Textese, seems to help develop english skills, not hinder.

[Acaroid]

I have just noticed a few of these topics about Textese and yes I thought I would make my own. The reason why, well mainly because everyone seems to be under the impression that people with low IQ, or stupid people are the ones that use this. I personally do not use textese, but I generally do not care if people do or not, anyway that isn't the point.

I now refer you to two different articles (one of which I think may have already been covered by the escapist), from different countries and of different studies who more or less have discovered that Textese is actually a beneficial way of writing in certain situations.

http://www.theage.com.au/digital-life/mobiles/textese-gr8-training-4-poets-of-2moro-20110911-1k3yc.html

''This fits with previous findings and supports the idea that the same skill set underlies the ability to manipulate the sounds and features of spoken, written and texted language. The ability to create or decipher phonetic abbreviations requires an awareness of the multiple sound-letter correspondences in English,'' Dr Kemp says. ''Further, increased experience with reading and writing textese might lead to increased confidence and flexibility with manipulating language sounds, a key skill for developing reading prowess.''

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7910075.stm

"What we think of as misspellings, don't really break the rules of language and children have a sophisticated understanding of the appropriate use of words,"

so yeah interesting if you ask me, I think is shows people need to stop being so elitist about language IMO.

 

[Zhukov]

So... i R pushng the boundrys of teh englis languidge!!!

 

[Gnarynhar]

"..... and children have a sophisticated understanding of the appropriate use of words,"

No.... just no.

so yeah interesting if you ask me, I think is shows people need to stop being so elitist about language IMO.

Learning basic spelling is elitist now?

 

[Inkidu]

I have just noticed a few of these topics about Textese and yes I thought I would make my own. The reason why, well mainly because everyone seems to be under the impression that people with low IQ, or stupid people are the ones that use this. I personally do not use textese, but I generally do not care if people do or not, anyway that isn't the point.

I now refer you to two different articles (one of which I think may have already been covered by the escapist), from different countries and of different studies who more or less have discovered that Textese is actually a beneficial way of writing in certain situations.

http://www.theage.com.au/digital-life/mobiles/textese-gr8-training-4-poets-of-2moro-20110911-1k3yc.html

''This fits with previous findings and supports the idea that the same skill set underlies the ability to manipulate the sounds and features of spoken, written and texted language. The ability to create or decipher phonetic abbreviations requires an awareness of the multiple sound-letter correspondences in English,'' Dr Kemp says. ''Further, increased experience with reading and writing textese might lead to increased confidence and flexibility with manipulating language sounds, a key skill for developing reading prowess.''

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7910075.stm

"What we think of as misspellings, don't really break the rules of language and children have a sophisticated understanding of the appropriate use of words,"

so yeah interesting if you ask me, I think is shows people need to stop being so elitist about language IMO.

You wrote all that, fairly well I might laud, and you couldn't type out "in my honest opinion"? You didn't even have to worry about a comma because it's a prepositional phrase... anyway.

I don't doubt that people who use text-speak are any more or less intelligent than your average person. All people (because we're language-focuses as a species) are very good at breaking down things phonetically. I think the harder challenge comes not from learning the rules of grammar but learning the whys. They exist and the more I learn the more spelling and grammar make sense. Text-speak might as well be a foreign language. It's honestly kind of like Middle English. Yes, I can read it, but it's not the language (at least not anymore).

My problem with text-speak is that it creates lazy writers. Time after time I see kids having trouble (high-school kids) with forming sentences. We're talking stuff I was doing in the fifth grade. Text-speak is non-standard shorthand, but dependance on it is stunting perhaps not intellectually but in the language.

I'll also say one more thing. I don't care how smart you are, you're still going to look dumb to me if you write with crap on walls. You're going to look really dumb to most everyone else too. A mild little analogy to digest.

 

[Avaholic03]

Learning basic spelling is elitist now?

Yeah, didn't you hear? Republicans successfully lobbied to get elitist to be a synonym for educated.

 

[Rawne1980]

I think is shows people need to stop being so elitist about language IMO.

If it's all the same to you, I believe i'll continue to ignore people who try and talk to me in what i've lovingly nicknamed "kiddy code".

