"U cn stop worrying bout d teens now" reads the first line in the article "Teens masters of any language they need." The article by Shannon Proudfoot of Canwest News Service can be found in January 16, 2010, A5 Section of The Edmonton Journal.
According to this article, once again, the focus has shifted to the "appalling language skills" of young people adversely affected by the digital world of Internet and texting. However, researchers in Canada, the U.S., and Britain claim that their findings prove that the teens have adequate language skills. Professor Sali Tagliamonte of the University of Toronto also claims that there is no evidence to prove that the adolescents' "communication is just riddled with weird things." Tony McEnery, a linguistics professor at Lancaster University found that the "teenagers have slightly narrower vocabularies than older people, in part because they are still developing their linguistic abilities."
Professor Tagliamonte and co-author Derek Denis analyzed conversations of 72 students aged 15-20, and found that the "shortforms, abbreviations and "LOLs" that supposedly dominate the vocabulary of teens" account for less than three percent of their spoken and written words. Tagliamonte claims that the young people using slangs and short forms in instant messaging are able to make a switch to a more formal language when needed. "They mix it up, but in mixing it, they show us that they can do both." Tagliamone says.
While many teens may be poor at grammar, Fan Wu, a Grade 12 student at Don Mills Collegiate Institute in Toronto, is displeased with the over-generalizations about the teens' language ability. Bambi Schieffelin at NYU and Graham Jones of Princeton University studied conversations and YouTube comments of 18-22 aged group and found that the students can change how they communicate with their friends or with their parents.
I have provided a summary of the article. What is your opinion on "Teens masters of any language they need?"
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Could communication through texting be beneficial some day in the professional working environment? As time passes on people are becoming more accepting and innovative in a fast paced world. Journalists once wrote stories word for word, and today, in the journalist’s quick paced, action packed world they use short hand. This language is unfamiliar to me; however, this does not mean that it is inefficient in the world of journalism. Until this year I did not know the visual language of records management; now that I have practiced it, I now have a new language that will be very beneficial in an office or business. Perhaps one day the inappropriate texting language may be useful in a professional working environment.
ReplyDeleteThis internet link shows a document of shorthand writing used by journalists. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/Eclectic_shorthand_by_cross.png/315px-Eclectic_shorthand_by_cross.png
Texting: A teens’ best friend or undercover barrier?
ReplyDeleteThe number of reports and studies emphasizing the adverse effects of today’s texting rivals only those studies that defend the beneficial effects. Both sides have the support of creditable sources and studies executed by professors with doctorates, universities budgets and research companies. In the article of “Teens masters of any language they need”, posted by Pereira Rosemarie (from Edmonton Journal, January 16, 2010), professor Tagliamonte, reports from his studies less 3% of teens overall language is “texting language”. As well he claims that teens are in control of when and where this new texting language is used. Upon researching further into the claim I came cross another article posted by Pew Internet and American Life Project that specifically studies the effect of texting on young adults. (http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media/Files/Reports/2008/PIP_Writing_Report_FINAL3.pdf.pdf) According this data, 64% of students admitted to informal expressions appearing in school work and assignments unintentionally. The benefit and/or hindrance of the teenagers’ coded language of texting remains unclear. As a student that uses texting every day I believe it has affected my communication skills, such as spelling. But on the other hand I could not spell properly all through elementary either, before text messaging was available to the mass market. I agree that it is affecting the younger generations of society but whether it is negative or positive still remains to be proven to me.
This is an interesting article because it focuses on actual statistics as opposed to supposition. It's very easy to assume that texting shortcuts would carryover to more traditional communication formats, but this article shows that these assumptions are not necessarily based on fact. However, I would like to see larger sample sizes for research before drawing any firm conclusions. Limiting opinions based on a study that only featured 72 students may lead to incorrect conclusions.
ReplyDeletetexting beneficial or disastrous?
