Is Texting Killing the English

Language?
People have always spoken differently from how they write, and texting is actually talking
with your fingers
By John McWhorterApril 25, 2013
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Texting has long been bemoaned as the downfall of the written word, “penmanship for illiterates,” as
one critic called it. To which the proper response is LOL. Texting properly isn’t writing at all — it’s
actually more akin to spoken language. And it’s a “spoken” language that is getting richer and more
complex by the year.

First, some historical perspective. Writing was only invented 5,500 years ago, whereas language
probably traces back at least 80,000 years. Thus talking came first; writing is just an artifice that
came along later. As such, the first writing was based on the way people talk, with short sentences —
think of the Old Testament. However, while talk is largely subconscious and rapid, writing is
deliberate and slow. Over time, writers took advantage of this and started crafting tapeworm
sentences such as this one, from The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: “The whole engagement
lasted above 12 hours, till the gradual retreat of the Persians was changed into a disorderly flight, of
which the shameful example was given by the principal leaders and the Surenas himself.”

(MORE: Why Americans Need Spelling Bees and Vocabulary Tests)

No one talks like that casually — or should. But it is natural to desire to do so for special occasions,
and that’s what oratory is, like the grand-old kinds of speeches that William Jennings Bryan
delivered. In the old days, we didn’t much write like talking because there was no mechanism to
reproduce the speed of conversation. But texting and instant messaging do — and a revolution has
begun. It involves the brute mechanics of writing, but in its economy, spontaneity and even vulgarity,
texting is actually a new kind of talking. There is a virtual cult of concision and little interest in
capitalization or punctuation. The argument that texting is “poor writing” is analogous, then, to one
that the Rolling Stones is “bad music” because it doesn’t use violas. Texting is developing its own
kind of grammar and conventions.

(MORE: Banning the Term Illegal Immigrant Won’t Change the Stigma)

Texting is developing its own kind of grammar. Take LOL. It doesn’t actually mean “laughing out
loud” in a literal sense anymore. LOL has evolved into something much subtler and sophisticated
and is used even when nothing is remotely amusing. Jocelyn texts “Where have you been?” and
Annabelle texts back “LOL at the library studying for two hours.” LOL signals basic empathy between
texters, easing tension and creating a sense of equality. Instead of having a literal meaning, it does
something — conveying an attitude — just like the -ed ending conveys past tense rather than
“meaning” anything. LOL, of all things, is grammar.
Of course no one thinks about that consciously. But then most of communication operates below the
radar. Over time, the meaning of a word or an expression drifts — meat used to mean any kind
of food, silly used to mean, believe it or not, blessed.

Civilization, then, is fine — people banging away on their smartphones are fluently using a code
separate from the one they use in actual writing, and there is no evidence that texting is ruining
composition skills. Worldwide people speak differently from the way they write, and texting — quick,
casual and only intended to be read once — is actually a way of talking with your fingers.

All indications are that America’s youth are doing it quite well. Texting, far from being a scourge, is a
work in progress.

This essay is adapted from McWhorter’s talk at TED 2013.

BY CHRISTINE ERICKSON

SEP 21, 2012

Where would we be without text messaging? The feature has grown from being favored by the tech-
savvy to a universal staple. It's allowed us to be more efficient, independent and direct. When you're
running late, you text someone to let them know. When you're in class or a meeting and there's an
emergency, you know immediately. When you need a quick "yes" or "no," you ask via text.

How did such a seemingly simple method of communication lead us to the trillions of texts sent today?

Texting, or SMS (short message service) is a method of communication that sends text between
cellphones — or from a PC or handheld to a cell phone.

The "short" part comes from the maximum size of the text messages: 160 characters (letters, numbers
or symbols in the Latin alphabet).

The SMS concept was developed in the Franco-German GSM cooperation in 1984 by Friedhelm
Hillebrand and Bernard Ghillebaert.

