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Running head: THE LANGUAGE OF TODAY

The Language of Today: English Language Wrestles With the Newfangled Lingo in Text
Messaging and Social Medias

Judy Anne E. Gatmaitan

University of Saint Louis Tuguegarao

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Learning and teaching grammar is an important aspect of language learning as well as,
vocabularies. These were thought to students since they were in elementary. These aim to
help students learn effective communication and achieve mutual understanding. It can be
done by either verbal or non-verbal.
Verbal communication is through the use of mouth/speaking while non-verbal
communication is through writing. Because writing is quite inconvenient especially when
you're writing lengthy information, the present time made it handy and more convenient
by the advanced technology via introducing instant text messaging and social Medias that
will send your information in just a blink of eye with the help of high tech devices. It is
done by typing the letters of the words that you want to construct in order to compose
phrases or sentences through hitting the keys in a keyboard that correspond to the letter
that you want.

Thus, learning the correct grammar is essential because texts that are sent by students to
each other are helping them sharpen their writing skills. It is a good training ground to
start for the development of proper language. So a good foundation must be established
to college students especially the freshmen (teens aged 16-17).
Students should be eager enough to know about different things. So they need to be
perfect with English language. They need this language while reading and nowadays
email internet and other electronic media have been using English .Electronic media have
globalized the people across the world through English language. So English has been an
important part of life for modern students nowadays. (Ghising, 2011)

Currently English proficiency is also frequently used as one of the requirements for
applying for a job. It may even be said that almost all professional jobs require a good
competence of English. Moreover, international companies that the salary is very high
also need English competence. Even if not required to speak English, the scholars who
can understand English would get good position in their job. (Importance of English,
2014) English language has brought the people of the world together through its
communicative approach. It has been a global language in daily activities that people
used to perform their work. It has been essential language for everybody. Without the
knowledge of English people can't be updated with perfect information, that's why
English is the language of everybody. (Ghising, 2011)

English may not be the most spoken language in the world, but it is the official language
in a large number of countries. It is estimated that the number of people in the world that
use in English to communicate on a regular basis is 2 billion! English is the dominant
business language and it has become almost a necessity for people to speak English if
they are to enter a global workforce, research from all over the world shows that cross-
border business communication is most often conducted in English. Its importance in the
global market place therefore cannot be understated, learning English really can change a
student’s life. It is a mean to communicate in the interconnected and interdependent
world. Nowadays, English is called International Language and it is also the second
language of many countries in the world. Therefore, students must realize the importance
in communication of this language. When they know English, they can come to and
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communicate with the citizens of most of countries in this globe, without any confusion
in expressing their feelings and thinking. (Estanislao, 2013)

But what is happening today? The development and learning of proper language
is burdened by the simultaneously popping out of improper and inappropriate words
invented and innovated by students, which they are now using to live by.
The way students communicate with one another through social media and text
messaging is creeping into schools across the country. (Lytle, 2011)

These are divided into two groups.

First, text-speak, it is more used and influential than the other; it's a shortened bits of
language or acronymic bites of language. It is created by eliminating letters to the
complete words and/or adding numbers to it. As well as by getting the initial letters of
phrases.
 Examples:
 Dat-that
 Gr8-great
 LOL-laughing out loud (Meritt, 2013)

And the jejemon, derived from 'jeje' as a substitute for 'hehe' -- the short messaging
service (SMS) term for laughter -- and then affixing it with 'mon' -- taken from the
popular Japanese anime of cute trainable monsters called "Pokemon". These are spawned
words and phrases by deliberately stringing together miss-spelled words without syntax
and liberally sprinkling them with punctuation marks.
Examples:
 HeLouWH-hello
 puhLeaZZ-please
 jAjaja-hahaha (Guitierrez, 2010)

Why students do these? Is it because of the fact that language is really constantly
evolving and has been for hundreds of years, ever since it was created which is a natural
phenomena? That this evolution moves toward the reshaping and playing with words?
(Woda, 2013)
Is it the students own will because they no longer understand the boundaries of formal
and informal English? Or are they consciously changing those boundaries through a one-
size-fits-all communicative tone? (Meritt, 2013)
Students have different reasons behind in doing such. Because for them, it's a way to
express their individuality and a way to begin separating themselves from their parents.
(Woda, 2013) So they can hide certain parts of their conversations like vulgarism and
indecent words from their attentive parents.
Examples of these are:
 GNOC- Get Naked On Camera
 PIR-Parent In Room
 9-Parent watching (Edwards, 2014)
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It's a nature to value their privacy and exclusivity that's why they were able to have their
own secret code in a secret club that only them (circle of friends) knew.
It's because of the incurable disease of most students: laziness- all of those acronyms and
shortened words are easier than typing everything out.
It's because of the advancement of all things, teens are consistently updated to the point
that they always go with what is on trend. (Woda, 2013)
And if you're a tech savvy, you will feel cool, omniscient and proud so you have fun
using such languages because limited people only knew what those mean. ( Edwards,
2014)
If these reasons will make this phenomena continuously occur, parents, teachers, and
the government must be alarmed. Because it will inflict lots of negative effects especially
to their studies.
The learning of proficient language will not be productive because the lessons aren't
sticking as well as they are not applying outside the school what they are thought of.
Though they tell that they can still distinguish the proper language from the new ones'
and know how to use it properly, they still don't know that they will be unconsciously
using it. Too much exposure and usage will make students can't easily remember proper
language rules and obliviously applying it in school which will certainly deteriorates their
language skills. It alters the way that students communicate. (Meritt, 2013)

