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Kids Speaking Up: Lost Language
“omg lol! sry g2g ttyl <3 u lots.” Believe it or not, this is what the written language has become — a series of unpronounceable letters stuck into short expressions. Within the last decade, technology has become an integral part of the growth of the economy and industry. Not only do we have access to electronics such as TVs, computers, gaming systems and cell phones, but these gadgets have become a part of what we need to survive on a day-to-day basis. But with this increase in technology comes the decline in our daily conversations.
In ancient Rome, handwritten letters were once read as if the writer were in the presence of the receiver. Each epistle was laden with the tone and feeling of the writer, who, being absent, could only rely on words to be his vessel of emotion. Words like these carried orders, comfort, and could even express shameless satire, something very rarely found in today’s virtual messages. “I <3 U” just doesn’t contain the same value as an “I love you,” as neither does “lol” today ever construe a hearty chuckle from the sender. These artificial messages have stripped the meaning off of words, leaving them only as shells of the meaning they once held. But not only have words been lost, but so has the experience of live conversation.
Often have I been present at a gathering where everyone has their head buried in a cell phone, firing off messages every 10 seconds to one of four recipients. This may seem normal, but how often have we ever had the experience of discussing four different topics with four people all at the exact same time? It is literally impossible! Furthermore, texting can only hold so much expression at one time, making deep discussions such as philosophical reasoning or political deliberation out of the question. Instead, we look to gossip and objective topics spoon-fed to us by the media, resulting in the media-crazy society we host today.
Dos Pueblos High sophomore Connie Phung is co-founder of Kids Speaking Up, a local group working to educate youth on social, national and political issues and inspire them to write.
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» on 02.26.09 @ 03:35 AM
YGG
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» on 02.26.09 @ 09:05 AM
Connie:
I disagree respectfully.
Throughout its 1,500 year history, the English language has evolved. The so-called ‘emotion grammar’ was lost (hundreds of years ago) not because people were becoming too disconnected with the world, but rather because it was their natural tendancy to abbreviate and simplify. That is what is happening these days.
Noun declensions were lost over 600 years ago and the ‘thou’ pronoun was lost 400 years ago. During those periods of time, wars were being fought and new philosophies were being discussed.
Furthermore, through your arguement, the printing press, which allowed mass, impersonal distribution and communication of texts and ideas is a bad thing. Did the printing press not create a ‘new media’? Didn’t Voltaire spoon-feed gossip to his readers through the press.
I’m sorry. I am not sure whether you truly understand what is happening right now.
If you cannot agree with my point, then please pitch into my response. I will await your riposte.
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» on 02.26.09 @ 06:41 PM
William:
I understand the view from which you are stating your commentary. However, it is not that I disagree that the English language has not evolved. In fact, to this very day, it is changing dramatically. But what I am trying to express are concerns that our daily conversations have declined in meaning due to the lack of esteem for the English Language. For instance, in texts, articles, verb tensing, and proper grammar have frequently been eliminated in order to reply faster. This has resulted in the decreasing regard we have towards the utilization of proper English in the real world. Secondly, while I agree that the availability of these electronics allows us to receive more information quickly, not all focus on the extreme issues we face today. Instead, some may use it to peer nosily into the lives of others.
As to your “printing press” argument. Voltaire was a published philosophical thinker, writer, and social reformist. Voltaire was able to spread his opinions with the printing press; he was able to discuss radical thoughts and ideas, thus resulting in the Enlightenment of the 18th century. This method of expression is still available and still efficient today. What I’m trying to say is that this is difficult to accomplish through the impromptu and informal texting that has taken our generation by storm.
I thank you for your opinion.
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» on 02.27.09 @ 03:24 PM
Connie:
1. Lack of esteem for the English language? Do people actually care about the awesomeness of their native language? While I personally admire the huge vocabulary and the non-phonetic phonology of English, I hardly care about the way I say things. I don’t see any exceptional beauty in the language I speak every single day. Linguists study dialects, pidgins, and creole languages. These languages usually exists shortened because people hate dealing with extra dimensions of grammar and spelling. Standard Brazilian Portuguese was recently forced to simplify its orthography because people were being lazy (see http://images.ig.com.br/hotsites/reforma_ortografica/Guia_Reforma_Ortografica_CP.pdf). That’s way things are, whether you like it or not.
2. While I agree with you that overusing ‘txt’ is idiotic and tends not to indicate intelligence, it provides a pivotal point for dissent to occur. Would one be more comfortable communicating to someone “OMG didya see him gt sh0t” or “I saw a man get shot on the street today”? The one of the only reasons why protests in Tibet and Burma were so well recorded was because people were anxious to tell their friends the information. Using a cell phone, they were able to react on a whim on the spot. Certainly they would not have told their friends through an awkward well-written letter composed with the fear of reprisal (realized after some thought).
Respectfully yours.
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» on 02.28.09 @ 06:25 PM
Candide’s Attack on reason is that questioned. Leibnitz, Pagloss were all satirically rhetorical. That is what I remember from Cleveland Humanities Magnet High School Core Classes. I forgot if it was the 10th or 11th grade with Sisson, Miller, Hill or Lynn; all my teachers still held me back in memories all together. If any can get the point then answers now, people better to have answers for speaking true types of nonsense.
Attack this one: think and read, have answers. This has three parts but two things to do. The answers are two things, reading and thinking is what is done to have answers. This sense of being reasonable conveys a way of learning for others by not asking why as to being ignorant – start learning if none is known. Knowing what is to be talked about can explain any reasons one teacher will say.
After getting these points, think further. Thought the likes of Hemingway where the Lost Generation wrote ideas Mr. Chen “doth sayeth” he disagrees these ideas from pointing to agree – lol. Wittgenstein was a contemporary of said journalist writing in a medium similar to Ms. Phung’s text messaging style – similar if not started by American Transcendentalists – for popularly being recognized “by” also. Authors like Clemens, Thoreau, and Emerson did influence Faulkner who did make a significant impact to the generation who fought during the First World War.
Hemingway is influential to Post Modern authors who styled dystopia while Wittgenstein was invited by Bertrand Russell at Cambridge explaining new symbolic mathematical analysis of human semantics. Therefore Reading and Math are keys to better comprehension and analysis for other facets of humanity; including history; our nonsensical law; and which are all that said are the other types of sciences.
By never stopping to learn and not quitting explaining the real points will make teachers out of any; so reread the whole thing again. To end all discussions:
(1) Quad erat demonstradum – that which is to be shown – qed.
(2) Reductio ad absurdum – reducing from the absurd – raa.
Now may everyone know to be the same argument; argumentum ad homoneim – aah.
People often referred to all men from ancient times including women that everything is just integral – interconnected descriptions by the existence of limits. For every answer greater than or equal to a question, there exists an answer such that for every answer by being doubted, the question has been answered. Semantics of interpretations solves the same solution, preference is the expression to communicate.
Both Ms. Phung and Mr. Chen have the same solutions in different interpretation for communication. AHH-MEN from the Latin of which is so be it (the real absurd solution).
Education is the Law - qed.
[Note to Editor: I am still getting the message “you are not authorized” and will not bother to ask the website admin to change the nested value from (-1) back to (1) on the java scripts. I do not need to explain myself. My IP address is 66.98.152.69 so as to any reasons why this post will also be taken out; I leave any their doubts by not asking me, I am a teacher better written and having not said to understand the other.]
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» on 03.01.09 @ 05:57 PM
LIBERALS
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» on 03.04.09 @ 03:39 AM
John:
What are you trying to say? What is your main point?
Thank you.
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