ReplyDeleteIt is really determined by the individual. Texting has its benefits and downsides in the professional environment. Texting has affected many peoples communication skills. It may increase spelling and vocabulary but it may cause face to face conversations to occur less often. As students everyday use texting, many would agree that its beneficial. It has even be told by some parents that they enjoy the fact of texting as it allows easier communication with their kids. I agree that the affect of texting has affected the younger generation but no one study can determine wether it can be beneficial to individuals.
Texting
ReplyDeleteI believe that texting is the new technology that has been adopted by the new generation. I also believe that abbreviations help students out in some studies. I abbreviate many of notes in class to remember on our exams. Abbreviations can help and can also confuse others too. By abbreviating many of our conversations it allows for short, to the point conversations.Reported by Professor Tagliamonte our abbreviated language that we dominate when communicating is used less than 3 percent when communicating.
By using only 72 students in their study it can lead to inaccurate information because is small group of people. I think that the study would be more accurate if more students were used.
When it comes to texting, the youth of our nation has their very own language. More often than not, when two youth are texting eachother, they will understand what is being said. Some of the articles that are mentioned prove that youth that use slang words are easily able to switch to formal writing styles when needed. So really, nothing is being limited when looking at the vocabulary of todays youth. Having the skill of switching back and forth between formal and informal language is a good skill to have.
ReplyDeleteI personally feel that texting helps kids spell better as long as they don't shorten words then they are writing and learing how to spell more than they usually would. My spelling improved when i started using MSN and texting in juior high school because i typed words all day everyday, where as when i was younger i only ever had to spell at school so i did not get as much practise. On regular phones, not blackberries, spelling is forced to be correct to use the T9 function or else the word wont work, this forces people to learn how to spell all the words they want to use. Although kids shorten words to text them faster i think they are smart enough to know that this is not the correct way to speak out loud.
ReplyDeleteI found this link reguarding the issue of texting effecting teen grammar and spelling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzXhMNa2MK8
In fact, instant messaging, texting, emailing is the hottest communication method for the younger generations almost any electronic device can be used to text a message to one's peeps (or people). The generation now makes it as their top communication method.
ReplyDeleteSome kids have cell phones by the time they are in first grade. Before they can even spell, they can text their friends: WRU? [where are you?] or CUS [see you soon].
i find this a bit concerning.
Don't get me wrong, instant messaging is a great tool for social communication, but it can cause some serious issues the classroom, especially if your child is just developing writing/spelling/vocabulary skills. During the early education years, texting could be detrimental to proper language development
I believe the study done about teens vocabularies is accurate and inaccurate. The time cell phones came out texting was not really a form of communication as it is now used today. By the time texting became a major form of communication at least for me, I was at the age that I already had a fairly solid background in my vocabulary. So in the case of people in my age bracket I doubt that the internet or texting limited our vocabulary. But for the kids that did not grow up with texting being small and not a huge part of their daily lives their vocabulary maybe hindered.
ReplyDeleteThey should actually do a study on a younger age group and see what the results are. I believe that is where the trouble would lie in the case of limited vocabulary.
Text messaging is the new "shorthand" of the "Facebook" generation.I think that using short forms and short cuts has its beneficial effects when texting. Texting word for word is just too time-consuming and tedious when you are in a hurry.As the studies mentioned in the article states, young people can use the formal proper language when needed. In an informal setting such as cell phone texting, instant messaging (IM) or emailing informally, why not use abbreviated formats?
ReplyDeleteThe study quoted in the article has a small sample size which casts some doubt about the validity of its results. More studies with larger sample sizes are needed to validate the results. However, I agree that young people who are well-educated can switch to a more formal language in a formal setting. Many abbreviations have become known universally now. As long as the people communicating with each other, understand each other and do not use abbreviations that are not common and are vague, I see no overall deleterious effects with using text abbreviations. I can't say the same for pre-teen youth who are still learning proper English speaking and writing skills though. I feel that that this is still a useful skill for young people of the youth culture to have.
John Sing
Communication these days have changed greatly from back then. Technology has changed the way we talk to each other. Technology has made things easier for us... a bit too easy.
