Poll: Has the use of email, chats, sms, etc. lowered the quality of writing, in general, of your language?
Simon Bruni United Kingdom Local time: 23:12 Member (2009) Spanish to English
Absolutely
Jan 13
Orlando W. Robson wrote:
I would consider that the linguistic innovations in sms, whatsapp etc. are part of the growth and diversification of a language.
Quality is entirely dependent on suitability for the register in question and txt spk is fit for purpose, so personally I don't see it as a lowering of quality just because it doesn't adhere to age-old rules irrelevant to its particular context. The fact that a young person writes in such a way on Facebook and in SMS merely shows they have a good awareness of the register and says nothing of their ability to write beautiful literary prose if they so wished.
Languages have to evolve to remain useful in the world they are used in; I have no doubt that the demise of French as an international language is partly due to its conservatism.
[Edited at 2012-01-13 13:45 GMT]
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R-i-c-h-a-r-d Brazil Local time: 19:12 Member (2006) Portuguese to English + ...
Yes, but it depends on the communication medium
Jan 13
If you're a regular user of Facebook you'll see a variety of linguistic skills on offer, some of these being less than pleasurable.
The most frequent errors occurring with:
Your / You're
There / Their / They're
Twitter users will notice an even greater decline.
Skype and MSN can also be pretty poor as people tend to type quickly, are usually in a hurry and do not have spell checking tools at hand.
But then again, if you don't use any of these mediums, you'll probably find no decline in quality at all. Email tends to be very good quality.
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Sheila Wilson Spain Local time: 23:12 Member (2007) English + ...
Educated writers can adapt their style
Jan 13
Ty Kendall wrote:
I think if standards in writing (in English) are being lowered, then the blame doesn't lie with texting or emails.
...
I think if you want to find the real culprit behind falling standards you need to look at the educational establishment, at society in general (a society which teaches children that being famous is the epitome of achievement - who cares if you can read or write well).
There are many factors which cause poor literacy which I would confront first before turning on texting and emails etc.
I agree fully. SMS-speak etc. is part of our lifestyle nowadays and I do take part to the extent that personal messages may include short forms such as "CU", "RU OK?" and "A+" (French), but that doesn't mean I'd use those forms to my clients or that I don't know the correct forms. The fact that some people do not know how to write correctly is more a symptom of falling educational standards (at home and school) than the use of mobile phones and instant messaging, IMO.
Sheila
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telefpro India Local time: 03:42 Portuguese to English + ...
spell checkers
Jan 13
Spell checkers have really made me negligent while writing without much focus on correct spelling in my language pairs. Too much dependence on spell checkers have indermined my spelling skills.
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Mario Chavez United States Local time: 18:12 Member (2005) English to Spanish
A temporary corruption of language
Jan 13
I agree with most of the postings in terms of how email, SMS, texting have lowered the intelligibility and readability of language.
I am pretty sure that this is a temporary corruption of language, a mild annoyance. When I text, I text full words, unless there's some convention, such as “I have a ?”
I am afraid that those American youngsters and many 20- and 30-year olds will see their education and job prospects diminished because they can't articulate their thoughts properly, let alone write coherently. Oh, well, less competition for me.
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humbird United States Local time: 15:12 Member (2004) English to Japanese + ...
No, by itself
Jan 13
Problem is much broader. The computer use advantcement in many levels and aspects that are contributing the lowering of writing skill is only one aspect of "it".
What is "It" then?
Overall detrioration of literacy level. People don't read, especially good literary works as much as used to. Period.
Sadly even some translators fall into this latter category.
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Dave Bindon Greece Local time: 01:12 Member (2010) Greek to English
Interesting...
Jan 13
...to see how people have interpreted 'your language' in different ways!
If I were answering the question 'Has it lowered the quality of my writing?' then I would have to say that it hasn't. As others have said or implied, I feel that I've simply learnt another register.
My initial interpretation of the question was, however, 'Has there been a general reduction in the quality of writing by people who use your language(s)?' to which I would have to answer with a resounding 'Yes'.
I think most or all of us will be all too aware that many - mainly young - people seem to be unaware that 'text speak' is not appropriate in every situation. I've had to do *facepalm* when trying to explain to a young friend that she shouldn't have 'LOL' in her CV! I won't any further comment on such a familiar subject.
Greek, however, presents a problem which many of you have probably not encountered or considered... In the early days of email and SMS etc. technology was not set up to be 'Greek-friendly'. Email and SMS couldn't accept the Greek alphabet, so Greek users developed 'Greeklish': a system (or, in fact, several systems) for writing Greek semi-phonetically in the Latin alphabet, using English pronunciation as the basis. Decades later, a generation (or two) of Greeks still claim that they have to use 'Greeklish' because their PC or mobile doesn't allow them to use the Greek alphabet. B@##@cks!
The truth is that they're hiding behind unregulated sets of transliteration rules so that they can disguise their many errors in Greek orthography. On the rare occasions they write in Greek, I pull my hair out!
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GeoS Greece Local time: 01:12 Greek to English + ...
I hope...
Jan 14
...it has not affected my style and quality.
But, as Dave pointed out, Greece is a rather odd case. Though, we have the fortune to live in a country with impressive history and tradition, having one of the oldest and richest languages in the world, people seem to prefer "imported" ways of expression. Greek and foreign words are mixed, often in the wrong way and even when there is no need for one to use foreign words.
Verbs tend to disappear, or are used wrongly, not to mention grammar which is "avoided at all costs".
Over the past few years I've noticed an ever increasing deterioration and "shrinkage" of the vocabulary used. Particularly among younger people.
Another sad fact is that this has not only affected written language. It's only a few days back that I heard my 6 year old nephew, saying "LOLS", instead of actually laughing! And, this is not an overstatement.
I am not against the use of sms-, chat-, etc. way of expression if one knows the correct usage of the language and its conventions and opts this method for a particular purpose. But this not the case. When "text-speak" becomes the only way of expression, it's bad news, particularly if behind it one hides his/her ignorance, lack of basic writing skills, lack of education, or lack of originality in self-expression.
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