 

[rev_boy]

You know what's even worse than retards who speak in textese? Retards who think that spelling and language is static. This is how languages evolve guys, like or hate it. Hell, where does the authority even come from to say that something as abstract as a word has one (and only one) correct spelling - who's to say that the guy who decided on the correct spelling for a word wasn't a derp?

Correct spelling is completely arbitrary.

Altogether, the idiots using text-speak are probably the same idiots who; 50 years ago; would have been illiterate. So overall I think literacy has improved. Whether the two correlate is hard to say though.

These people are not bad or wrong somehow, it's more that they don't have the kind of intelligence required to sit and learn the "proper" spelling for words. Or maybe they don't have the tolerance for bullshit required to sit at school and learn it.

Learning basic spelling is elitist now?

Yeah, didn't you hear? Republicans successfully lobbied to get elitist to be a synonym for educated.

This thread has nothing to do with politics, why would you even say that?
Also, no one cares about your shitty American political parties, either one of them.

Also,

>implying that every single republican member of congress / senator doesn't have a college degree.

Next you'll probably be telling me that republicans just don't listen to science and it's that kind of academia that they are biased against. I would counter with saying that it's not like any of your governments (republican or otherwise) have listened to scientific evidence when it didn't suit them or their voters.

 

[Stall]

I don't understand the whole outrage against "Textese". It's pointless. It's a subset of the English language designed to make efficient use of phone keypads. No one takes anything written in Textese for anything of actual merit, like an academic journal or novel (well, they might if it is some kind of odd experiment). Hell, you can't even use "Textese" to write a paper in high school... much less college. Proper English is going to always have a place... Textese is nothing beyond a written slang.

All this talk of Textese is hyperbole really.

The only thing I disagree with is the sentiment that "elitism" is an insult. Is our culture so heavily embracing mediocrity that the term "elitism" has a negative connotation to it? It's abhorrent. Now, that does not mean Textese doesn't have a place, but it is this general sentiment that it is somehow wrong to be educated that gets me. This is only tangentially related to this thread, so perhaps it is best to just disregard this paragraph.

So... i R pushng the boundrys of teh englis languidge!!!

That's not textese. That's just a bad joke.

 

[Dogstile]

Numbers of people who can communicate using written words now is much greater than they could 50 years ago.

Regardless, it still annoys me.

 

[Acaroid]

You wrote all that, fairly well I might laud, and you couldn't type out "in my honest opinion"? You didn't even have to worry about a comma because it's a prepositional phrase... anyway.

I would not have typed exempli gratia either (also things like IMO now seem automatic to me... I honestly did not even realise I did it hahahaha)

If you read the article (one of them has it) it talks about how it is important that students learn when to use Textese in an appropriate situation, hence why I said "Textese is actually a beneficial way of writing in CERTAIN SITUATIONS".

''I think the important thing is for children to be able to see the difference between it being OK to write in this funny way on a phone but you can't write a formal letter like this or your school work.''

So someone used the example of having Textese written in a resume, obviously this person does not understand that in a formal situation that it is wrong to use such writing. I just thought these studies are interesting and people who are trained and qualified in this field have come to the conclusion that Textese isn't as bad as people think it is. So instead of fighting it, should embrace it and teach people when is the appropriate time to use it.

So no, learning basic spelling is not elitist, being an ass about people who choose to use such ways of writing in informal situations is. (yes, like it or not the internet is an informal situation, if it was not then it would not be as "free" as we like to think it is.)

edit: http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrgq6cOSyz1qhe5udo1_400.jpg

 

[Bloodstain]

The more common an expression becomes, the "righter" it becomes, until it will finally be included in standard language. If we stop pointing out poor language, expressions like "Lol" will soon be words of the English language instead of internet acronyms. I don't want that, and neither should you. It is not elitist to have basic language skills.

 

[thethingthatlurks]

Pardon my sciency edumacated elitist ass for not taking a mere article seriously. Sorry, if it ain't peer reviewed, I ain't givin' no shit 'bout it, and whatever it says is little more than trivial nonsense.

 

[remnant_phoenix]

That's bull.

Give me one good reason why typing "plz" is advantageous over typing "please" OTHER THAN "because it's faster."

It's much faster to steal a car than it is work a job where you can afford to make car payments over the course of 20 years.