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The text message turns 20: A

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Back in 2000, Americans were sending a now-comically low 35 texts per month. Thinkstock/iStockphoto

December 3, 2012
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HBD, text messaging! The first SMS text was sent 20 years ago today by
Neil Papworth, then a 22-year-old communications engineer working in the
United Kingdom. Papworth's SMS — Short Messaging Service — text was
sent from a PC (phones didn't yet have keyboards) to a friend at a holiday
party across town and read simply, "Merry Christmas." Here, a brief history
of the humble beginnings and ensuing explosion of texting:

1984: An idea is born

Sitting at a typewriter at his home in Bonn, Germany, Friedhelm Hillebrand
types random sentences and questions, counting every letter, number, and
space. Almost every time, the messages amount to fewer than 160 characters
— what would become the limit of early text messages — and thus the
concept for the perfect-length, rapid-fire "short message" was born.
"Perfectly sufficient," Hillebrand would recall later about his discovery,
which came long before mobile phones were an everyday tool. 

Dec. 3, 1992: The first text message

Papworth, a former developer at Sema Group Telecoms, sends the world's
first SMS greeting to his friend Richard Jarvis, who at the time worked at
U.K. service Vodafone. Jarvis couldn't say "Merry Christmas" back, because
his brick-sized Orbitel 901 phone had no way of inputting text.

1993: Mobile phones get SMS

Finnish phone-maker Nokia debuts the first mobile phone that's able to send
texts. Early text messages — which have to be painstakingly entered on
numerical keypads — are free, but can only be sent between two people on
the same network. This remains the standard for quite a few years.

1994: SMS as broadcast

Vodafone — one of only two mobile networks in the U.K. — launches a
share-price alert system for business people.

1995: T9 debuts
The Tegic or "T9" system, which predicts texting based on what letters you're
typing, first sees the light of day. Though confusing at first, the input method
becomes popular among slick-fingered texters.

1997: Enter QWERTY

The Nokia 9000i Communicator becomes the first phone to come
equipped with a keyboard. Future BlackBerry fans rejoice. 

1999: Worlds collide

Text messages finally cross networks for the first time, and "a new fever" is
born, says The Wall Street Journal. College kids begin latching onto the
inexpensive, quick-fire technology as their communication medium du jour. 

2000: Text messaging takes off

Now capable of texting with their friends on other networks, Americans
begin sending (a now comically low) 35 texts per month.

2002: Text messaging really explodes

More than 250 billion SMS messages are sent worldwide. 

July 2006: Enter Twitter

Twitter makes its debut as a text-message-based service in the summer of
2006. Its famous 140-character limit was set by SMS' own limitations
pioneered by Hillebrand.

2007: Texting surpasses calling

NBD. The number of texts sent in a month passes the number of monthly
phone calls placed by Americans for the first time ever. 

2008: The texter-in-chief

Presidential candidate Barack Obama sends supporters a text
messageannouncing Joe Biden as his vice-presidential running mate.
2010: The service peaks
The International Telecommunications Union reports that 200,000 text
messages are sent every minute. 6.1 trillion texts are sent worldwide over the
entire year.

June 2012: Evidence of a decline?

Although some 7.4 trillion SMS texts were sent in 2011, up 44 percent from
the year before, texting in the U.K., Sweden, the U.S., and other countries
begins to see a decline in 2012, according to several research firms. Some
critics say that text messaging simply isn't evolving. Others point out that
consumers still have to pay to use the service, and many are instead looking
to free messaging options. "It comes down to cost," Chris Ziegler, a mobile
phone expert and senior editor at The Verge, tells ABC News. There are more
alternatives than ever with BBM, iMessage, WhatsApp, and more. A "savvy
subscriber can dispense of their text messaging plan altogether." 

Sources: The Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Mashable, The Wall Street

Journal, Nielsen

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Text messaging or commonly called texting is the process of sending short messages usually 160
characters from a mobile phone. The latest mobile phones are capable of sending as much as 20 pages
containing 160 characters of text messages. These messages are commonly called SMS, texts or text
messages.

Text messaging technology uses an SMS gateway in order to hook up any mobile SMS service to an
existing instant message service, Word Wide Web, PDA devices, personal computers as well as to any
landline phone.

Some of the devices which have Bluetooth devices can connect to a mobile phone as a modem can also
send SMS through wireless networks. SMS have been widely used with either GSM or non GSM
systems.

Basically, text messaging intends to provide a means of sending message to one person to another no
matter where they are as long as there is signal coverage from the mobile providers. This service is also
used for automated systems primarily for the purpose of purchasing produces as well as services for
mobile phone. Text messaging is also widely used in many contests.

