Critical Analysis of John Humphrys' Article “I H8 Txt Msgs”

In the article “2b or not 2b”, David Crystal begins with discussing how others such as John Humphry argued that texters are “vandals who are doing to our language what Genghis Khan did to his neighbors 800 years ago. They are destroying it” (335). This is also the common belief of most people. People often argue about the bad points of technology over our language. However, Crystal believes that texting can improve children’s ability to read and write rather than hinder their literacy as many people claim. He also argues that not all texting are done in abbreviated words. Complex messages and institutional messages are often texted in standard form of

The result verified that there is evidence of a decline in grammar scores based on the number of abbreviations in their sent and received text messages (Swayne and Messer). In other words, the word abbreviations and punctuation short-cuts that famously used in text messaging can alter individuals’ ability to recognize and apply proper spelling, grammar and punctuation techniques in writing and daily life communication. If the uses of abbreviations are not controlled from the beginning, both sender and receiver of text messaging will be associated with how poorly they will perform on the test based on the level of standard literacy they have.

We as a society are evolving with each generation to come. We are getting stronger, faster, and smarter. Just as cell phones are no longer square blocks with numbers on them and TV’s are not in black and white, writing itself has also evolved. Once upon a time many wrote and spoke in a Shakespearean form of language and over the years it has evolved into something we call modern English. In recent years, technology has advanced greatly and cell phones have become one of our primary use of communication. With cell phones came a new form of writing called text messaging. Text messaging is used to send short, concise messages to anyone around the world. Often times text messages involve the use of abbreviations which stand for different things and also involves frequent use of emoji’s as a form of expression. This form of writing is now considered informal writing and is not acceptable in academic settings. In Michaela Cullington’s essay “Does Texting Affect Writing?” she touches on both sides of whether texting is hindering students writing or if it’s actually having a positive effect. She then makes is clear that she believes most students are educated enough to know when text speak is appropriate and when it’s not so therefore it has no effect on students. Although, I agree with her thesis, she lacks credibility due to her insufficient evidence. In addition, I also believe

We carry our cellphones with us at all times, and with all this online connection, you would think that stepping back and disconnecting is a huge achievement. But this is a new way of life. Nathan Jurgenson, in his article “The IRL Fetish” says, “We have come to understand more and more of our lives through the logic of digital connection. Social media is more than something we log onto; it’s something we carry within us. We can’t log off.”. He explains how we are so deeply connected with technology that it is nearly impossible to stay ‘old-fashioned’. We are learning to accept technological advancements because they are inevitable. In other words, to adapt to this new form of literacy is much easier than avoiding it. In recognition that texting truly is literacy, one English teacher had her students put excerpts of Richard III into “text speak” to show that they fully understand the material. Educators are embracing texting as a new form of learning because it clearly is not going away. Students enjoy texting as a way to escape reality and fail to recognize the literary benefits. Texting will continue to encourage students to read and write as well as improve spelling with phonological

“Does Texting Affect Writing” is about Michaela Cullington, the author, comparing two opposing perspectives. The perspective is whether texting hinders the formal writing skills of students or not. Millennials are a population that cannot go a day without looking at their phones so, due to the “increasing use of mobile phones, concerns have been raised about its influence on their literacy skills. No matter if it is sending or receiving a text or checking social media sites, technology has taken over the lives of the young generations. The essay “Does Texting Affect Writing?” in They Say, I say exposes how the significant action of texting and using textspeak, i.e. abbreviations and symbols, may be hindering the writing skills of teenaged students. People communicate using textese to “more quickly type what they are trying to say” (Cullington, 2017, p. 361). Textese is a “register that allows omission of words and the use or textisms: instances of non-standard written language such as 4ever” (Van Dijk, 2016). When these people use textese often, it can become habitual and transition into their school assignments. Michaela Cullington constantly repeats words and uses comparisons and abnormalities for the concerns about textspeak, the responses to the concerns, methods and the discussion of findings on the topic to be analyzed.

