Evolution Of Texting Is Ruining The English Language

John McWhorter: Txtng is killing language. JK!!! 1. In contrast to what many older generations believe about texting, discuss McWhorter's views on the subject. What does he think and why?

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.

Texting is harming the ability for this current generation of children to write in a formal manner. “Digitalk” is what Kristen Hawley Turner of Fordham University calls, text-speak.For example, many teens will text “g2g” in replace of the actual words “got to go”.In my opinion, texting is ruining students’ abilities to write a formal essay,letter,etc.

Although her study supports the hypothesis that texting and writing have no relationship to one another, Cullington (and the researchers whose work she analyzed) recognizes the significance of new technology and society’s evolving modes of communication. She writes, “The use of text mes- saging as a common means of communication is becoming increasingly popular; therefore, this issue should continue to be examined” (94). Not surprisingly, the popularity of texting has increased since the time of Cullington’s article and so too has research on its effect on student writ- ing. What Cullington may not have anticipated, however, are the ways in which texting itself has changed. How might innovations such as Internet access, various “apps,” and software advance- ments have changed texting in the mere two years since Michaela Cullington published her article in 2011?

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

Texting allows us to stay in touch with others in a most efficient way. We type a quick text, hit send, and in a matter of seconds our recipient has our text. Receiving a text is fast, but typing out a clear, concise

After reading Texting and Writing, by Michaela Cullington, I do not agree with many of her viewpoints. Cullington argues that texting does not affect a students writing. Textspeak, the abbreviation and shortening of words like used when writing a text message, does affect the way a student writes because they use the abbreviations, and their writings tend to lack punctuation. When a writer uses excessive abbreviations on a regular basis they can get stuck in the writer’s head causing them to use them in all of their writings. Cullington did make good points of her own opinion on texting and writing in her piece, but I disagree with her and believe that texting and

John McWhorter believes that texting has not degraded the language of society today. In his speech he also stated that being able to text and write formally is beneficial to teenagers and young adults today. I agree with John McWhorter, because most of the people in the world to do not use formal language in casual conversation. This leads to the point of why should we use formal writing for casual writing. I believe it is important to be diverse and have the ability to communicate in many different ways. John McWhorter also explained that it does not matter what decade it is, there will always be individuals who do not agree with how the English language and writing has developed. Texting has not made the American English

As texting becomes more popular, especially within the new generations, a new language has evolved of shorthand and abbreviations. However, just because this new language is being used, it does not mean that it is affecting academic writing. The way new generations write when texting does not worsen their academic writing. In a video published by TedTalks, “John McWhorter: Txtng is killing language. JK!!!” John McWhorter talks about how texting might not actually be affecting the English language and that texting is not the reason why people write incorrectly. People have been writing incorrectly for centuries and some studies even prove texting improves writing.

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

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.

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.

Think of things that morph over time. What comes to mind? People may think about a music artist’s change from YouTube videos recorded on iPhones to sold-out concerts. Or, they may think about the changes an athlete makes from childhood to becoming a professional athlete. However, did you think about how much a language changes over a couple of years? Every year words are added to and taken from the dictionary. Words are formed and forgotten. Language changes because of a person’s vocabulary and location, but what happens to a language, like the English language, that is spread across the whole world?

We use abbreviations and emoji’s to get our point across. As college students we send so many texting messages that we do not realize that we hold on to those habits of using incorrect spelling and full sentences. Using this way of communication so often has caused college students to carry it over to formal writing projects. Texting is another form of writing, some would believe that it will help with our writing skills but at the same time it making us lose our depth when it comes to writing. Students don’t use a much detail when it comes to writing papers. Grammar gets affected and we get in the habit of abbreviating our words which do not help enhance our writing at all. This articles just goes through saying that texting reflects on a lot more than just students language skills.