Chatspeak

Linda Howard says that she fears for the newer generations because kids are becoming more privy to writing with “shortcuts and acronyms that make instant messaging, text messaging, and online chatting so popular” and this has “no place in academic, business, and other formal writing settings where it is essential that all individuals involved are using language that is clear and concise.” She also says that “good writing skills are essential as school students go on to college in traditional settings or online, and they will need to fully express their opinions and expound on subject matter in a way that compels them to think and engage with others on a deeper level.” Though I agree with these points, I do not agree that so called chat-speak will hinder kids’ ability to engage with others on a deeper level. If there is a lack of ability in that realm, I would not blame it on chat-speak itself, but much larger cultural and societal changes – like the argument that kids’ attention spans are shortening due to an emphasis on multi-tasking, and other similar affects of technology.
I agree more with Greg Monfils, who says that chat-speak is just like another language or dialect. Learning one langauge does not hinder how one expresses oneself in the other. He would even “go so far as to say that [kids’] command of chat-speak is directly proportional to their awareness that the fashion of chat-speak subverts traditional rules of written English.” If kids know how to shorten a word or sentence, they probably know how to write it in full. “We don’t fear that a Spanish class will diminish a student’s command of English. And a teenager experimenting with a sprinkling of profanities in her conversation with peers will not suddenly forget how to converse properly with her grandmother.” Again, I agree that there is a connection between knowing a foreign language, and jargon, colloquialisms, slang; chat-speak is just another in this category. Our language changes every day, goes through cycles, and new words are invented constantly. And just because there is a new way to get a message across in this technologically ridden society, doesn’t mean that clearly written, formal, concise language will disappear.
Greg also says that “if [kids] deny that they know how to write full words and sentences, it is because “they live to challenge standards. It doesn’t mean that they don’t know what the standards are.” Kids love to rebel. It is natural to them and part of their growing up. But every kid should be able to understand that clear, good writing is important to know in certain careers and settings, and always will be.
Whenever I think of how language alters through the years and is affected by technology, I remember George Orwell’s 1984. I remain accepting and even invigorated by change in my young age, but there is always a doubt in the back of my mind about how much of a negative affect changes in our language and way of life will make. Will deeper reflection and expression someday become obsolete because of our shortening attention spans and need for instant gratification? Will we ever become too lazy to be creative, careful and thoughtful about our words and expressions? I think it’s a great hyperbole on my part, but I always wonder. I think in our core, we need to express full thoughts and feelings in writing and speaking, and that need will never go away. But it is interesting how words and languages change with the advancement of technology and the resulting changes in how people think and communicate.