Introduction
The written segment of literature and language forms an integral part in our language and culture. Through writing, man has been able to communicate his ideas.
In addition, writing has developed to be one of the most efficient methods of storing information. It is through writing that people have managed to put down their thoughts and beliefs, ideas and innovations. Writing has also played a critical role in the world of academia. Students in all education institutions are taught with the help of writing. Teachers write on blackboards, use printed books to teach and evaluate the performance of their students by giving them exams.
In most of these papers, students are expected to present their responses in form of writing. However, with the technological advancements that the world is currently facing, the status of writing, especially with regards to text messaging is being threatened. This paper shall therefore investigate the effects of text messaging in language.
Effects of text messaging
As stated earlier, the world is facing a lot of advancements in the field of technology. Ever since the industrial revolution during the 19th century, man has created and innovated new technologies. The main aim of these technological advancements is to make the life of man on earth to be easier, convenient, effective and efficient. To achieve this, man has incorporated science with other fields of technology to come up with means through which life can be comfortable for him.
Man has come up with several technological advancements. Among the various advancements, the most applicable form of technology that is embraced with teenagers and youths at the present time is the use of cell phones and computers. These gadgets can be used for a number of purposes.
However, the most common application of these gadgets by the individuals of the younger generation (youths) is text messaging. Teenagers text messages to their friends, family members, partners and so on. The youths embrace this form of communication due to its economies of scale. Text messages is very cheap; it is almost free. However, there are limits to the amount of characters that one text message can allow.
Due to this fact, teenagers have come up with various methods of reducing the amount of characters in a text message, but still maintain its context. They achieve this by the use eliminating certain letters in words, using abbreviations, using emoticons and incorporating slang in their text message.
Text messaging is characterised by a number of styles. First, texting involves the elimination of certain letters in words. A word like ‘you’ in text messaging will be written as ‘u’. A word like ‘working’ for example, will be written as either ‘wrkn’ or ‘workin`’. In other instances, text messaging involves the use of abbreviations in writing.
Many text messages contain abbreviations such as L.O.L, O.M.G, A.S.A.P and B.T.W. these abbreviations refer to lots of love or laugh out loud, oh my God, as soon as possible and by the way respectively.
These are just examples; there are many more that are being used. Finally, text messages entail the use of emoticons. These are pictures that are drawn by the use of keyboard characters to express the feeling or emotions of the writer. An emoticon such as represents a happy face, a sad face and <3 represents love. These different styles can either be used individually or collectively.
Due to the alteration of words, several scholars believe that text messaging will destroy our language, a heritage that has taken so many years to be created and developed. According to John Humphreys (2007), text messaging is an evil thing that should not be condoned in our society. The structure and style of writing that is used in text messaging is inconsistent with the rules and regulations that govern proper English. Humphreys feels that an intervention is necessary if we want to preserve our writing heritage (Humphreys, 2007).
Other scholars have criticized the use of text messaging on social media. To support their thoughts, some of these scholars argue that this form of communication is vague. It lacks the content that is required to ensure the stability of a language. Others argue that such form of writing only encourages laziness, especially on students.
This is because such writing is sluggish in nature. It therefore affects the psychology, attitude and perception of an individual towards formal language. As a result therefore, such individuals are likely not to take their academics seriously (The Linguist, 2008).
Many people are irritated with such writing. This is because of a number of reasons. First, it is difficult for a reader to determine the meaning of the text if he/she is not familiar with the style that is being used. Secondly, this writing style is not standardized. One has to interpret a message with regards to its context.
Finally, such writing has a negative impact on writing. It defiles proper writing and punctuation of words and sentences. This therefore affects negatively the writing styles of individuals especially students. Several cases have been reported where students have used such languages while writing their essays and reports.
Conclusion
Text messaging is an innovation that has made communication, especially among peers to be more effective and efficient. However, it is essential for individuals to consider the rules of normal writing in order to protect our language. This will ensure that our language maintains its heritage and is sustainable.
References
Humphreys, J. (2007). I h8 txt msgs: How texting is wrecking our language. Dailymail. Web.
The Linguist. (2008). Txting: frNd or foe. The Linguist, 46, 8-11.