Diabolical Rant: Wrecking Our Language

    Many people have questioned why the United States does not have a national language, and more specifically, why English is not the national language. Among these people is Dennis Baron, who publishes his thoughts on this topic very often. One of his essays, considered a proposal, is titled “Don’t Make English Official - Ban It Instead” and discusses a new way of approaching English as the national language: banning English completely in America. Baron examines other opinions and their flaws and then establishes contrasting points that are subtly sarcastic. He is immensely effective in addressing his points and argument through the use of various techniques. The author conveys his ideas not only through his words, but through

In the article “2b or Not 2b” by David Crystal, he explains why he thinks texting will not destroy language. He infers that texting adds a new facet to communication. Crystal starts by establishing an opposing argument in the introduction when he mentions John Humphrys’ “I h8 txt msgs: How texting is wrecking our language” (335). One can deduce from the title of the article—and Humphrys’ description of texters as “vandals who are doing to our language what Genghis Khan did to his neighbors 800 years ago.” (335)—that Humphrys does not support texting. Crystal goes on to mention John Sutherland, another man who describes texting as “bleak, bald, sad shorthand. Drab shrinktalk … Linguistically it’s all pig’s ear … it masks dyslexia, poor spelling and mental laziness. Texting is penmanship for illiterates.”

During the sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, it is said that Jonathan Edwards had to stop several times throughout it and ask people to stop crying. How was he able to scare his listeners to the point of breaking down in tears? It is because Jonathan Edwards uses several persuasive techniques in his sermon that are extremely effective.

Language is the inevitable medium that people use as a means of communication. However, how that person uses the language that they have varies from person to person. Some view language as a persuasive political instrument and others view it as a means of expression and empowerment. In the essay “If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?” by James Baldwin, he was able to illustrate the history of the discrimination of language and how black English is not accepted as its own language. Baldwin also shows that due to the lack of acknowledgement of black English, it lacks the power it needs to empower the people who speak it. In the essay “Politics and the English Language” by George Orwell, he was able to break down language and explain how language shapes reality. Orwell expresses that he is not considering the literary use of language, but language is an instrument of expression and the promotion of cognitive deliberation and persuasion. Furthermore, both these authors agree that language is a political instrument, however, Baldwin uses this instrument to unite people and Orwell uses the instrument to persuade people.

Randy Cohen wrote When Texting Is Wrong and published it in The New York Times on July 13, 2009. The article talks about how no one ever agreed to the new age of technology that fell upon the world but instead adapted to it. This is in fact what has happened to the world. Technology has taken over, and people of all ages have had to adapt to the new time period that we have fallen in; however, not all are very fond of the era. It is evident in society that younger and older generations have differing views on technology, cell phones especially. While the younger generation is fine with the world being taken over by computers and cell phones, the older generation is a little more apprehensive about it. Although Cohen is not anti-texting or anti-technology, he explains to parents and bosses, or people of influence, that new manners need to be introduced in everyday life (at home and at work ) as an effort to reduce the impact of emerging technology.

In Mark Twain’s The Damned Human Race, he refutes the Darwinian theory of the “Ascent of Man from the Lower Animals,” arguing that the theory should be named the “Descent of Man from the Higher Animals.” He says that he accumulated research from his own investigations and used the scientific method to come to this conclusion. While emphasizing his argument, Twain uses tone to help bring his point across to the readers. The best use of tone throughout his essay is the use of satire, or the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize foolishness or corruption. Twain says that, “He [Man] is the only one that inflicts pain for the pleasure of doing it.” He then provides why this statement is true, and gives real world

Writer Jonathan Kozol, in the essay “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society,” suggests that the alarming rates of illiteracy in the U.S. are corroding the fundamentals of democracy, reinforcing the structures of inequality that created the problem to begin with. His argument draws on a range of evidence and support from multiple sources such as philosophers and historical figures, anecdotes, and first-person accounts. Kozol’s purpose is to not simply illustrate the various personal tragedies that people with underdeveloped reading skills face, but to tell his audience that such tragedies when you add them up constitute a threat to the basic values that maintain the nation as a whole.

Though the power of text messaging has many benefits to it, the misuse of this technology can cause serious problems for society. With the ability to communicate instantaneously on a mobile device, society focuses more and more on their

In the article” Is Texting Killing the English Language?” from TIME, they start the article off with one critic referring to texting as the downfall for the written word. “Penmanship for illiterates,” The article goes not agree with the critic. The article explains that texting is the new kind of talking. In these times there is hardly any hand written correspondence. If you want to reach out to someone you send then an email or the most common is a text. Texting has made reaching out to someone so easy and convenient. If you have a thought, or an idea you grab your phone and send a text message. You usually have a response within seconds. I don’t think that technology is killing the written language; I feel that it is just making it easier to have quick communication with others. I feel that texting is like short hand you are abbreviating words to get your message across quickly. Our society is so rushed and

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.

Technology is quickly becoming a huge part of day to day life for nearly everyone. If you walk around most places, you will see a large percent of people either on their cell phones, on their computers, or using some other electronic device. While some of it is being used for business and other important things, most of the time, it is more for entertainment. It is because of this that people claim that technology is changing the way people think today. In his article “Is Google making us stupid”, Nicholas Carr argues that people have become dependent upon the internet for information rather than having to work to figure it out. In the article “Does texting effect writing”, Michaela Cullington argues that people’s texting is effecting the way people write because people don’t show emotion when texting, so that is translating back into their writing. Both arguments are effective, both appeal to emotion, but the more effective argument is Carr’s because it is a more sound argument based on logic and credibility.

I will analysing two articles one of them being John Humphry’s article “I h8 txt msgs: how texting is wrecking our language” and David Crystal “2b or not 2b” analysis of text messages looking at what kind of language do they use and other kind of language devices.

Words are an interesting concept. While they may be the very foundation of modern civilization’s language, words are a double-edged sword; they have the ability to ensnare us. We become caught in the trap built by our words. Especially in this day and age, we can record, review, and reprimand individuals for these traps they so foolishly put themselves in. However, just because the act may be more obvious does not discredit the fact that the, oh so human, trait of hypocrisy has not been in existence since the dawn of time. The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines hypocrisy is a quality that is best presented in the form of two contradicting ideas being enacted, indirectly or directly, by a single mind, body, or group. In most cases, hypocrisy is created when a party does the same of what it has vocally condemned or by praising one idea but doing the counterbalance, or the opposite. What’s intriguing about this idea is that it is not simply one concept. In fact, it is a mixture of two contrasting ideas that collide together to make one. To really understand the definition of hypocrisy, we must assess a few essential points of criteria; the two actions must be of conflicting value, the conflicting value should only come from one specific group, and if in a group, words and opposing actions should be unilateral.

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.