Textese, or in other words text speak, has led to an ongoing debate on whether it is destroying the English language as we know it. Every turn we take on the streets teenagers are ‘tapping’ away on their phones. According to a study by The Neilson Company, an average teenager sends over 3000 texts a day. Texting has become a growing worldwide habit. Textese includes abbreviated words, a combination of letters and numbers, and completely new words that create ultra-concise and meaningful messages. There are two sides to the argument; is textese ‘vandalizing’ the English language or is beneficial to education? Text lingo has been seen as a new age of communication and an innovative way of manipulating language. In David Crystal’s “Txtng: the Gr8 Db8′′, he states that texting is not as deviant as portrayed and that people become better communicators than we think. With the world becoming focused on technological advancements and the younger generations becoming more tech savvy, there is this need to be faster communicators. When texting first started, people
had to be more creative in their language use so that they could say what they want in the allotted number of letters. So began the dropping of vowels and combining of letters and numbers to create messages such as: “ Wot R U doin 2nite?” Nevertheless, the message still holds meaning and some can still decipher it and understand what is being said. English has been changing for as long as we know, Shakespeare himself has manipulated the language to suit his own needs so why are people becoming infuriated when teens simplify their language when texting? Teachers largely are the ones that have a problem with text lingo. It has
been noted that the majority of writing students do is via text messaging and naturally this seeps into their writing assignments for school. It is not entirely a conscious effort, but with the constant use of abbreviated words, students do not notice they use them in a formal piece of writing. There is no harm in using textese in texting and chatting situations, as it is a convenient way of getting the message across. However, we have to understand that there are places where it is inappropriate to use it, such as in formal situations.

There are many articles on the internet claiming that the English language is “doomed,” in that it is eventually going to be either replaced or heavily modified by textese. These claims seem to be based on the idea that textese will dominate English simply due to the volume/popularity of usage. Also, there are assertions that it is more efficient and less confusing to use written text that is phonetically equivalent to spoken words. Some examples:

– to/two/too

– there/their/they’re

– lead/lead (you figure that one out)

Spend about 50 words addressing what you think, and which approach you prefer, and why. Also, please address the following questions:

Are you fluent in textese?

Do you think textese is appropriate for business communication, or only for specific areas? If so, what areas?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of communicating with textese?

Have you ever been texting while driving? If so, please identify the make and model of your vehicle, along with the license plate so I will know who to avoid (just kidding, don’t do that last part).