Am I saying that using "textese" is tantamount to stealing a car? Of course I'm not. What I'm say is that "because it's faster" is in and of itself not a good reason. EDIT: You could argue "people are busy, they need to save time" but typing out "please" cost an extra second at the most so it's not really saving much time. Also, the main users of "textese" are high school and college students, who, in general, have more free time than anyone else in the world.

As an English teacher, I can assure that typing "plz" is not helping people learn how to "manipulate phonetics," it's teaching people that lazy shorthand is superior to professional language formation. When you have a classroom full of 17-year-old students complaining "Why does it matter HOW I write it or say it as long you understand what it means?" as a justification for why there is nothing wrong with slang or shorthand IN AN ACADEMIC WRITING ASSIGNMENT, then you'll see that this idea of "textese" promoting language is absurd.

 

[TJC]

Okay, so it doesn't braindamage anyone who might use textese...
doesn't change the fact that people who use it are douchebags and/or twats and and it makes them appear to have gone under a lobotomy, whether they are stupid or not.

 

[rev_boy]

That's bull.

Give me one good reason why typing "plz" is advantageous over typing "please" OTHER THAN "because it's faster."

Here's a good reason:
There are data limits on text messaging, and text messaging costs money. Calling people isn't really an alternative because it costs more money overall to call for very short conversations, and less money for medium/long conversations (which isn't what texting is designed for anyway).

I was about to mention Twitter vs internet blogging / email etc in my post, but then it occured to me that Twitter/Internet communication is essentially free per message, and phone service is not.

Not only that, but like it or not people are now becoming accustomed to communicating extremely fast. Even our mouths (let alone text) can barely keep up with the speed at which our brains take in and spit out information, so it's only natural for people to want ways to communicate effectively, quickly. It does come with an element of complexity lost, but the whole point is that the basic MEANING is still there, which is why the word text is shortened to "txt" because as long as those three letters are there it's still recognisable as that word.

Other reasons which are less legitimate include people are just plain lazy and don't want to think enough to type correctly, and people are too dumb to learn "correct" spelling.

It's much faster to steal a car than it is work a job where you can afford to make car payments over the course of 20 years.

That's a fucking stupid analogy and has absolutely nothing to do with this thread, and you know it. Don't insult our intelligence, and next; be very careful to make sure your analogies are actually good.

 

[Stall]

That's bull.

Give me one good reason why typing "plz" is advantageous over typing "please" OTHER THAN "because it's faster."

It's much faster to steal a car than it is work a job where you can afford to make car payments over the course of 20 years.

Am I saying that using "textese" is tantamount to stealing a car? Of course I'm not. What I'm say is that "because it's faster" is not a good reason, and if you can give me a good reason, we'll talk brass.

Textese developed so that people can take better advantage of the phone's keypad as an instrument to communicate, as well as to compensate for a lack of typing skills in an atmosphere of instantaneous communication. It's much more difficult to type out "please" on a phone than "pls/plz". Hell, the keyboards on smartphones are barely any better, since you still have to peck at the keys. It nothing beyond people figuring out how to make the most out of limited instruments.

Plus, some services charge by character in texts, so typing full words will cost you more money. AND there is often character limits, so you might not be able to type out your full message unless you resort to some "u"s and "plz"s in there. There's practical reasons to it.

 

[rev_boy]

Pardon my sciency edumacated elitist ass for not taking a mere article seriously. Sorry, if it ain't peer reviewed, I ain't givin' no shit 'bout it, and whatever it says is little more than trivial nonsense.

There is a lot to be said for peer-reviewed science - it's helped get society to high level of technology and understanding of the world around us we are at today. However, it's also very narrow-minded of you to say something like that. What you just said was basically the equivalent of a Christian saying "if it ain't in the bible I ain't givin' no shit 'bout it".

Not only that, but peer review isn't a perfect system free from bias. Outside forces can come into play, such as corporate interests / funding for research; and even the government and their propaganda relating to things like drugs (seriously, try and get approval for a study on the positive effects of any currently illegal drug - I fucking dare you).

There is something to be said for ACTUALLY USING YOUR OWN BRAIN AND ANALYTICAL SKILLS.

Plus, none of the great forefathers of science had their ideas peer reviewed, and had they been, they probably would have been ridiculed for dumb ideas like the world being round. Imagine that - a round world! Hahaha how ridiculous.