Love it or hate it “text speak” is here to stay

In this article we question whether this controversial form of communication is changing the English language or not.
Some say that it is a rite of passage for the younger generation, suggesting that it takes a good deal of literacy to grasp and a good deal of imagination to invent, however others have condemned it as vandalism of the English language and penmanship for the illiterate.
The English language is centuries old and has been used to construct some of the finest literature of the modern age but has it changed? The answer is yes, but not due to the text language – yet!
If you take a look at Old English through Middle English, Early Modern English and present day Modern English you will see huge variations in grammar, punctuation and pronunciation.
Anyone from any of those eras would have at least some degree of difficulty understanding the others so is the abbreviated “text speak” such a bad thing, or is it a natural progression in the digital age of fast communication with sometimes limited character space in media such as mobile phone texting and online Twitter users? With the average teenager sending over 3,000 texts per month it is very easy to see how there could be a gradual creeping effect on language from texting and other forms of fast digital communication.
Many people arguing against the use and or acceptance of “text speak” say that it encourages people to be lazy, destroys or diminishes peoples understanding of punctuation and grammar and results in the younger generation actually speaking that way in everyday conversation. Many teachers have complained that they are seeing this cropping up in the classroom with pupils regularly using it in their text books, homework and even in some exam papers. Employers have also raised serious concerns over this due to the fact that they are seeing text language being used in job applications and sometimes even creeping into email and other communications to clients.
Some schools have banned the use of text language, both written and verbal, in the hopes of improving their pupils’ employment prospects saying that they strongly felt that it not only posed a real threat to writing standards in schools but also creates an extremely poor first impression to potential employers.
Although the above arguments are valid and worthy of serious consideration for schools, parents and employers it would seem that a lot of people can see some benefit in the use of this form of abbreviation. Some argue that text language is actually not a dumbed down language but in fact an ingenious form of quick communication born out of the digital age that not only takes a good fundamental grasp of language and spelling to invent but, with the obvious continuation and education in the use of correct grammar and punctuation, can broaden the mind and actually improve students grades.
It is worth remembering that many adults use this form of abbreviation, albeit to a lesser degree, in their daily personal digital communications while continuing to use the correct punctuation and grammar in their work lives.
One thing is for sure; this form of communication will not go away with regards to the younger generation and the arguments both for and against will continue for some time for parents, teachers and employers. Whether or not the continued use of the text language will dramatically affect the English language in years to come is yet to be seen but at present it would seem that it is having some impact on the younger generation.