Sandrine Lareine 1

O.M. Sandrine Lareine

Dr Erin Dietel-McLaughlin
WR 13300-SS13
Research Paper (Revision)
Tuesday 12/09/14

How language is shaped by our typing habits.

A few years into the 21st century and communication trends are very different from what they
were before. Computers, tablets, smart phones and wireless technology provide us with endless
possibilities. The timeline below shows how communication technology has evolved throughout
the years.

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Statistics show that after the start of the 21st century, personal computers prices declined, and
penetration increased from 63% in 2000 to 77% in 2008 (Kessler). Worldwide personal
computer sales increased by 34% from 287 million in 2008 to 385 million in 2011 (Kessler)
(Grant, August and Meadows 19). Also, the market for smart phones continues to grow by leaps
and bounds, and by all indications will continue to saturate the global market. Grant, August and
Meadows give us further proof: In 2011, an estimated 472 million smart phones were placed in
the hands of eager consumers around the world representing about 31% of all mobile sales
(Gartner 2012). Findings of another mobile research study in 2012 saw 42% of American
mobile telephone subscribers using smart phones and about 44% of mobile users in leading
European nations (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and U.K.) making use of their smart phone
apps. Facilitating the market penetration of smart phones were high-speed (4G) networks and
Wi-Fi availability (Grant, August and Meadows 256).
After having taken note of the major changes in the world of communication, the purpose of this
research paper will be to analyze the trends in communication and how they shape the future of
language. Throughout this essay, evidence will be provided to support the claim that the
increased use of new technological devices has a negative impact on language, especially for the
younger generations.
Thanks to technology, we now have more ways to keep in touch with family and peers texting,
instant messaging, and various sorts of social media. It is possible to contact a friend or obtain
information on someone in just a click or a tap. These new means of communication are
ubiquitous. Whether we are walking around, going to bed, on a break or sitting on the toilet stall,
we are almost always checking our phones for texts or checking some kind of social media for
updates.

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The first aspect that will be studied is text messaging, a popular means of communication among
all ages. It has been found that many young people prefer texting over talking on their mobile
phones (Plester, Conti-Ramsden et al. 49). With as many as 3000 text messages sent a month by
the average American teen, equivalent to a hundred texts a day, you can be sure that there are
more than a few letters, commas and apostrophes missing (Toribio). At that writing speed, it is
more than logical that teenagers develop a texting language comprising of acronyms and other
shortcuts. This in turn has an effect on a students schoolwork: A new study has found that
students who had recently sent or received a text message performed considerably worse on a
grammar exam than those who had not. Professor of communication and co-director of the
laboratory that conducted the study, S. Shyam Sundar, states that the culture of mobile
communication, also referred to as shorthand texting lingo or tech speak compromises
natural writing. The study also says that routine use of textual adaptations by current and future
generations of 13- to 17-year-olds may serve to create the impression that this is normal and
accepted use of the language and rob this age group of a fundamental understanding of Standard
English grammar (Toribio). It makes sense that if anyone is used to seeing one format of
language they think acceptable, it is the one they will use. In fact, professor Sundars studies
show that young adults who consistently use tech speak are less likely to switch back to
traditional grammar when appropriate (Toribio). This confirms that the excessive use of phones
for texting negatively impacts language, grammar as well as the linguistic skills of the current
and future generations, by restricting their lexis and using inappropriate language for academic
purposes. The tendency to use text lingo in written thus influences the quality of language
overall.

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The prevalent use of other trendy ways of communication, such as instant messaging, contributes
to this deterioration process. Social media, whose use has only gone up acts as a major factor.
Facebook, for instance, had become not only the largest social network in the world, but the
third largest Internet company of any kind (Kessler) by 2010 (Grant, August and Meadows 20),
thus emerging as the most popular social networking service (Kessler). Another example is
Twitter, which was created in an attempt to develop a technique of communicating short
messages by mobile phones. Because they include chat features or give a character limit, they
become promoters of shorthand lingo. Once again, this promotes word restriction, use of
acronyms and speed. These 3 elements combined might not always produce good language.
Due to the increased use of these new means of communication, internet slang and acronyms
which are frequently used on a daily basis in typing, are slowly being incorporated in everyday
conversation, and even being added to the dictionary. In fact, it may be surprising to learn that
the twelfth and latest edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary boasts of 400 new
entries of slang among its list of words (The Nation). Shorthand text lingo is gradually
making its way into our lives, and shaping the future of language. Bit by bit, the words we now
call slang will become acceptable and understandable by all in society, in everyday
conversation, and as well as in written work. One implication of this phenomenon is an emerging
new style of language in the future.
We have evidence to prove that this occurrence concerns not only the United States of America,
but the world as a whole. A Kenyan article talks about the effect of social media on their local
language, Swahili, which adopted some internet slang. Media travels around the world through
platforms like YouTube, an online video viewing service, created in 2005. It was already so
popular that viewers watched 63 billion videos online that year (Kessler). By 2010, 441 billion

