Research Proposal

Aliza Jacobs
Independent Research 1 G/T
2018-2019

Research Title: ​Abbrevi8, don’t Deterior8: Textspeak and the English Language

Overview of Research: ​Linguistics has always been fascinating to me. Because of my age and

the way I have grown up, I am interested in the modern ways that people communicate with each

other. It is difficult to find a high school student who doesn’t text or participate in social media in

some form or another. My research project will aim to minimize the stigma associated with

texting and intelligence. Older generations often claim that the way millennials and younger

generations text is causing their literary abilities to dwindle. I am researching to prove otherwise.

Background and History of the Issue: ​Language originated long before humans even

considered making telephones. Language has changed many times since the first conversation

took place. It has taken many forms; for example, Old English (the English of Shakespeare’s

time), and Late Modern English (English in the 19th and 20th centuries). English also takes the

form of several dialects like Cockney, Australian, and New England American. This alteration

towards textspeak is no different than any other past shift.

Textspeak itself is thought to have originated during the decade of pay-per message

texting. When individual messages cost money, phone users sought every way possible to limit

the amount of texts they sent. The main way to do this was abbreviations. Before became b4 and

at became @. Another proposed reason for textspeak is the available phones when texting was

made possible. Phones with alphanumeric keypads were extremely difficult to type long

messages with. Users abbreviated words in order to make texting easier and quicker.
Problem Statement and Rationale: ​This issue is extremely current. Several researchers believe

that the prevalence of textspeak is causing the ability of youth to use English properly to

diminish. The relevance of abbreviations in daily life is becoming more and more common.

Shortened words are often found on retail websites, television commercials, and sometimes even

on billboards. The importance of textspeak has never been greater.

Research Methodology:

● Research Question and Hypothesis: ​Is texting causing the English language to

deteriorate?

Texting, specifically abbreviation and emoji usage, is not causing a deterioration

of the English language in elementary-aged students.

● Basis of Hypothesis: ​As a 17 year-old high school student, I am fluent in English

and textspeak. I continue to get A’s on essays in my AP English Literature class,

and I use abbreviations and variations of grammar in my texts every day. I am

able to maintain both of these statuses on a daily basis without having my English

or textspeak deteriorate. I hope I can help to destroy the stigma that textspeak

harms one’s English literacy.

● Research Design: ​I will be conducting descriptive qualitative research. I will

study the common uses of textspeak and how they are used on a day-to-day basis.

I also plan to examine standardized test scores from before textspeak became

widely known and the present. Lastly, I will create a questionnaire to explore high

school students’ abilities to be equally fluent in Textspeak and English.

 ● Operational Definitions: ​Textspeak-- the language of texting with abbreviations,

altered grammar, and limited punctuation and capitalization.

Literacy rate-- the percentage of people in an age group that are able to read and

write

Product Overview: ​My research will culminate in a website with my experiment results. It will

be a website because that is relevant to my topic. Parts of it will be in textspeak for aesthetic and

also to convey certain information. My intended audience is high school students and their

parents. This website will be shared among fellow students.

Logistical Considerations: ​It may be difficult to obtain a sufficient sample size of people

willing to participate in my experiment. Other than this, very few challenges arise within my

topic.