Computer and text slang have become ubiquitous and ever present in our society, due to our new technologies and their widespread popularity. Much of computer and text slang is derived from abbreviations, misspellings, and simplified words. The vocabulary of Internet and text users is a reflection of our modern lives, showcasing the fast and convenient attitude and behaviour of us who live with advanced technology. How? Let us examine the trends of our modern world; the popularity of instant messaging, social networking, and texting have gone up exponentially, showing how we've grown accustomed and embracing of our new inventions. These concepts of instant, quick ways to connect socially without delay adhere perfectly to our growing desires and "need" of convenience and "asap" service, so their popularity comes off as no surprise. Some may think of this type of vocabulary as a display of laziness and lack of education, but I think of it as similar to any sort of popular slang in the English language. Think of language as a large organization, or something as simple as a tree- the roots and core remain, but it is constantly growing and changing, forming new branches and expanding until the point of dying off. It is a waste of energy protesting this, as it is natural for language to "evolve" to suit whatever is popular at the time. Thus, like popular English slang in the past, most of this writing will gradually disappear and be forgotten.
kthnxbai
Great post! I agree with you when you say that the English language is like a "tree." This extended metaphor sums up what you have been saying in your paragraph and provides a portrait of what English would look like if it werea picutre - a tree - which grows branches that lead to possible plants. The branches are the causes of textism, such as the misspellings, simplified words, and abbreviations, and the fruit is the inevitable outcome of those factors. I would say the predominant factor in textism would be abbreviations. Before the T9 application in phones, people used to type in things like "dunno" instead of "don't know" and "4sure" in lieu of "for sure." Although T9 exists in most phones, words like "LOL" and "BRB" still persist in our texts and other social networks. Thus, the plant at the end of those branches creates a new language - textsm.
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Hey Louie, I really enjoyed reading on your point of view of computer language and texting abbreviations entering our world of writing. Personally I completely agree with you when you compare our language to a tree and how it is always growing and changing throughout the years. Eventually a tree will be cut down or die off and that's when that faze of current writing style will end. That is a very bright analogy you made. We all are in a point in time right now where the simplest and quickest form of anything to make our lives easier is what were going to aim for. This is something we need to let enter our lives and then observe how it plays out before cutting it off completely. The newer generations are going straight into using this type of communicating as it is much more amusing and makes writing fun. This is something we need to accept and encourage people to be able to say "BRB" and "LOL". Anyways, TTYL Louie!
ReplyDeleteHai dere. :B
ReplyDeleteI love your tree analogy. Technically English is a member of the Germanic language family and Germanic is a branch of the Indo-European language family, so your analogy can be extended even further, works on many levels. However, although the tree continues to grow and branch out further, the roots must not be neglected. In order for trees to survive the roots of the trees must take in water. In other words, the roots of the trees are just as important as the new parts of the tree, the branches.
I think that although this process is inevitable, we should not just ignore this, and try to preserve English the way it is as much as possible. By using computer language, so much substance is lost. English is much more than just a form of communication, and I truly believe that it is a form of art. The simplification of words and textism takes away the beauty of English. Although humans are constantly trying to find ways to complete tasks more quickly, speed is not everything. How one writes may not be a direct indication of their level of education or intelligence because they can choose how to display their thoughts. However, this being said, how one chooses to write shows their efforts. An employer would much rather hire someone with a formal and professional resume than one littered with abbreviations simply because they took the time to make it well presented. A well-written resume shows that you take work seriously as well as shows respect to the employer.
Hey Louie, I enjoyed how your post was very short, simple, and on topic. Your metaphor of the tree was very deep and very true; it gave me a really good image of how slang will evolve naturally as you said. In addition to how you said that as technology evolves that it allows language to grow as well: I believe that the media has a lot to do with how our slang has evolved as well. Especially from famous artists and rappers.
ReplyDeleteHey Louie, I'm glad you chose to write just one paragraph on this weeks blog topic instead of an essay haha. But anyways I really liked your paragraph and what stood out to me the most was your metaphor with the tree, I think that is a perfect way to show how the English language is always changing. I definatley agree with your opinion, as I said the same in my blog, I believe we should embrace the language change that we have now-days and the technology. Our generation should be very thankful of the technology we have now, because it makes our lives so much easier and basically with this technology that we have, we have also made a simple, modified version of Enlgish to go along with it and I think thats ok. : )
ReplyDeleteLouie, well done on an exceptionally well-written post. Your metaphor of the tree is a striking one and is an image that resonated with the other people commenting on this post. Some thoughtful writing here--keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteAlso...the background of your blog is bizarre. Is there a deeper meaning to all this or do you just like puppies?
Glad you guys liked the paragraph, and I felt that a pug face was best for this page ^.^
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