As texting has yet become a concern of many parents, teachers, and doctors because of the use of slang and Abbreviation is expanded especially in high schools and colleges. Michaela Cullington, who was a student at Marywood University in Pennsylvania and received a Masters degree in speech and language pathology from Marywood in 2014, discussed in “Does Texting Affect Writing?” about the problem above. In general, Cullington positively confirmed that texting does not have any significant effects on formal writing. Cullington also encourages the use of slang and abbreviations should be approved because of many benefits, or positive effects.

The assigned reading for this week of the course is titled "Is texting killing the English language?", and was authored by John McWhorter. It appeared on time.com on April 25th, 2013.

Hundreds of grammatically incorrect text messages are sent every day. In this essay I will research and explore the creative techniques we use every day, when communicating via short messaging services, and how they are eradicating the English Language as we know it. I will also be analysing these techniques to discover when and why we use them.

The subject of how technology is changing written English is a touchy subject; many people believe that our current technology is allowing us to become lazy. Text messaging being the ultimate reason we are taking so many short cuts when it comes to writing proper English. There are so many abbreviated words and meanings in text messaging, I sometimes find myself confused when I receive messages from people that I have to google what they are trying to say. I don’t want to respond and assume I know what they are trying say.

I completely agree with what John McWhorter has said about texting. Texting is in fact a new language among young people today, and although I have not noticed a huge change in language in my lifetime, I know it has changed a lot. “Texting is fingered speech”. This statement could not be more true because we do in fact text how we talk. I know that personally I tend to text normally. I spell correctly, for the most part, and I typically use punctuation. But also, like most teenagers, I do use text slang. I frequently find myself using acronyms like lol (laugh out loud) or omg (oh my gosh), but I think like most kids these days I can maintain a balance between the two languages. People today are worried that texting is “killing language”,

Since the technological phenomenon towards the end of the 20th century, text messaging has been widely used by cellphone users, specifically teenagers, in order to get their conversations across easier and quicker in a very convenient way. In the modern technology world, people have become so accustomed to the idea of

Over the centuries societies social norms have changed, today's day and age is all about texting and social media, which has impacted society in many different ways. Many people debate whether such large quantity of texting and social media has a negative, positive or neutral effect on society. Some people believe that communication skills are improving, with the use of texting and social media; whereas others believe it’s limiting communication, damaging people's use of the English language, and decreasing vocabulary and social interaction.

Critics claim that “texting language” is destroying English. Commonly, when people text they do not take advantage of proper grammar, and they will use shortcuts to write common words and phrases such as, “ you” and “are” by writing “U” and “R”. Yet when people speak casually, they do not communicate in an eloquent, perfected form as if they would if they were reading a formal speech or document. Moreover, texting was not created to represent people’s mastery of language. It was meant to be split-second conversation and socialization over a distance.

The last decade has seen a huge increase of short message text messaging among the younger generations. Wood et al. conducted an intervention study about the relationship between texting and literacy. “114 kids were studied to find if there was a relationship between texting and literacy. Participants were divided randomly into an experimental group and a control group. In the experimental group they were given access to a mobile phone which they could use just for texting for ten weeks. Their text messages were transcribed exactly as written on the mobile phones. The children completed standardized pre- and post-tests on reading, spelling, and nonword reading.” The Internet is a good source for both individuals and society, but technology changes how people think making them seem less intelligent. People don’t notice how they sound while texting. Recent studies have shown that “When people, most likely children or teens, are sending messages on their devices they tend to shorten words and use non-standard written languages. Although, this allows people to send messages faster, it makes these people sound less intelligent because of misspelled words. Recent studies have proven that texting can have a positive effect on some children, but the slang that they use can affect their grammar skills.” All because of this people are sounding stupid because they can’t spell correctly. Any kind

Texting is a fairly new form of communication that has taken the world by storm. It became popular around 2001, and originally had its limitations, such as the 160-character limit. But now that technology has advanced, texting has followed along and is now a convenient, casual, and a more immediate way of communicating. So naturally, texting has evolved also in terms of the language used within it. We see this mostly in the form of abbreviations and short hand spelled words. Some people argue that texting has ruined the English language. Studies and observations have shown that the benefits of texting and cyber speak are much more broad then expected. Textisms have been shown to increase phonology skills, brain activity, creativity and provide a relatable outlet for students in education.