TED Talk linguist on Texting. "Fingered Speech" WDYT?

[LibraryLover]

I thought this was a great talk.

 

http://blog.ted.com/2013/02/28/the-linguistic-miracle-of-texting-john-mcwhorter-at-ted2013/

[Corraleno]

Thanks for the link! We are big John McWhorter fans :thumbup1:

 

Jackie

[LibraryLover]

Thanks for the link! We are big John McWhorter fans :thumbup1:

 

Jackie

 

 

You're welcome! John is a great speaker!

[ElizabethB]

Looks interesting...I enjoy him. It is too late to appreciate, replying so I can find it later.

 

Thanks!

[hillfarm]

I guess I am the lone dissenter this morning, however...

 

I definitely noticed an attempt on dd's part to bring texting "language" into her school work when she first got her ipod and started texting heavily. I nipped that in the bud and insisted that she do her best to be grammatically correct and to spell things correctly in her texts. I wanted correct punctuation also, but she said that made her stand out as a geek, so I relented on the punctuation so long as the other issues are addressed.

 

I believe the texting problem is not so much the language used, as the way in which the process is handled. I have seen so many kids cut themselves off from beneficial, face to face, social interaction because they have their nose glued to their ipod or phone and are texting a third party not present. Not only is this extremely rude IMO, it also cuts them off from learning how to interact well with others. At his work at the University, dh will ask a student who has taken a text while speaking with him, "Am I boring you?"

 

I have also seen texting contribute to a lack of focus. So many kids I know will stop all other activities to respond to the imperious buzz, squeak, squawk, or whirr of their phone. I have even read reports that many kids are suffering from serious disruptions in their sleep patterns due to keeping their phone by the bed at night and waking to respond to texts at all hours.

 

So while I don't love texting language, the language is the least of my worries associated with texting. At 14, my dd is smart enough to understand that texting language has its place, and school work is not it. Nor is a job application or other formal correspondence. However, it has been harder for her to discipline herself regarding no texting during dinner, phone off at bedtime, no response to texts during conversations with others, etc. IMO, learning to manage the communications is more critical than the language used in them.