Is Texting Affecting Our Language?

By Avishay Artsy on Monday, October 20, 2008.

Text messaging has suffered a bad rap ever since cell phone shorthand made its way into our written and spoken language. The media has done its part, playing up reports that students were handing in papers written in textese, and that professors were becoming accepting of it.

Usage has skyrocketed, and now it's estimated that a trillion text messages are sent and received every year. Thursday on Word of Mouth, we'll check in with renowned linguist David Crystal on "the gr8 db8," as he calls it. He suggests that far from hindering literacy, texting may indeed be helping it. We'll also learn about text abbreviations in other languages.

You tell us: Is texting a bad omen for language? Or do you see it as a convenient shortcut? Are you annoyed by the use of OMG, LOL, G2G, JK and other abbreviations in spoken language? Or do you <3 it? How often do you text? Why do you like it? Call our listener line at 603-223-2448, or leave your comments below.

(Photo by Kamyar Adl)

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