ReplyDeletePeople, more likely teens, have gotten used to the easy life of communication to the point where they simplified speaking itself. Sure they seem to chat to each other like that but it doesnt mean they mirror themselves that way in real life. When in a blogging site people want their message posted simple and quick.
I type in the same fashion as teens these days, but yet i am still able to type a proper sentence. It all depends on the reason and subject of your post.
Though i feel that if society keeps up with this type of trend, we may end up seeing formal messages written like the broken english that teens nowadays have created. We need to limit the way we talk, for the world might end up as a misunderstood, broken, informal and incomplete society.
There are many different views on this particular topic. I am a strong believer that using text abbreviations prevent people from practicing the correct spelling of words. It becomes a challenge when having to write down words on a piece of paper using proper English. Since I am so used to texting shorthand, I personally find it difficult to remember how to spell a certain word from memory. I can see how this could negatively affect the grammar abilities of the young people of today.
ReplyDeleteAlthough using abbreviations is more time efficient and easier to use, there is a point where people become so reliant on it that they forget how to use proper spelling. It is something that I feel may have many problems for teens, as they grow older. For younger kids, this would create poor grammar at an earlier age and I believe it would only worsen. This poses long-term problems for people and may cause problems in the workplace. It creates a lot of unnecessary frustration over an everyday use that should come so naturally.
-Alisha Provencal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkeGD9EGFp8
ReplyDeleteThis video proves the point that texting does effect the proper english that students need to develop. All of the teachers on this video have a problem with the slang that keeps showing up in their classrooms. As a teacher I would find it very frustrating, but it doesn't happen with all students. The abbreviations are getting worse as each generation gets cellphones. Many students will deny it to the end that it "helps them with spelling," but it often gets them into bad habits that are hard to correct.
I used a lot of the slang and shorting of words for a long time, and now I'm finding myself misspelling words all the time. The main thing that I catch myself on are words such as you're or we're. All thought that is minor, there are many worse situations. Students should practice using the correct spelling, it will benefit them in the end.
A new language created by teens has evolved over the years, bringing to educators' attention the possible negative or positive aspects of it.
ReplyDeleteEducators debate whether this electronically abbreviated version of English, known as texting, affects students' formal writing in class or simply encourages communication.
Some instructors are just glad to see students writing, whereas others argue that it creates a habit of bad grammar and poor punctuation.
Mike Darcher, English instructor for 20 years, said he could not make the connection of bad texting habits being carried over into student's writing.
"In terms of writing skills, there is no way of measuring its impact," Darcher said.
http://media.www.piercepioneer.com/media/storage/paper562/news/2008/10/08/Campus/Texting.May.Be.Harmful.To.Students.Writing-3482431.shtml
Personally I think that texting has caused and will continue to cause many problems for the younger generation. I know for me, I have found myself writing essays and or papers and writing words in short form and in abbreviated fashion. Today, you see kids with cell phones at as young as 10 and this isn't a very good start for kids learning how to spell properly and use the correct grammar. This will carry with them until they are able to break out of that mode of thinking, and for some that will take quite some time, especially if its made habit. I think that people, especially younger kids, should really concentrate on how they are spelling and try avoiding the shorter and abbreviated words.
ReplyDeletehttp://news.cnet.com/Cracking-the-code-of-teens-IM-slang/2009-1025_3-6135457.html
I think that texting has reduced the communication skills and grammar skills of young people in today’s society. Texting has taken away the face to face interaction that is required to properly communicate and it is decreasing people’s social skills which are a vital part of good communication. Texting is preventing people from displaying their emotions, which I feel is an important thing to understand when developing your communication skills. As people are being introduced to this form of communication at younger ages it is also impacting their grammar skills. If they begin using shortened forms of words and slang at such young ages it will eventually take over the proper forms of these words. Continuing with these bad habits day after day at such young ages will affect their communication and vocabulary skills in the future. It is important to develop these skills at young ages, but with texting and other forms of communication it is preventing young people from doing this and it will ultimately affect them when they are older.
