Could the Internet be the downfall for basic human speak?

It seems very apparent that some people have experienced a diminished capability of speaking proper English. Why? Well in some news sites and in some other parts of the world, “text-speak” as it is being come to be called, is being integrated into our everyday lives. So when you receive a text message from one of your friends or when you happen to be by a young adult’s MySpace page or personal blog/website, you’ll probably notice some interesting writing styles.

There may be content written LyK iT wAs WriTteN w/ A cOmBiNaTiOn Of CaPiTaL lEtTeRs AnD lOwEr CaSe LeTtErS.

(translation: “like it was written with a combination of capital letters and lower case letters)

There are other ways of writing in “text-speak”, such as if you want to write the word “later”, with the limitations placed on all text messages of 160 characters, it could be spelled “l8r” and the list just keeps on growing.

In a Penn State newspaper article, there is growing controversy (as usual) over this new form of communications. Could it actually be causing the diminished mental capability of the student population? According to Michael Anesko, an English professor, even though language is always evolving, it is still necessary to use appropriate English when in a classroom setting.

We have an obligation to teach the standard idiom, not to resort to slang,” Anesko said. “You need to consider the message and consider the medium. Just because it’s appropriate for text messaging to peers, you need to recognize proper English when writing and speaking formally.

In the future, could we expect to see business leaders or political leaders having meetings and simply utilizing “text-speak” instead of the good ol’ english grammer? It’s already being integrated into our schools…now once these students emerge from their education squallows, who knows what method of “communication” they’ll choose.

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