Think B4 U Type: What R U Trying 2 Say?
IMing and txt msnging r 2 big "trends" that have been appearing in teenagers' vocab & daily speech as of l8t. Thru IMing and txt msnging, kids r able 2 communicate w/ each other w/o having 2 worry about writing everything out completely. Thru SH and acronyms, txt tlk (or chat lingo), as the SH has been called, has begun 2 appear in their everyday lives, sneaking in2 papers & everyday speech w/o them even realizing. Acronyms such as: LOL, OMG, BRB, TTYL, AFK; & new SH such as: u, r, cuz, &, 2 (the list 4 both goes on). It's time 2 put a stop 2 this silliness!
(Well, now that that's out of the way, time for a translation!)
Instant Messaging and text messaging are two big "trends" that have been appearing in teenagers' vocabulary and daily speech as of late. Through instant messaging and text messaging, kids are able to communicate with each other without having to worry about writing everything out completely. Through short hand and acronyms, text talk (or chat lingo), as the short hand has been called, has begun to appear in their everyday lives, sneaking into papers and every day speech without them even realizing. Acronyms such as: Laugh Out Loud, Oh My Gosh, Be Right Back, Talk To You Later, Away From Keyboard; and new short hand such as: you, are, because, and to (the list for both goes on). It's time to put a stop to this silliness!
Imagine if you were a teacher, or even a college professor, and received a research paper that was riddled with text talk, such as the above example; you might scratch your head and wonder "huh? What are these kids talking about?" However, according to an article written by Chandra Hayslett, administrators, teachers, and even businesspeople are finding that chat lingo is beginning to appear in formal writing and
assignments; this new trend is believed to be detrimental to the student's minds (Hayslett 1).
Obviously, text talk has some affect on one's grammar, but at the same time, some individuals find that this new chat lingo has a good affect on writing; such as Leila Christenbury, professor of English education at Virginia Commonwealth University, who was quoted by Lori Aratani:
"In some ways, [IM] is an English teacher's dream because it's using writing for a real purpose, towards a real audience, and that's something we always struggle with in a classroom" (Aratani A01).
Before going further into the topic, though, it would be best to answer the question: What is instant messaging and text talk/chat lingo?
According to Amanda O'Connor, instant messaging is "a form of computer "chat" that allows one to have a real time, typed "conversation" with one or more "buddies" while connected to the internet" ("Instant Messaging…"). Text talk, or chat lingo as I like to call it, is the term that came about while text messaging on phones. Abbreviations for words or small phrases, such as LOL (laugh out loud), BRB (be right back), u (you), b4 (before), and cuz (because), are examples of text talk.
As aforementioned, the affects that instant messaging and text talk have on an individual's grammar are debated both ways. Those in favor of the text talk claim that it helps students understand the language and engages them in "more traditional learning" (O'Connor). It's also argued that instant messaging is creating a new age of adolescent writers, able to translate their thoughts and feelings more easily into words; it was found that teenagers now are writing more than "any generation has since the days when telephone calls were rare and the mailman rounded more than once a day" (qtd. in O'Connor).
Those against text talk claim that chat lingo slipping into language will result in sloppy, inaccurate, writing (Anderson). An example would be a correspondence received by Jeff Stanton, an associate professor at Syracuse University that read:
"Hi prof how are u culd u tell me my xm grade-tim" (Aratani A01). Even seventh graders will admit that instant messaging lingo has had an influence on their language. Take Siara Watson, from Riverwatch Middle School in Suwanee, who was quoted:
"I think it's definitely influenced language. You know how it is in middle school, there's groups that are the popular kids and groups that are the dorky kids. So if the popular kids are doing it, then everyone is going to be doing it" (Kloer 1).
From my own standpoint, I have to agree more with those who tend to be against the internet lingo. Even from personal experience, I can say that the internet slang does have an affect on our daily grammar. I can recall walking through my high school halls, and overhearing snippets of conversation where chat lingo would be brought in such as:
"OMG! Did you hear what (so and so) did last night?"
"LOL! That is so funny!!"
"BRB I have to go to my locker."
Needless to say, it was not only discouraging but unnerving! After all, that was high school!
An article written by Jennifer Lee in The New York Times quotes a professor who states that "teenagers have essentially developed an unconscious "accent" in their typing. They have gotten facile at typing and they are not paying attention" (Lee 01). The article even quoted students admitting to using chat lingo in their papers:
"I have an hour to write an essay on Romeo and Juliet. I just wanted to finish before my time was up. I was writing fast and carelessly. I spelled 'you' 'u'" a Montclair High School student was quoted (Lee 01).
Even talking to my roommate, evidence of text talk slipping unconsciously into our language (spoken and written) was apparent. When we were discussing the use of Internet lingo and grammar, she told me she noticed a few years ago that she was beginning to use chat lingo in her writing assignments.
She explained that she used to "instant message" a lot, and happened to notice that when she was writing a paper she would replace you with "u," why with "y," and various other common text talk acronyms, in her papers. Luckily, she was able to look over her work to catch her mistakes, but the mere fact that those short-hand abbreviations happened to slip unconsciously into her paper is enough to be alarming.
The informal writing has slipped into school work and everyday language, but it is also appearing in the business world! Say you are an employer looking to hire. Going through the job applications, you come across one that reads something along the lines of:
"I want 2 b a counselor because I love 2 work with kids"
What would your impression of this individual be? That just happened to be what a father saw on his 15-year old son's summer job application (qtd. in O'Connor)! I doubt that the employer who looked over the application was impressed by such a grammatical show, even if the rest of his résumé was superb.
CEO of Killian and Co. Bob Killian was quoted by Chandra Hayslett, that he received a multitude of résumés, from "college graduates" who couldn't write. So many résumés fell into the "bad" category that he said he would "publish a book of the 200 worst samples" (Hayslett 1).
"I have dozens of cover letters that illustrate any number of problems with spelling and grammar," he continues, "IM-ing is just the latest fad in the wrinkle of things that can go wrong. You should be shocked and amazed, but you aren't anymore," (Hayslett 1).
Instant messaging is a rising fad, and more than likely new acronyms and short hand abbreviations will continue to flood the youth of the nation. Controversy of whether or not this 'internet lingo' has a negative affect on grammatical use will, like most other issues, continue to flourish. However, I will still stand firm that instant messaging, and its lingo, is a detriment to our written and spoken language.
We've all heard the sayin' "Think b4 u speak." This case might b "Think b4 u type!" Keep that 1 in mind. After all, SH like this is common in IMing and txt msging; & most teenagers don't even register that they r typing informally (like this) when they should b typing formally! So, again I say, "Think b4 u type!"
(In conclusion now, once again, it's time for a translation!)
We've all heard the saying "Think before you speak." This case might be "Think before you type!" Keep that one in mind. After all, short hand like this is common in instant messaging and text messaging; and most teenagers don't even register that they are typing informally (like this) when they should be typing formally! So, again I say, "Think before you type!"