ReplyDeleteI somewhat agree with the fact that a lot of younger teenagers succumb to texting as their main form of contact and it’s causing a lot of interpersonal conversations to be less intellectual. As Aislinn Laing states "A generation of teenagers who communicate via the Internet and by text messages are risking unemployment because their daily vocabulary consists of just 800 words".
ReplyDelete[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/6960745/Teenagers-only-use-800-different-words-a-day.html]
By the age of 16 the average teenager should have a vocabulary consisting of 40,000 words; however with the internet and text messaging, teenagers use "teenspeak" and their daily word usage only meets about 800 words. This doesn't mean that they have all of a sudden forgotten those other 39,200 words, we're simply "stripping away excess verbiage in language" [John Bald, a language teaching consultant and former Ofsted schools inspector]. I feel as though, older generations don't understand this new "teenspeak" and have judged it unfairly. Although, I also think that it has come to an extreme where not one or two words are abbreviated but the entire sentence! I’m still not sure as to whether or not this affect on teenagers is positive or negative but it makes me think: what about previous generations who went along with all previous jargon words? There are many slang words in the English dictionary and they add new words on a regular basis. With this action, it is saying to young teenagers that it is OK to talk with slang words because, eventually, it'll catch on. So, even though teenagers are slimming down chat time with their friends, I think they are still completely capable of articulate conversation.
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ReplyDeleteMy language skills would be appalling if I relied on “text messaging " to educate me.
ReplyDeleteAfter typing just a few letters, technology now suggests the word you want to use and the correct spelling. We abbreviate to save time and it is really only an issue to those who do not text on a regular basis. For the majority of our generation this form of communication has come naturally. The combination of instant messaging, too many video games and endless television will not improve our language skills. I think reading provides us with the tools we need to be successful in our personal
and professional lives. Frequent reading has improved my language, spelling and vocabulary. I agree that the majority of us can switch when necessary. Our high schools and post educational facilities continue to teach us the importance of learning and retaining the skills we need to read, write
and communicate in a professional manner.
Teens spelling may go down the drain due to texting. It is very easy to get lazy and type letters that make the sounds of words. While I think that texting takes away from teens spelling, I also think that it enhances their ability to communicate their real feelings. While texting a person needs to express by words what they are feeling. A text can be taking in many different ways. It is the senders responsibility to make sure that they are communicating the right tone to the receiver. Texting has many negatives and many positives. It is impossible to say that it is more good or more bad.
ReplyDeleteI personally don't understand all of the texting short hand myself and I at times find it annoying.But I do think that teens can be masters of any language they need and I think it is good that they can text and type in short hand as long as it is used appropriatly. By this I mean that short hand should remain and stay only with texting and only when talking to close friends or relationships. I don't think that short hand is appropriate for school or work because I think that proper english and grammar should still be used to help ensure that people number one, remember when short hand is proper and second, to help them maintain and learn the proper way to write and talk to one another. I personally hope that texting short hand never gets out of the texting and messaging world, but it is reassuring to hear that teens still know what they should and are using it the way they are supposed to.
ReplyDeleteWho knows maybe one day short hand will become more of a norm and it will be used in the professional world, and maybe teens will come out smarter for using it.
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ReplyDeleteAccording to the article “Teens masters of any language they need” by Shannon Proudfoot of Canwest News Service, teens have the skills to adapt their vocabulary to different situations. They use slangs, short forms, and abbreviations, but they are also able “to make a switch to a more formal language when needed.”
ReplyDeleteThis article surprised me, actually. With my experience, I believed that most of the teens were weakening their English due to Internet and texting. However, the findings and researches cited above changed my opinion about this issue.
It is important to remember that the Internet or texting does affect English’s effectiveness of young people. But, base on the article above, my point is that it is not affecting most of the teens.
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ReplyDeleteAs an international student, I strongly disagree with the issue. Using short forms and abbreviations may very convenient and efficient in communications among people whose mother tongue is English, but it brings difficulties to people with different culture background and people whose first language is not English.
