Explore the Varieties of and Attitudes to Texting

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

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

How old were you when you got your first phone? Did texting come naturally to you? If asking your great grandfather what LOL means he would more than likely reply with asking you what language you were speaking. Over the years we have come to see a drastic evolution between texting and how we communicate verbally to one another. A linguist and prolific author David Crystal expresses the idea of technology advancements in texting, as evidence in his piece, published in 2008 in the Guardian a London Daily, “2b or Not 2b?”. Crystal uses factual evidenced throughout his article to introduce the concept that, “In texting what we are seeing, in a small way, is language in evolution” (par. 31). His knowledge towards this linguistic phenomenon may be valid due to multiple factual evidence provided.

As time goes on, everything that we do in life modernises alongside us. Many people hold the opinion that ‘old fashioned’ methods of language use were more caring and creative, and that modern technology allows us to simply be ‘lazy’. However by looking at examples of texting, and/or web-based interaction, I will be able to show that modern language use can too be very creative.

Courtney Treco English 152 November 5, 2014 Is Texting Destroying Our Language? In David Crystals article, 2B or Not 2B, he discusses texting and how it is not destroying language. First in the article Crystals compares his ideas to an article written by John Humphrys, who believes that texting is wrecking language and stated that people who text are “vandals who are doing to our language what Genghis Khan did to his neighbours 800 years ago. ”(Page

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

“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

John Humphrys starkly argues that SMS ‘vandals’ and ‘textspeakers’ are pillaging our punctuation; savaging our sentences; raping our vocabulary.’ However, many argue that the English language is merely evolving as it has previously; from Old to Middle to Early Modern to Modern English, to increase the ease and efficiency of informal communication.

In “Why Does Using a Period in a Text Message Make You Sound Insincere or Angry?”, published on The Conversation in July 2016, Lauren Collister explains that texting is more flexible and possesses its own set of stylistic norms (sometimes informally called “textspeak” or “textese”). She also describes that text messaging is a conversation that involves a lot of back and forth, and people add fillers to mimic spoken language; it increases the use of ellipses which can invite the recipient to continue the conversation, she states. She argues that certain punctuation can invoke feelings of insincerity due to “situational code-switching”; a common example is the way we talk in a job interview versus at a bar with friends, and she asserts that repetition of letters had an intensity to message. Collister states that we have different styles of speaking in a text message in different situations and context-dependent styles of writing in a text message.

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.

Some teenagers believe that text message communication enables them to express their feelings freely and sincerely to someone. This is why

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.

Texting is a convenient little invention; one can just send small messages to his or her friends with the push of a few buttons. It is a fast and effortless way to communicate, but has anyone thought of the potential harmful effects of texting? Sure, people think about the messages that were taken the wrong way, or messages meant to be insignificant, but what is the worst thing that can happen? What about the destruction of an entire language? People think nothing of texting because they feel that an action so small and unimportant could not possibly do much harm, but in all actuality, texting could be impairing the

With mobile phones where the small screen technology is so constraining, texting and tweeting plays a significant role in how we conduct our daily communication. David Crystal wrote an article titled “Texting”, and believes the younger generation is introducing a new phase of texting where words are usually represented with acronyms (241). Crystal called this abbreviated text exchange a “textspeak” (243). Kris Axtman is also a prominent author who wrote an article, “R U Online? The Evolving Lexicon of Wired Teens” (247). His article focuses on teenagers and their dependency on the online technology. Axtman observes that teenagers develop a whole range of abbreviations while exchanging

As an average teenager living in the United States, I have certainly reached the ‘conversion’ stage in the domestication, or normalization, of communication technology in my everyday life (Baym, 2015). My iPhone sits in the back pocket of my jeans and I look at it absentmindedly on average four to five times an hour. It no longer feels like a new or exciting piece of tech and I take it for granted. Specific mediums of communication technology, such as my phone, have become so normalized that I do not notice how I use them day in and day out. It was not until I had to log my actions that I noticed the patterns in my behavior when using communication technology. It was not until taking this class, Introduction to Online Communication, that I gained the vocabulary to articulate why I behave the way I do. Theories such as ‘Media Richness’ and ‘Social Presence’ have helped me understand why many of my interactions online centered around certain topics or why I struggle to respond to mediated messages.