I have been writing an essay this week on the topic of language change and technology. Most of my research has come from the books of David Crystal: Language and the Internet (2001) and Txtng (2008). For the record I am not thrilled to have one author as my main resource but have not found as much thorough analysis of this topic as I was hoping for. The rise of the internet , along with the following wave of electronic devices and text messaging, has created a new register of communication that has become commonplace. More recently the Iphone and Blackberry, which have the full keyboard and increased speed, have made text messaging even more prevalent. The response to this kind of communication has been mostly apocalyptic predictions for the end to all intelligent life on earth. Things are changing, change is scary, but some of the presumptions made I find offensive. Claims are made that the shortening of words, use of acronyms, symbols, and phonetic spellings are destroying English speakers ability to use the language correctly. I do not agree. Any failure on the part of the youth in this country to formally communicate is a failure of the public school system and is not associated with the rise of internet and text communication. What is impressive about humans and language is that we are capable to communicate within English in multiple different registers. Casual speech and slang can be spoken by the same person that is writing a formal dissertation, and so, casual texting can also co-exist with other linguistic registers. Then, stepping back, it is interesting to consider this controversy objectively as well as all the other tendrils of this new medium and how they affect communication, behavior, comprehension, attention span and more. Reading and thinking about this essay recently has gotten me ‘all riled up’ and also extremely self-aware as I speak, text, and type. What I have become most aware of is how text messaging and the internet have changed my communication fundamentally rather than my specific word choice or usage. Though I argue that the stereotypical text messaging style ( e.g. C U l8er. B hme @ 5.) is not detrimental to the English language I do not personally partake in it. See Evelyn Beatrice Hall – “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”. (Wikipedia says this quote is incorrectly attributed to Voltaire.) The language adaptations that were sparked by text communication are only a portion of the styles of language used on new devices and the full keyboard becoming more and more common these usages may die out completely. We may want to focus more on how the rise of new technology has and will echo through all mediums of communication, and fundamentally alter the manner in which we speak to one another.
P.S. Thanks David. I found Language and the Internet fascinating. At first I put this book down after realizing it was written in 2001, then I returned for lack of other resources. Obviously things have changed drastically in this area since 2001 but I think many of the ideas discussed in this book can be applied currently.