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videos were seen online, representing an annual growth rate of 38% (Kessler). Hence, as new
internet slang is created from music lyrics or otherwise, they easily spread around the globe and
adopted by different languages and cultures. Examples are new words like Bootylicious made
famous by Beyonce Knowles while rapper Lil Wayne has on several occasions said he coined
the term "bling bling" to refer to flashy jewelry (The Nation). This demonstrates the broader
implications of the topic at hand language being destroyed on a worldwide platform.
One consequence the article engages is the gap this phenomenon creates between generations.
Because language is constantly evolving and older generations do not use these new trendy
means of communication as much as adolescents do, the parent will always be two steps
removed. This is due to the fact that these words, names or abbreviations change so fast (The
Nation). We all have experienced this. If you are a child, how many times have your parents
asked you about slang, acronyms or other social media-related trends? And if you are a parent, or
a teacher, how many times have you felt the need to resort to adolescents help in trying to
understand modern technology and all that accompanies it?
A language resource that is often used in texting, instant messaging or on social media is the use
of emoticons to express emotions. These quite creative combinations of punctuation marks and
letters are often seen as the epitome of CMC (Computer-Mediated Communication) language
including text messages (Crystal) and email (Baron) (Page, Barton and Unger 36). These can be
used to replace entire words, thus reducing the need for writing sentences to express oneself. In
addition to emoticons, programmers have now added emojis to the collection of little faces
available to express emotions. These are basically more elaborate icons that can be used to
convey a message more efficiently. Although, they display creativity among the current
generation, they also slightly destroy language by diminishing its usefulness. Yes, one can be as

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efficient or more efficient using emoticons rather than using words, but it is very common today
to see entire messages written in emojis and acronyms. An abuse of these graphical
representations wastes both the senders and receivers times and also contributes to the
disappearance of words. Very frequent users often cannot express their feelings in words
because they always resort to emojis and emoticons. This causes written work to be bland,
uninteresting and not up to the level expected.
Dennis Barron, author of Better Pencil: Readers, Writers, and the Digital Revolution and
professor of English and linguistics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Campaign agrees with
the previous sources mentioned. In his book, he talks about how computers, now the writer's tool
of choice, are blamed by skeptics for a variety of ills, from speeding writing up to the point of
recklessness, to complicating or trivializing the writing process, to destroying the English
language itself. However, he also makes some arguments about the not-so-negative impact of the
advent of technology. In fact, the Internet provides a platform for aspiring writers. Blogs and
similar sites provide spaces where you are equally likely to find good and bad writing: the
cyberspace offers a new place to exist as well as new ways for existing (Baron 207). Therefore,
in that way, the Internet acts as a double-edged sword. Depending on what use you make of it, it
may act as a promoter of language, or be another destroyer of language.
As discussed above, the sharp increase in the use of technological devices for communication
does affect language and influences its future. It has been observed that the trends in
communication have a negative impact on language and is slowly killing it. This is not
however the general opinion. Susana Sotillo, an associate professor at Montclair State
University, disagrees with the results of the study. "Children know that when you're in school,
you do not use texting language," Sotillo said. "It's up to the teacher to say it's not acceptable."

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To see the impact of text messaging on the grammar and language skills of adolescents, or on
any other demographic group for that matter, would require a study of thousands of people
across a variety of backgrounds, Sotillo said. According to her, for more telling results,
linguistics experts should be more involved when conducting future studies. "I'm very careful
about the generalizations one can make," she said, "And no one is destroying the English
language; the English language just keeps changing. It's not a good idea to present change as a
negative aspect" (Toribio). Her studies have shown further that people who constantly switch
between texting language and standard are more likely to have an expanded vocabulary.
However, this assumes that you actually switch back and forth, something a lot of people forget
or do not take the time to do.
In addition, sometimes positive things do come out of such addictive behavior, such as 17-year
old Austin Wierschke of Wisconsin, the contestant with the quickest thumbs, taking home
$50,000 for the second consecutive year after typing a punctuated 149-character message in 39
seconds.
Another pertinent argument that expert in sociolinguistics Terttu Nevalainen makes is that
language is forever evolving and the trends in communication are not to blame for what is
happening. We no longer speak or write in the same language they did in Shakespearean times. If
Shakespeare were alive today, how would he react to what has become of the English language?
Changes happen all the time, and as such, language also evolves without it being a negative
thing.

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It is also a known fact that words are added to the dictionary every year. It is therefore plausible
that popular words from the tech-world be added to the dictionary to make them acceptable and
known by all.
Finally, according to Page, Barton and Unger, language has various definitions (28):
1. Language is a way for individuals to interact with other individuals or groups.
2. Language is not an abstract system, but is always situated in a particular context. It can
be seen as a set of practices that arises from communicative needs in specific contexts
and situations. Every bit of language has a purpose.
3. Linguistic practices are used alongside non-linguistic practices to communicate
meaning.
4. Language acquires meaning only in and through its context. This explains how the same
words (e.g. the phrase oh really) can have many different meanings, depending on what
has just happened or been said, the relationship between the interlocutors, the intonation
used, and so on.
We notice that the new trends in communication help us maximize efficiency and achieve the
definitions of language given above, especially the use of emoticons, which could be described
as non-linguistic practices to communicate meaning. Our new ways of communication might
affect the standard way of writing but they fulfill the primary role of language: interaction
between individuals.
Although todays new smart technological devices may be very useful and efficient in this hectic
world, they are extremely likely to harm the linguistic and literary skills of its users if not made
proper use of. This mobile lifestyle has the worlds citizens pressing their mobile phones to

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achieve an amazing array of activities: to pay bills, check forecasts, read postings on Facebook,
email, Tweet, text, go shopping, hurl angry birds at green pigs, scan headlines from online news
media, create personal soundtracks of music, and even make a phone call. Mobile is the way of
the future, but this does not justify the mutilation of language.
If everyone took a few extra seconds before sending a text, tweet or instant message to write
proper English, made easier by the autocorrect feature available on almost every smart phone, it
would certainly not affect the quality of language as it does presently.

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Works Cited
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Gartner. Gartner Says Worldwide Smartphone Sales Soared in Fourth Quarter of 2011 With 47
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