Effect of modern technology texting and languages in academic communication language - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... While it is frequently argued that the use of contractions, slang, and icons in text messaging is a signal for the development of a new language, the fact is that it signalizes death of appreciation of the written language because of its complexities.
Modern technology texting and language is defined by traits and qualities that are significantly different from those of the academic communication that is otherwise carried out every day. “Short-cuts, including abbreviations, acronyms, and unique spellings [are] most prevalent in the instant message conversation, followed by pragmatic signals, such use of emoticons, emotion words, and punctuation, and typographical and spelling errors were relatively uncommon” (Varnhagen et al, 2010, p. 719). Unlike that, academic communication employs the use of proper grammar, sentence construction, and the quality of writing is governed by such factors as flow of writing, and smooth transition of ideas from one paragraph to another.
There are certain factors behind the death of appreciation of written language. The first among these is the time. Typing is more time-consuming than speaking. Accuracy is another element. Typing is more prone to errors than is speaking (Herring, 2003). In an attempt to compensate for such issues, young generation communicating through the instant messaging has developed short cuts. An example of such short cuts is writing “l8r” instead of “later”. In addition to that, acronyms are frequently used in place of common phrases, e.g. use of acronym “brb” in place of the phrase “be right back” (Werry, 1996). Another quality that provides spoken language with an edge over the written language is the ease of expression of emotions in the former unlike the latter. Users of text messaging have developed the graphic pragmatic devices in support of the communication functions. Examples of these include smileys or use of expressions like “YW” in place of “you’re welcome”.
New ways ...Download file to see next pagesRead More