Anxiously waiting to receive a text, or experiencing “textpectation,” is an example of a word blend. This is one of the many ways that new words enter a language. Changes in meaning and spelling, as well as the adoption of new words, are part of any actively spoken language– and all spoken languages are dynamic forms of human expression. In fact, over half the words in the English language have been formed by adding prefixes and suffixes to root words (a process that continues today). For many, however, texting is changing the English language in undesirable ways. Adopted texting abbreviations for everyday words are not only taking over the way we write English, but also affecting the way we speak.
Many languages have adopted or borrowed new words from other languages, often as a result of occupation or other historic events. If we were to go back to Ancient Greek or Bookish Greek (Katharevousa) and compare it to Modern Greek, for example, we would find that Modern Greek now utilizes borrowed words from Turkish, Italian, French, and English. The language has changed significantly in the way it is used and written. This is because people, like languages, adapt to change– and often embrace it.
While adapting to such changes is historically how languages have evolved and survived over time, technology is also challenging our tolerance for change at a much faster pace. So is texting changing our language too much and too fast? Forget about the absence of proper grammar and spelling. What happens when we no longer write out the phrase “You Only Live Once” and replace it with “YOLO?” When did “LOL”(1*) and “OMG” become real words that are actually found in the Oxford English Dictionary? Why do we use numbers to stand in for words like 2 (representing to or too), 4 (representing for, or as in 4get to represent “forget”) and 8 (representing “ate,” as in l8ter, meaning “later”)? Are we ruining the language, or just modernizing it to fit our needs?
Moreover, this trend is not confined to texting. Tweeting, with its limit on the number of characters allowed, has also created a push for forming abbreviations or “initialisms.” Of course, as texting and tweeting become more popular as a form of communication everywhere, English is not the only language that is being affected. For example, in China, weibo.com has replaced Twitter and the number of weibo users is quickly growing. One of the most interesting phenomena born from electronic communication are the universal symbols representing emotions: emoticons. The human need to communicate emotions has made these symbols extremely popular. Moreover, not only are they used in texting and tweeting, which have functionally replaced phone calls and voice messages, but also in writing emails and instant messaging. In the absence of tone and facial expression, it is natural that we would want some form of relaying how we feel.
So while we may suggest that texting has changed our everyday language at a faster pace than ever before, scholars of Old English might be less surprised by these changes. Linguists may not feel that texting is necessarily ruining the English language. Rather, it is just a continuation of the process of evolution. It inevitably occurs with the passing of time, and is perhaps preferable to a stagnant language that loses its usability and becomes extinct. We will continue to adapt to changes in our everyday language, including keeping up with the ways in which we communicate electronically.
(1*) According to Oxford Dictionary, LOL dates to 1960 when it was used as an abbreviation for little old lady and not laugh out loud.
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