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
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.
“There is more pleasure to building castles in the air than on the ground.” This quote by Edward Gibbon illustrates the intensity of writing and what gratification it can hold. When one writes, they are not confined to one certain formula. A person is able to express their thoughts and feelings in any way they choose. Language is a border for many people in that some cannot comprehend a certain language, understand how to use it, or recognize what is being said to them. On the other side of the border, they are not viewed as equals or as important compared to those who are not competing with this barrier. In his essay “Coming into Language,” Jimmy Santiago Baca uses his personal experiences to demonstrate how much
In Danielle Allen’s essay, Our Declaration, she argues that all people should understand and recognize that the Declaration gives all people in the United States the undeniable freedom to self-govern. One person has the power to change the government; although this is not specifically stated, the freedom to self-govern implies every voice matters. She guides the reader to this idea by using simple and easy to follow examples to show the reader that they have the power to invoke a change the government. Allen also uses credible sources in order to give her reasoning credibility as well as using arguments that elicit an emotional connection.
Not So Fast,” Andrea Lunsford argues that rather than leading to a new illiteracy, the digital technologies in the modern world help students to develop their ability of writing. Not only that students are daferrors than 25 years ago, actually with less spelling errors. In order to help students with the challenges, the teacher should offer solid instructions and encouragement rather than derision.
Michaela Cullington’s essay “Texting and Writing” explores the possible effect of teen texting on formal writing in school. Cullington lists three different hypotheses scholars pose about the cor- relation between the two: those who criticize texting for its negative impact on writing, those who believe texting is actually a beneficial exercise in writing, and those who see no relationship at all. Cullington begins her analysis with the first theory, quoting concerned teachers, citing the shock- ing statistic that “only 25% of high school seniors are ‘proficient’ writers” (90), and adding testi- mony from two of her former teachers. Cullington then explores the second take on texting and writing by providing contrasting testimony from other teachers who believe that texting is a bless- ing to their students’ writing. Cullington retrieves support for these two opposing views from inter- views and previous studies. To explore the theory that texting is irrelevant to formal writing, how- ever, she performs her own research, gathering results from seven students, two teachers, and an analysis of students’ written work. Despite the testimonial evidence against and in support of tex- ting, Cullington’s own results show that texting has “no effect, positive or negative, on [students’] writing as a result of texting” (95).
Individuality is the quality that people that makes each person unique and distinguishable from each other. It is important to remain distinct from others, even among groups of people that are classified as either the same or very similar. While individuality is a concept that many people agree with and want to ensure, the pressure from most people’s lives, including their environment and the people around them, forces individuals to lose who they truly are and morph in order to fit in. I strongly agree that individuality, while important, is difficult to keep because of outside factors, a concept that was presented by Logan Fey.
Firstly, students are not getting enough practice in writing and it is taking away their ability to write. In Source G, Clive Thompson mentions “Facebook encourages narcissistic blabbering, video and PowerPoint have replaced carefully crafted essays.” (Source G). Since schools have switched over to more of an engaging learning environment, rather than formal essay writing, students are not getting enough writing practice which results in poor understanding of the English language. Secondly, teens are misusing the English language via texting, social statuses, blogs, etc. In Source G, Clive Thompson states “texting has dehydrated language into ‘bleak, bald, sad shorthand’…An age of illiteracy is at hand, right?” (Source G). Thompson believes teens are slowly drifting away from the formal English language and are creating their own shorthand meanings. This highly emphasizes how the younger generation is misusing the English language and it is taking away their ability to formally write and they are falsely practicing the English language. Thus, technology is taking away one’s ability to write formally and acknowledge the roots of the English
“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.
Social media accounts, emails and text messaging all call for their own style of writing that is more flexible than formal writing, allowing for rapid changes. As a result, from the time children are born, they are learning a ‘system of meanings’ (Halliday, 1975), allowing them to engage and participate in the world around them. As described by Halliday (1975) much of children’s early language learning is ‘content-expression’ based, it has no grammar or vocabulary it relies on meaning and sound, which sets the scene for future language learning. Once children reach primary school, they are introduced to the different modes of language and are encouraged to explore the diversity of language. In addition, the ACARA links literacy learning to the development of language and communication skills (ACARA, 2016, p. 15) allowing multi-language learning to have the potential to benefit all students. As a result, the diversity and multi-dimensional features of language allows it to be a central
You: an introduction written by Michael Jensen is a great book that goes into depth to answering questions such as, “Who are you really?”, “What are you supposed to be like?” and “What-or whose-purpose do you serve?” (Page 7). Jensen is a very knowledgeable with the way he talks in his book and was also a Church Planter at Moore College. He relates greatly to the Bible and his own sources of knowledge, including quotes from other people “a guy called Walter Truett Anderson says ‘Consumption is now inseparable from identity’” (Page 10).
Andrea Lunsford, an English professor at Stanford University, states that technology is not hurting students, but it is helping students. Many people believe that ,while students are on the internet, they are wasting time and not learning anything. After concluding that students were using the internet for a substantial amount of time, Andrea Lunsford and her research team discovered that, “rather than leading to a new illiteracy, these activities [seem] to help [students] develop a range [. . .] of writing styles, tones and formats along with a range of abilities” (Lunsford 571). The internet contains many different that students have access to.
Language and communication between different cultures is complex; the future holds many technological promises that will make these complexities easier to bear. This dialect decline can be credited to the industrialization of communication which exploits the human interest of entertainment, which in turn, expands and simplifies human communication. Billions of people of all walks of life have assimilated to the language of modern technology and billions more are left in the dusk. “Media exposure can spread new vocabulary and give people in different regions an understanding of the “standard American.” (PBS) The internet has allowed people to communicate farther than ever before, share knowledge at light speed pace. We feel that we do not have time to type “hey that was very funny” instead we type “LOL” we have simplified terms in speech and have become accustomed to the internet world: speed equals success. Society’s entrepreneurs and astute minds are constantly
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
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.