ReplyDeleteUsing short forms, abbreviations frequently during the communication has brought me a big challenge to understand my classmates as I just came to Canada five months ago. Since I am a business administration student, sharing opinions with my project group members and other classmates is definitely important. I have studied English in China for six years, but all I had learned seems barely been used in daily conversation. It made me have difficulty during communication with other people, sharing opinions and having group discussions. On the other hand, understanding those abbreviations and phases require high level of understanding local culture and linguistic environment, because those phases are evaluated from formal English language in such environment and culture background.
When it comes to texting I think most teens are taking advantage of it and using it as the only form of communication. There are so many different forms of communication that people barely talk in person anymore because they can text, phone, skype, msn, facebook etc, which are all more convenient and quicker ways to talk to someone. With all of these different ways to communicate it weakens our knowledge on grammar, spelling, and even how to talk to someone in person. We eventually forgot how to talk to someone in a professional and appropriate manner; if you walk into an interview and can’t communicate very well with the interviewer it will decrease your chance of getting the job. You wouldn’t hire someone with poor communication because it just shows how low their customer service skills are. When some people text they will shorten their words or abbreviate them and they forget how to actually spell the words correctly. People may just be lazy or in a hurry, or they may just not know how to spell it properly. On the other hand some people finding texting to enhance their spelling, using t9 word won’t let you spell an incorrect word, and now on Facebook if you misspell a word a red line shows up underneath just like on Microsoft word. Personal if I can’t spell a word when I’m texting I find it motivating to learn how to spell it and when I do I will always remember how to spell it.
ReplyDeleteI know I abbreviate words sometimes, but I only do it to save time. My text messages and instant messages are sometime full of abbreviations. These are usually communications between friends and family. I have been in school for what feels like a long time and I have written my share of papers, letters, résumés, cover letters, and reports. I am pretty confident that I have never once used “u” instead of “you”, LOL, brb, g2g, or any other abbreviation or acronym of this type in my formal writing. I also know that this style of slang is not limited to teenagers. My basketball coach here at NAIT has his masters in ether psychology or education (I’m not sure which) and he uses this style of writing more than most of the younger people I know. My point is that he didn’t get though his career as a student and now as a teacher and coach using this slang when it was not appropriate. Most people have the ability to switch from informal to formal when required. The important thing is that teens and pre-teens are writing more than ever now with the implementation of these new communication technologies.
ReplyDeleteI believe that this study may show how texting isn't as harmful as some are led to believe. I don't want to make any final conclusions on this study because it was a relatively small study with 72 students being assessed. Understanding that the younger generation is getting more exposure to writing than any previous generation shows the benefit's of texting. With technology advancing phone's will soon have spell check that will catch those errors. Blackberry and the Iphone have already included it into their models.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting argument, and very relevant. Since the beginning of time language has been changing and evolving into what it is today. If one were to look at the English language 200 years ago, it would be very different than today.
ReplyDeleteThis demographic, 15-20, I believe is evolving the language, and the real argument is, will change this push our language forward. I believe that we must embrace change. The major problem people see with texting is readability, however, if the text is legible, this is making language more efficient. When someone says "LOL" or "OMG" everyone knows what it means, and it took less time to write and less time to read, therefor it is more efficient.
I do not agree that texting or online chatting affects the literacy skills of today's youth. It is true however, that teens have created, what seems to be, a whole new language to more quickly communicate. I believe that the use of slang, phonetic use and abbreviations to communicate are simply for the purpose saving time while entering your message. I do not agree, or believe that there is adequate proof that texting or online chatting have negatively affected teen's literacy skills.
ReplyDeleteThis is very similar to a post I submitted on my blog and I find this topic very interesting because I have witnessed it first-hand. Personally, I have caught myself typing out text-form words such as "wat" on many occasions on assignments. Although, I believe the increasing popularity of full keyboard phones is affecting our vocabulary less and less because its fast enough to type out the whole word and I find myself becoming a better speller.
ReplyDeleteTexting vs. Formal Speech
ReplyDeleteI find this to be an interesting topic, as this thought has often crossed my mind. I quite agree with the fact that those in the younger age demographic can easily adapt their style of speech to what is required by the situation. I find myself using the short, abbreviated terms such as "lol", and "omg", along with emoticons to express myself while texting or chatting with friends on the computer. On the other side, I find it easy to communicate in a more formal setting, whether it be vocally, or while communicating over an online medium.
