PUBLIC discussions about language often include worried questions about the role of technology on “kids these days”. After observing the rampant rise of texting, e-chatting and whatnot, the questioner will then wonder whether the youths of today are forgetting how to write properly.

Johnson has seen a lot of moral panic around this concern, but little hard evidence. This is because most people have an innate sense of occasion with language. Just as you would not use the word “ain’t” in a job interview, most pupils know not to write about Hamlet’s “2B or not 2B” soliloquy in term papers. Johnson suspects that, once again, the kids are going to be all right.

But this is not to say that technology isn’t changing the language. One of the most obvious ways is of course the presence of new vocabulary. (Nobody needed to say “e-mail” 30 years ago or “tweet” ten years ago.) Another change is the proliferation of acronyms. These are nothing new, but chat-speak has lead to a proliferation of LOL, WTF, BRB, G2G and so on. Indeed they are being coined and spread faster than ever before.

Such acronyms rise so fast that they can cause confusion. “LOL” originally meant “laughing out loud”, but now it merely conveys a quick, world-weary smirk. Acronyms are also making the jump to speech. Sarah Palin, briefly an American political celebrity, used “WTF” on television. This also helps illustrate the acronym’s subtle change in meaning, as Ms Palin, a family-values conservative, would never have said “what the fuck” on the air. More.

See: The Economist (Johnson)

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