Impact of Technology Assisted Writing Genres on Writing in General - Essay Example

Impact of Technology Assisted Writing Genres on Writing in General. Summary This is an argumentative essay in response to a few articles regarding the impact that abbreviated text message written language is having on writing in general. Main points from some relevant readings are first summarized in the essay, which are followed by personal arguments. Among the articles, one author, Humphrys has argued that short message abbreviated language is having a negative impact on English language and the language is at great risk due to these abbreviated sentences, that do not use proper grammar or spellings. Crystal and Lunsford, based on their respective research claim that this form of writing is not jeopardizing the written language, in fact it is contributing to development of the language. Puente, while summarizing the writing styles used in online social networks’ status updates has described in her essay how writing in this way has become an art. Humphry makes a point by saying that these abbreviations will cause communication problems, but I also agree with Crystal and Lunsford, that if standardized, and included in the dictionary, these abbreviations can become a part of the language and can be taught by linguists. Whenever there is a change, and innovation, there is a reason for it. That reason may be changing preferences of users or busy time schedules. I believe that instead of criticizing this innovation and trying to undo it, it is better to accept it, and to standardize it for easy usage in future. Introduction Majority of people around us who own mobile phones today and have access to online social networks like face book and twitter; are used to abbreviated written expressions. According to one estimate, almost 50% of the world’s population owns a cell phone (Crystal). This technology has brought about an immense change in the communication patterns of people (Puente). The frequent use of services like face book status updating; tweets in twitter and short messaging services on cell phones have given rise to a whole new form of written expression, that utilizes more abbreviations and spells different words in ways that are rather unconventional. Some theorists and linguists consider this as a threat to the survival of English language as we know it (Humphrys). Others however argue that evolution of a language is a sign of it being alive. Instead of destroying the language, introduction of new technology is actually progressive for the language and is adding up new terminology to it, which is more preferred by its users. Background During the last decade, written expression of English language has undergone dramatic changes, especially due to the extensive use of abbreviations which don’t have a standard meaning yet. This is posing a problem. People are using abbreviations which are not known to others and this lack of standardization is definitely causing some confusion (Humphrys). The latest edition of the Oxford English Dictionary has also adopted some changes in this regard (Humphrys). The abbreviated language is now a part of our daily life conversations and almost everyone is using it (Puente). During the years that followed 1999, researchers became interested in studying the use of such language while texting or during social networking to understand and analyze the impact this is having on the Standard English language (Crystal). This issue has triggered a lot of debate in the recent years. Some linguistic scholars have criticized this phenomenon, while others have accepted it whole heartedly. Regarding the issues raised by those against usage of such language, I believe the problems identified by these learned scholars can be rectified and the new form of written language can be standardized and adopted. Analysis According to Humphry, this innovation in written form of language is baseless; not standardized and is leading English language towards its doom. Crystal on the other hand argues that text messaging using technology like mobile phones and online social networking software is actually encouraging the practice of language. To master any language, individuals need to practice writing it. “The best way of learning to read and write well is to get practice in it” (Crystal). People are able to practice writing because of typing technology. According to an article about the impact of short messaging on language by Lunsford, research has shown that there is an increase in writing in general. People have started to write more ever since the introduction of texting technology via mobile phones, email and online social networks. So this according to Lunsford is a positive contribution of technology towards development of language. Humphrys makes a claim that this texting format will sooner or later dominate English language and the language will lose its standard format. There will be so many abbreviations and emoticons, that one will not be able to comprehend what is written. A research by Lunsford however has clearly reported that people who text are very careful in adapting their writing styles in response to situations and recipients. Research has shown that text formats vary in their casual/formal style with recipients. Letters/ applications/ messages meant for their professors, colleagues and friends are very different from one another. People who text, are actually very selective in their choice of level of abbreviation and slang usage while texting. Same is confirmed by crystal, according to whom, students he questioned replied that they’d never use their cool text message language in an exam because they know they’d obviously get low marks if they did so. Humphry declares that emoticons, the small smile faces that appear on text screens, meant to express how one is feeling are irritating and the daily or sometimes hourly updates of statuses are pointless. Crystal views this differently. He argues that no text is or can be pointless. All messages, irrespective of the style they are written in have a meaning attached to them, they are meant to convey something. According to Puente, written expression of whatever one is going through or is feeling encourages writing, it helps people know other people. Statuses really do tell a lot about the personality of individuals. So, there is a lot of evidence that text messaging and status updating is not purposeless. Personal Argument In my humble opinion, text messaging using abbreviated language has its pros and cons, and it does greatly affect the language in general. I agree with Humphry that if everybody starts to use such language, soon it will be incomprehensible; but, there is a simple solution to it. As Lunsford has suggested, teachers should be involved in trying to standardize this form of language to avoid confusion in the young minds of students. “What students need in meeting these challenges is not derision or dismissal, but solid and informed instruction” (Lunsford). Another issue with the usage of technology as a tool in writing, raised by Lunsford is: “A good number of these wrong words come from advice given by the sometimes-not-so-trusty spell checkers”. Now this certainly is a problem. For example, if I intended to wrote ‘two’ and accidently mis-spelled it as ‘to’, the auto spell checker might auto correct it by replacing it with ‘too’, since it sounds the same; and that would obviously change the whole meaning of the sentence I intended to write. But this problem too I believe can be fixed by turning off the auto correct option and reading all suggested words carefully before clicking on one to replace the typed word manually. Or maybe, who knows that with time, the auto spell corrector will be modified by software experts and it will be even smart enough to rectify these words even if they do sound similar to one another. The smile faces I believe are not irritating, in fact they allow to add emotional expression and tone to messages. On the whole, I think this is a progressive development in language and this form of written expression definitely originated because the users of English language are attracted to it, and it fits the modern life style. Conclusion It can be concluded that instead of destroying the language, introduction of new technology is actually progressive for the language and is adding up new terminology to it, which is more preferred by its users. The critics should accept that there really is no big deal if in future; the dictionary spells good night as ‘gud nite’. The meaning remains the same. It’s just like in old English they used to say: ‘Thou look’st pale’. Today we say: ‘You appear pale’. Tomorrow we might say: ‘U luk yelo’. It is an evolutionary process. As long as these abbreviations or new forms of spellings are standardized, they can’t harm the language. Humphrys claims that this is not evolution of language, rather the birth of a new, different language. Whether it is an evolution or a new language, the point is that it is quickly dominating the language scene and we need to learn it if we are to communicate effectively ten years later. There is no invention without a need. People now days need shorter words and easy abbreviations to accommodate written communication in their busy lives. This change in written language should, I believe be welcomed whole heartedly and it is playing a role in saving the language rather than destroying it. Innovation is always good and this form of writing is simply adapting the language according to present day needs and preferences of language users. Works Cited Crystal, David. “David Crystal on Its Only a Theory S01E02”. Youtube, 21 Oct 2009. Web. 6 Aug 2011. Humphrys, John. “I H8 txt msgs: How texting is ruining our language”. Dailymail, 24 Sep 2007. Web. 6 Aug 2011. Lunsford, Andrea. “Our Semi Literate Youth? Not so Fast”. Stanford, n.d. Web. 6 Aug 2011. Puente, Maria. “There’s an art to writing on face book or twitter- Really”. Usatoday, 6 Oct 2009. Web. 6 Aug 2011. Read More