I spent the last year working as an educational assistant, helping Young offenders. I worked in a treatment home, helping the residents with advancing their education. A large portion of this was reading and marking their English course work. I also worked casually at the Edmonton young offenders center in their school program. The residents that I worked with demonstrated communication skills similar to the article. Many of the residents had difficulty properly spelling some simple 4 letter words.
ReplyDeleteI find that this survey has a bias; as the sample was taken from 72 students. This is a relatively small sample size and the demographic was directed towards students only. It would have been more beneficial to poll the general age demographic to better assess the comprehension of their language skills. This would provide clarity, as those that are not in the education system, there is a higher number of people are using poor grammar and communication that have exited or negated their education.
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ReplyDeleteThe acronyms teens are using these days not only provide shortcuts to what they want to say but also as a way to hide conversations from their parents and others using a secretive code or acronyms that already exist. The article that I included states that teens are able to hide information from their parents by using their own secret code or chat slang to get the message across to their friends. (http://news.cnet.com/Cracking-the-code-of-teens-IM-slang/2009-1025_3-6135457.html) If parents are looking over the teens’ shoulder while they’re chatting or texting on a cell phone, they wouldn’t be able to understand what they are reading. The current generation of teens are more advanced in technology than their parents which gives them the advantage of being able to do things on the internet the parents aren’t familiar with, including chat slang and acronyms that are used very often.
ReplyDeleteBy: Karoline Gora
Society has evolved into a fast passed environment where if your slow and take your time your last. As society changes so do the people in it. The younger generation has grown up in this environment and texting and instant messaging is one way they have adapted. They use abbreviations when texting in order to communicate faster. I believe that as long as the younger generations are able to switch between using abbreviations when texting and communicating with a full vocabulary when it is necessary.
ReplyDeleteWritten and even verbal communication has changed over the years, and that includes using slangs. It is true that at times teenagers have a hard time using appropriate words in sentences, they even misspell common words. But that doesn't mean that all teenagers do not have good communication skills. In this generation, teens are flexible and can adapt and act accordingly to different situations. Same is true with the way they communicate; they would know how to address people in a formal manner and when to use informal way of conversation. So, let us not think that the teenagers’ ability to communicate has deteriorated but rather let us appreciate their constructive way of expressing themselves.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn’t make sense to compare the vocabulary of teenagers to that of adults because, like Tony McEnery reasons, teenagers “are still developing in their linguistic abilities”. A person’s vocabulary typically grows and evolves as they age (http://www.balancedreading.com/vocabulary.html). Because of this, I don’t think it’s logical to reason that teenagers’ vocabularies aren’t up to par with the vocabularies of adults because of their texting and internet habits.
ReplyDeleteI don’t feel texting and using the internet has affected my vocabulary. The amount of grammatical and vocabulary shortcuts I take when texting compared to my usage of proper language skills in my daily speaking and writing is minuscule. This corresponds to the findings of Professor Tagliamonte’s research that “the “shortforms, abbreviations and “LOLs” that supposedly dominate the vocabulary of teens” account for less than three percent of their spoken and written words”.
I don’t mean to over-generalize based on small research samples and my own personal experiences. But I do think that as long as those who use abbreviations practice proper language skills in school and in their communications outside the digital world, we shouldn’t be too concerned.
