TXTNG - new language - new literacy

One significant example of this was when the Daily Telegraph in the UK reported that a teenage student had handed in her school essay - in txt! And this was causing grave concern among teachers: "I could not believe what I was seeing. The page was riddled with hieroglyphics, many of which I simply could not translate," the teacher said.

But when researchers tried to trace the essay and its author there were more than a few difficulties. The “original” could not be found (David Crystal, p24). When “a text” was finally produced, David Crystal comments that it had more in common with poetry than the usual form of txtng: and was very much a work of art rather than a careless dashed off exercise:

My summr hols wr CWOT. B4. We used 2go2 NY 2C my bro, his GF &thr 3 :-@ kids FTF. ILNY, it’s a gr8 plc

Translated:

My summer holidays were a complete waste of time. Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girl friend and their three screaming kids face to face. I love New York. It’s a great place.

If a student did write such an essay David Crystal would give her top marks for creativity - but not so many marks for a suitable response to a school assignment. In its coverage of the scandalous text message assignment, the Daily Telegraph also quoted Judith Gillespie, a member of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council: she told the newspaper that there was a decline in grammar and written English and that it was partly linked to the text messaging craze. "Pupils think orally and write phonetically," she said. Again, without any evidence offered by the newspaper.

Sensationalist stories like these in the media add to the general belief that there is a drop in educational standards, when there is no supporting evidence. According to John Sutherland (in “Cn u txt?” Guardian Unlimited, November 11, 2002): “Texting … masks dyslexia, poor spelling and mental laziness, … it’s for illiterates.”

It is also supposed to fog your brain, reduce your communication ability, and add to stress levels.

Yet David Crystal, who has undertaken one of the few serious studies of txting, confidently states that “all the popular beliefs about texting are wrong” (p9).

Making text messages

Text messaging is a language created by the young. No mobile phone providers predicted the huge take up there would be partly because, to start with, only 20 characters were available, and the screens were small. But these factors were a challenge rather than obstacles to the net generation who worked out it was much cheaper to text than call.

The txt language that young people invented was an “elegant” solution: it was playful, creative, fast and fun. It was also simple: it combined imagination and practicality. In many respects txtng is not unlike the “shorthand” of an earlier period, which of course was regarded as a useful, sophisticated and payable skill rather than an assault on the language.

Txtng has helped create the networked society; it is one of the most popular ways of keeping in touch.

Parents think it necessary for children to have phones as a safety measure. Children think elderly parents should have mobiles so they aren’t isolated. Bosses think workers need them so they can be contacted. Sisters going shopping need them to keep track of each other in the store. Anyone in a relationship needs them for reassurance.

In a world where the old communities of neighbourhood, interest and workplace have often disappeared, txtng is at the centre of virtual communities that are very real - particularly to the young.