Download Belza 1 Norman Belza Dr. Porter ENGL1301 November 24, 2008

Belza 1
Norman Belza
Dr. Porter
ENGL1301
November 24, 2008
Dmbd Dwn: The Disemvowelment of the English Language
Teh English language faces a gr8 threat tht could drastically chng it not only 4 2moro,
but 4ever. Sure, we may b lol’ing rite nao, but soon it will b 2 l8. Wut iz this prblm? English
literacy is suffering at the hands of communication advancement.
My friends and I are developing into skimmers rather than readers. We have habituated
ourselves into glancing through our text messages, Facebook comments, Myspace bulletins;
consequently, we often lack the attention span long enough to read an entire book. The ability
to concentrate and think critically upon one topic has been replaced by the ability to quickly
jump from one topic to the next, with merely seconds of thought spent on each. Websites like
Wikipedia worsen the matter, as one article is full of links to related articles throughout the
text. For instance, a friend of mine was studying for calculus and viewed an article concerning
calculus formulas. Some links caught his eye and drew him to other articles. Ultimately, he
found himself researching Chernobyl. Rather than reading and digesting literary works such as
Moby Dick, The Iliad, Heart of Darkness, or All quiet on the Western Front, we are focusing our
time on the Internet, delving into social networks or becoming distracted.
I see my peers, those under the age of thirty, casting away the rules of the English
language as we more frequently use the Internet to communicate, whether through instant
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message, e-mail, or blog post. I have noticed grammar and spelling errors becoming much
more prevalent. Specifically, the most widespread grammar violation I have noticed on the
Internet is the improper usage of words such as “your” and “you’re” as well as “their” and
“they’re.” In chatrooms, forums, and even online games such as World of WarCraft, where
textual communication is vital, these grammar mistakes have plagued my screen. While these
grammar mistakes are indeed common and not exclusive to the Internet, I have observed that
my peers are making these mistakes most often compared to older people.
For us, spelling is losing value as we communicate with word alterations. For example,
we are using more and more shortened words to express ourselves as we text message friends.
Acronyms have spawned for frequently used words and phrases: “idk,” short for “I don’t know;”
“ttyl,” meaning “talk to you later;” and “lol,” which means “laughing out loud.” In less than five
letters we can communicate a complete thought. Additionally, these alterations allow for more
space for other words, thus avoiding the dreaded text message character limit. Despite the
practicality of using these terms, however, children may forget the proper spelling of the words
they’re shortening in the first place. Moreover, some abbreviations simply remove vowels or
replace parts of words with numbers to match the word phonetically. I have seen text
messages such as “txt me l8r 2day plz, k? bb,” which translates to “text me later today please,
okay? bye bye.” In a fairly recent AT&T commercial I saw on television, a mother complains to
her daughter about the latest text messaging bill.
Mother: Beth Ann!
Daughter: WU? (What’s up?)
Mother: Your cell phone bill is what’s up. All this texting!
Daughter: OMG, INBD! (Oh my gosh, it’s no big deal.)
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Mother: It is a big deal. Who are you texting fifty times a day?
Daughter: IDK, my BFF Jill? (I don’t know, my best friend forever Jill?)
While this commercial is undeniably comical, this joke is becoming a reality and children may
use these acronyms in speech and disemvoweled words and writing.
Arguably, these acronyms are just another form of slang that developed with the
improvement of technology. Slang has always risen from new generations as they make
alterations on words, creating new or existing words and phrases and giving them new
meaning. For instance, calling a person a “wet blanket” from the 1920s meant they were a
killjoy. In the 1970s, “bad” meant cool, good, or nice. Considering the difference between
slang and our new communication jargon, which is composed more of acronyms and vowelless
words, we should be weary of this devolution of the English language.
Some victims of bad grammar and spelling may blame things such as videogames for
their ineptitude; videogames which, in fact, exercise clear and proper English to appropriately
instruct players. In World of WarCraft, for instance, adventurers explore the world and
complete quests. These quests are always written without any spelling or grammatical errors.
Proponents of the disemvowelment may also claim that we need these shortcuts due to
the information overload that confronts us daily. We have no choice but to skim through
articles and utilize shortened words without attention to proper form. Certainly, these
shortcuts are necessary in order to deal with this overload, but we must keep in mind that just
as we avoid using slang in formal writing, we should avoid the internet expressions with the
wrong audiences. Therefore, children should not become like young Beth Ann of the AT&T
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commercials and should instead use formal grammar when talking to their parents, other
adults, or friends in person.
As a result of all this, the new generation is on the verge of another dark age, lacking
knowledge and full of misinformation. Some hope still exists for the English language, though.
Spelling and grammar checking technology exists in some programs such as Microsoft Word.
Could our generation expand the software into all text based software? Could those who
frequently spam their friends with “lol” say “bb” to their ways and begin using complete
sentences? Just as we adapt to socialization trends in technology, we can preserve proper
English. We can be beacons of light.