I think it is unfair to say that the nowadays teenager does not know how to correctly utilize the English language. I would suggest that instead of pointing the finger at Generation Y instead shift your gaze at Generation X. The people born between the years 1965 to 1980 gave birth to advanced technology like computers/laptops and cell phones, Bill Gates himself can be found in Generation X. These people grew up during the global civil rights movements, witnessed thousands of women burning their bras and demanding equal working rights, witnessed the birth of hip hop and heavy metal rock, and more and more mothers were leaving their kitchens and entering the workforce. They began the snowball effect of change which Generation Y picked up and ran with. They were encouraged to be unique, think outside the box, and “not to jump off the bridge just because Jimmy did”. But what was left to change? "The man" was taken care of by the Hippies of the 1960-70s, Canadian/American politics were viewed satisfying by the masses, all Canadian/American citizens were deemed equals now, so there weren't many "new" areas left untouched that Generation Y could change and claim their own. So they took already created inventions, like hip hop, and made it their own. Hip Hop significantly influenced a newer, "cooler" way of speaking. For example "Where are you?" got shaped into "Where be you?” Also, Generation Y found themselves growing up alongside with computers, cell phones, MP3 players, Facebook and Twitter. In a typical text message the amount of space allotted to type is 140 characters. So these people had to learn a way to type a long message with less characters to fit it all in the message. So "Where are you?"shaped into "where r u". These changes doesn't mean that the younger generation doesn't know the proper way to speak, read, or write in English, in fact, it means that that generation can speak, read, and write two languages; the second language is a language all in its own. Only people of this generation will understand what "do u wna g 2 WEM b4 7" or "lol", "omfg", "bff", "roflmas", and what "fyi" means.
ReplyDeleteThere is a switch that most Generation Ys can turn on or off based on the situation that they are in. The way they speak with friends is completely opposite to how they would speak in a workplace, classroom, interview, or in front of their elders. The English Language has 540,000 words today, about 5 times as many during Shakespeare’s time. So would I be concerned about today`s generation not understanding proper English grammar and communications? Absolutely not.
I don`t believe we should blame unsatisfactory language skills of our generation on one group in specific. It is simply the effect the new-age technology has on people. These communication technologies were developed to speed up and simplify traditional ways of communication and they have done just that. The only thing that we can criticize is how we are dealing with the changes. Complaints have been made that young adult’s literacy levels these days are up to par with previous generations. The previous generations are no smarter than ours, we have just been moulded a different way than they were. We have more conveniences and securities due to technology. These act like a crutch for the kids of today. Why write a long winded message that will take time and effort, when you can use a generally understood language to shorten and simplify the message? If the past generations had the choice to use this language, they would have as well. As I said before, the problem is not with the technologies influence, but the way it is dealt with. If kids weren’t allowed to have cell phones at the age of eleven or twelve the traditional communication and literacy skills could be ingrained in them at school, instead of them being distracted by the phones. If children were limited to how much computer and social networking use they had, they would be more apt to revert to the skills they were taught in school rather than “digital communication”. We are letting technologies such as; TV’s, computers, cell phone’s raise our kids. No wonder at the end of their education, that is all they know how to use. Strict rules need to be implemented by parents and educators to make sure that the future generations do not solely rely on technology to communicate. Schools need to keep teaching the traditional methods, so that children will not revert back to the short hand of texting or instant messaging when sending a letter to an employer or applying for a job.
ReplyDeleteIs teen’s vocabulary limited by internet or texting? According to the Oxford Learning blog (http://www.oxfordlearning.com/letstalk/texting-vs-writing-the-problem-with-instant-messag/), texting and instant messaging is hurting teenager’s literacy rates. According to the blog, children as young as six years old are texting and this is destroying their ability to excel at school. According to the blog, “texting is detrimental to proper language development” in the areas of spelling, grammar, complete thoughts, and homework. Furthermore once these children are in high school, they will be so far behind in these areas; they will have difficulties getting the grades to get into post secondary school. So is texting limiting teenage vocabulary? I would have to say, yes.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article, I’m not very surprise. Actually, young people’s poor language is not only a problem in English countries, but also in the world. In China, with the rapidly development of the Internet, it has become one of the most popular communication tools. More and more people would like to use the Internet rather than other media, especially young people. At the same time, young people are strongly influenced by the digital world of Internet. They use shortforms and abbreviations either on the Internet or in the daily life. Some people even use these new words in their important exams. This is not a cool thing.
ReplyDeleteI think that schools should help students build a right attitude to the new Internet culture. Young people can masters of any languages they need, but they also have to know and learn the right language skills.