening our words we can save time but there needs to be a limit to how much a word should be abbreviated because something like "3v3b0di" does not make sense.
It is not that I object to the usage of computer language and texting abbreviations but I think that users should be able to differentiate between formal and conversational language especially when it should be used. It only makes sense that we talk to our friends in a conversational style or else we would seem like strangers talking to each other. Therefore we use computer language and texting abbreviations to communicate but it is unacceptable to use textism, informal language, for school, work and resumes. It should be limited to the internet and text messages only. The reason we go to school is to be educated, therefore we ought to sound educated when we are writing papers and handing in assignments. If informational articles were to be written in computer language and texting abbreviations it would be extremely difficult for people to understand if they are not used to textism and computer language. I think that textism should only be used on resumes if people do not want to be hired since resumes need to be written in formal language in the first place. It seems disrespectful to the employer to have all sorts of abbreviations on resumes. It is unnatural to have people say " LOL, LMAO, TTYL" as a replacement for laughter and normal speech. I believe that computer language and texting abbreviations should be allowed as long as they are not in formal writing and speech.
Hey Angela,
ReplyDeleteGreat post, I agree with your statement that people should be able to differentiate between textism and formal English. As long as people can see this difference and use the correct language at the correct time, textism can be seen as an evolution of English. However, this difference is becoming more and more difficult to see as the use of new technologies invade into our lives. If we, for example, spend hours and hours everyday on the computer using textism, it is only natural that we will someday mix it up with formal English. Eventually, this will lead to the degradation of English. Thankfully, however, I believe that textism is something created only because of the tier of technology we are in, and is only made due to reasons such as small keyboards and whatnot.
Hi Angela,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. I too, believe that textism and computer language is degrading the English language. If this kind of informal language is used at school and at work, what will happen to formal language? A main reason why we use formal language is to show show our respect, such as writing our resumes formally, or writing an essay for class.We do this to show our teacher and employer respect. I also agree that the reason why we use textism is because our society moves at a very fast pace. Not only does the twenty-four hours we have in each day go by extremely quickly, but technology is also advancing at a very quick pace. For instance, typing allows us to write faster than actually writing out our words. Also, when we text, predictive texting helps us spell out the word without us having to spell it all out. When I am typing, I sometimes accidentally type out the abbreviations of words when I am doing school work. Therefore, I believe that textism and abbreviations will soon crept its way into school work and businesses, for the sake of saving time and because of laziness.