Basic burden may also arise: text messages often contain run on sentences and don’t
contain any punctuation; students are carrying this poor habit to the classroom. Another
concern is the use of lowercase letters. Students aren’t using capital letters where they
should. They found that many of the students used incorrect grammar and punctuation in
their Standard English writing. Errors made in translating from text language into English
included missing words, missing punctuation (mates), textisms left un-translated (hav),
and simple misspellings (girlfrend) (“Txt msg n school literacy…”, 3). The study also
found that the students who texted more made more errors than those who texted less.

The legitimate worry, though, is what this will mean to writing in the future. Not just
handwriting, but the style, spelling, punctuation, grammar of all written expression.
Proponents of text messaging say that texting is good for students because it causes them
to write more, and students have been writing more than ever before. This is true.
However, text messages are often created using a lack of critical analysis. There
are character limitations to text messages and students have accustomed their text
messaging writing to accompany these limitations. They may be properly taught on how
to differentiate between formal and informal English, but their homework assignments
show that they are using text messaging lingo to complete these assignments. (Myhra,
2010)
It will make the teens' behavior dangerous. ( Edwards, 2014)
The initial idea of tighter texting got lost as many "words" became longer than the
originals.( Guitierrez, 2010)
Jejemon is a threat to society and its normal living conditions.
You forget your main language. Because you always use it, it will let you forget the right
spelling or grammar of English. (Samonte, 2010)
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If this will incessantly happening, indeed English language will be destroyed and ruined
including the killing our grammar and spelling. (Solomon, 2013)
Not only the English but also the understanding between two people. It may result a gap
between those who use such language and those who use the proper one.
It is accurate to say that the over-use of texting has been detrimental to the way students
write formally in the classroom and in the real world. The character limitations on text
messages have caused students to form their own style of writing. Using this style so
frequently has caused them to carry it over to formal writing projects. Although students
are writing more than ever, they are writing with little to no depth, terrible grammar, and
are abbreviating almost every word they write. Texting has negatively affected the way
students write. (Myhra, 2010)

That's why students must discern the right time and place for casual language. They
also need to hone their proper English skills so that they can call upon correct spelling
and right construction of grammar when it's needed. (Meritt, 2013)
A strong foundation must build in order not to be affected with the influences of
newfangled words. College students will need to be mindful and observant of the words
they use. Because whatever students do, English language has a vital role to their lives
that's why it must be protected no matter what.

Interview conducted to freshmen college students to see the effect of these new born
languages to them and how they become aware to protect their language proficiency.
Questions:
1. Do you use text-speak or jejemon in istant messaging and in social medias?
Specify what you use.
2. Why do you use such?
3. Does it affect your language skills especially in your studies?

Yes (wru, r u okay? Can't, don't hbu, fu) Because typing the whole word
requires a lot of effort. Using acronyms and abbreviations make ur life easier
Yes, it made my life easier. Studies- none. I can still distinguish which requires a formal
one and an informal one (A. N. Nicerio, personal communication, March 15, 2016)

I have and I still use acronyms when texting or ims-ing because it makes the whole
process (ims) more convenient and easier--it requires me very little effort on typing long
coversational words such as stated by Nica above as for the effect on my studies, there's
really little to no effect caused by using acronyms when ims-ing. I know my boundaries
and I think I've never crossed the line between using acronyms in texting and using such
in formal or academic matters. (M. A. Aquino, personal communication, March 15, 2016)

Yes like gtg, brb, tyl, ily, lol, etc

Coz lazy and also useful when you are in a hurry
Yes, idk how haha jk Maybe because before you play w abbreviated words, you should
already developed a considerable literacy awareness. So basically, using these words
made me creative even more coz I can create/invent alternative spellings (just because of
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my laziness), made my vocab wider (idk how) And also, it has developed my decoding
skills. Hooray! (J. A. Matila, personal communication, March 15, 2016)

Jejemon because it's cute and funny hahahaha

Easier and faster but sometimes it's hard to understand
Di naman gaano kasi di ko naman siya ganun kabisado. Pero minsan confusing na dahil
sa spelling (R. C. Fontanilla, personal communication, March 16, 2016)

Text-speak. IDK, FYI, FU, BRB, SLR, IDC, IDGAF, ROFL, BAE, LOL, BTW, TTYL,
ETC.
For short cut.
No. (V. Cristobal, personal communication, March 16, 2016)

Text-speak: otw, brb, LOL, wru, idk

It makes texting easier especially if you are in a hurry to send a message or you just don't
feel typing lots of words.
As far as I have noticed, it doesn't have any great effect. Maybe sometimes I forget the
right spelling of words and such but ultimately I am still used to writing without text-
speak terms. (J. M. L. Tan, personal communication, March 17, 2016)
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