According to some companies, the first ever text message was sent during 1989 by Edward Lantz, a
former NASA employee. The text message was sent through a Motorola beeper. The message consists
of numbers read upside down to read the message.

On December 3, 1992 in the United Kingdom, the first SMS messaging was used in a commercial sent
through a Vodafone GSM network. The SMS message was sent by Neil Papworth with the use of a
desktop computer. The SMS contains the word Merry Christmas which was sent to Richard Jarvis from
Vodafone through a handset device model Orbitel 901. For the GSM systems, the first SMS using a Nokia
phone was sent by an engineering student, Riku Pihkonen.

At first, text messaging has not been very popular since it was designed primarily to be used by the
hearing impaired. During the 1990s only few messages were being sent through SMS. But during the
year 2000, there have been a gradual increase in the use of text messaging.

As the text messaging system has been developed, it had gained popularity which has increased the
number of SMS messages as well as a sudden increase of the numbers of subscribers.

Based on statistics, Finland, Norway and Sweden there are around 72% of the total population are using
text messaging. In Europe and North America, there are over 85% users of SMS.

Among the Asian countries, the Philippines have the largest population of mobile subscribers who uses
text messaging as a means of communication. An average of 20 text messages is being sent daily by a
subscriber.

Because of this, the Philippines have been considered as the text capital of the world. On 2007 alone,
there are 42.70 million people who are subscribers of mobile phones.Text messaging has been very
popular in the Philippines because it has been a cheap and reliable alternative means of communication.

According to the Global Messaging Survey conducted by Nokia, text messaging has been proven to be
an addictive activity. This has been confirmed by a study by the University of Queensland which is based
in Australia. It has been compared to be as addictive as cigarette smoking.

Since text messaging has become very popular around the world, the text speaks or text lingo has been
adapted as a way to type messages quickly. Text speak are abbreviations of words which tends to avoid
typing the whole word which is time consuming. Another reason is that most mobile phones do not have
QUERTY keyboards just like personal computers
A DRAMATIC SHIFT is sweeping through our schools. The signs are all around us. Third graders texting on
their cell phones. Kindergarteners who can navigate an iPod Touch better than we can. Middle schoolers
who already have an Internet following on their blog or YouTube channel. These are not the same 21st
century learners we came to know over the fi rst decade of the new millennium. For these students,
simply watching videos or images during class, playing an Internet multiplication game, or even taking
turns at an interactive whiteboard is no longer enough. These new 21st century learners are highly
relational and demand quick access to new knowledge. More than that, they are capable of engaging in
learning at a whole new level. With the world literally at their fi ngertips, today’s students need teachers
and administrators to re-envision the role of technology in the classroom.

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Assignment 2

Our students have changed radically. Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system
was designed to teach. (Prensky, 2001)

Name: Moya-Dean Walcott

Subject: Education
Course: Educational Technology
Facilitators: Mrs. R. Smith
Mrs. I. Reynolds-Saulter
Date: 23-Oct-12

Twenty First Century Learners

Assignment 1
Moya-Dean Walcott
Shortwood Teachers’ College

Our students today are molded by their environment. This twenty-first century environment is one which is
electronic and digital. It is filled with various forms of technology, including cellular phones, computers,
hand held gaming devices and the internet. As such our students are twenty-first century learners - digital
learners. They, in essence, understand the world through the use of varying computing devices and other
forms of technology.
There are many differences seen in the twenty-first century learner. One such change is that today’s
students learn differently. According to Pensky (2001), today’s students think and process information
fundamentally differently from their predecessors…different kinds of experiences lead to different brain
structures. This is primarily due to the environment in which they grow up. These students are surrounded
by various forms of technology and may prefer to use one form over the other in order to match their
learning styles. The three main learning styles are auditory (prefer using sound), visual (prefer using
pictures and spatial understanding) and tactile (prefer to carry out physical activities). Students will easily
get bored or will not learn as much if their learning style is not catered to. Twenty-first century learners
think creatively and also seek creative ways to learn. They use digital technology to gather information on
things they find interesting and important to them. There is therefore a disconnect when they enter the
classroom because they are expected to learn in a different way. They are expected to...

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