Saturday, April 7, 2007

Txt Spk--Delight or Detriment

This blog post from the Transliteracies project in Leicester, UK provides provocative points about the practice of text messaging and how "text speak" may or may not change the language. What I like about this particular discussion that I haven't seen in others is the discussion of power--who has it and how one gets it. Listen to a new dialect here, too.

2 comments:

A.M. Strzyz said...

Language has always been one power leverage, so texting is showing nothing new in this sense. Teens have always worked for their independence and texting is showing nothing new in this sense. Older generations have always wondered about the destuction of (fill in the blank here) and texting is...you get the picture.

What I liked about this post was the talk of power and how texting can provide power for people who know the language. I also enjoyed reading the point on addressing text speak and how it is appropriate in certain genres or to certain audiences and not others. We should (I believe) as English teachers educate our students on what types of language are appropriate for different types of writing and different audiences. Formal writing calls for different language than poetry. Newspaper articles call for different language than personal narrative. Students who want to show how characters in Romeo and Juliet would text if they had that technology is fine for an informal project, but when asked to analyze the importance of a scene or dialogue, students should use the language appropriate to the audience.

There are so many literacies out there with many benefits - depending on how and when they are used.

There will always be changes, and, I have to admit...I enjoy seeing/reading people who squirm at technology changes.

Acknowledging a new language does not mean that we'll get rid of vowels. It means you are aware of what is happening with a new generation and a new technology.

Anonymous said...

I have never really been able to understand Txt Spk. I am to used to spelling real words. However, I was thinknig that it is probably the fastest way to communicate when writing over the internet or text messages, so if the people engaging in the conversation can understand each other, it is probably the way to go.
I was thinknig that this kind of talk may change the way people speak because people may actually strat pronouncing words the way they text message when speaking. I have already heard people say 'WTF' and 'LOL' in spoken language.
Greg