I found it hard to believe that David Crystal's address on Misconceptions stated that there is a
positive correlation between children who use textisms, text messaging
abbreviations, and their literacy skills. He states that the more
abbreviations the higher they score on texts of reading and vocabulary, so
the better the student the more likely are they to have more textism in their
text messaging. Like many other readers this surprised me because I thought
that the more abbreviations one uses in text messaging the less likely are you
to have good literacy skills. I understand that we are somewhat innately given
the processes to distinguish between words. Yet if a child repeatedly uses
these abbreviations, then I assumed that their spelling, punctuation and
grammar would be negatively affected. I feel that even if you have a good sense
of the sounds and have good vision and memory, somewhat using these abbreviated
forms constantly will deteriorate their correct learned ones. To continue,
Crytal adds that we want to communicate to our textees so we grow sensitive to
writing in LOL or BRB in short to say “laugh out loud” or “be right back.” What do you guys think? How does communicative intent/
interpretation come in par with texting? Somehow when we use these forms they
are analyzed differently depending on the texter or textee. So be careful in
what term you use LOL. How much time does BRB required to receive a text back
from the sender? It is a play on semantics yet EMC has no limits. We need to
establish a sense of understanding on EMC or much of our education is in
caution!
Chapter 4 covered how we use punctuation to mean certain
things. We mark apostrophes when needed for clarity, exclamation point to
intensify emotion, and capitalization for importance. The orthography used in
texts make helps us make meaning from what we write. It also helps us know you
better. We can somewhat tell what kind of personality, age, educational
background, gender and so on from just how you write a text. According to
Crystal, grammar in the Internet is restricted to a sociolinguistics point of
view. Your grammar here depends on where you live, whom you’re around, and what
situations could make you say things. The most interesting part for me was
reading about the association that bloggers make when others read their post. I
have never thought about this, but it is true that reading smaller chunks of
words is easier for some, especially me. Although I don’t read blogs often, I
tend to make my kindle book view a broader length so the text doesn’t seem
bulky. When I do I find them to be in short paragraphs, which is exceptionally
liberating to see, as formal reading tend to be lengthy and bulky. From a pragmatics
point, the Internet violates the felicity conditions under the maxim of
quality, quantity, relevance, and manner. Think about your spam mail, pop-ups,
log in information, higher ranked web searches, and so on. They could be
annoying, disrespectful, and could cost you time. In addition to making time or
saving it, this chapter reminded me that texting is time consuming! Those of us
who are caught texting and driving, texting abbreviations quickly to catch the
train in the subway, or those of us who write lengthy text messages. Might as
well just call the person. Yes, it is a
lot to think on, but we really should put thought into this type of communication.
Finally, the piece on The
Period focuses on how the period is seemingly used in an aggressive
form, when in reality the true definition of a period is to end a sentence with
a pause. I think it depends on who
like to write their messages in certain ways. Are you the one to write text
messages in complete sentences with all correct punctuation, or not? I use much
more periods if I am writing to my boss, than writing to my boyfriend. I love
using exclamation points for sarcasm and to show a lot of emotion, but when I
am writing to a new contact I reframe on only using one exclamation point if
and only if the other person replies with much more than one. In all, I can’t imagine a world out from
using periods; it’s my best friend and doesn’t make me more aggressive writer.
I did not buy Crystal's statement about children's literacy competancy being higher if they used texisms or abbreviations. I was born and raised here in the US and I speak both English and Spanish but I would say I am better at English. I recall the days in elementary where I had to learn new words and English grammar, syntax etc and it was hard for me. I did not have my first phone until like High School, so I would not be a good candidaye for this study. However, I just don't find Crystal's statemenr credible or solid. I think that there should much more research before one can make a statement such as that. As Yorquidia stated, grammar, punctuation and etc would be negativley affected because pre-k through elementary school age is a critical point in a childs life in terms of grasping a language they will eventually master or become native to them. Yes, its credible that we all have an innate abilityto learn an langauge, but, we also are taught the rules of those langauges as we grow and are exposed to it.
ReplyDeleteI think that Crystal's proposition on the increase of literacy in children based on their fluency in textism very surprising. Ive heard much more research on how textism deteriorates literacy. From that statement, I wonder if our youth are becoming intuitive about the appropriate time to use textisms earlier on than we did. I mean, anyone who's taken Madsen's class knows he adamantly stresses the appropriate usage of professional language through any electronic communication. We didn't grow up with all this technology and the many ways to informally communicate with each other. Perhaps our younger generations are more intuitive about using textism.
ReplyDeleteAs for The Period, i read this article a few months ago and i found it incredibly interesting. I had noticed that most people don't use periods while texting,however i didn't know it had taken on such an agressive meaning. Could we be developing a sort of taboo for texting?
In America, people use abbreviations for convenience and efficiency. In Hong Kong, people use the words that pronounce the same but much more simple than the correct one in texting to save time. I am also surprised that when Crystal pointed out that the more abbreviations the kids use, the better grade they will have at school. If you use abbreviations all the time, I believe that people will get used to it and they tend to use it in formal situation such as writing research paper without noticing it. Personally, when I type Chinese, instead of using another word that contains less strokes, I will choose to type the correct one though it may take more time. I don't feel like using homophones. This is my language. I think I should write it in a proper way.
ReplyDeletePunctuation is another important factor in writing. However, I think that when we are doing texting, we usually talk to our friends which is an informal setting. Then, we do not have to focus on the grammar too much. When I do texting, I do skip punctuation most of the time. When I finish a sentence and going to start a new sentence, I just put a larger space between them instead of a period. I am doing this because I am lazy.
Texting is a short version of a research paper or an essay. If we use abbreviations most of the time, at the moment we work on professional paper, can we switch back to normal English without problems?
This reading reminded me of the code-switching phenomena. Although some belittle those who are bilingual, bilinguals actually have the same word (in different lexicons) representing the same thing. Learning any new form of communicating is mastering a language. In this case, being “technologically savvy” is an obvious advantage. Although Crystal’s initial statement states that students who use textisms and text messaging abbreviations tend to score higher on literacy and vocabulary exams – I beg to differ.
ReplyDeleteI work with a group of fourth graders, and I make them write reflections on the books they have read every month. While looking through their work, it saddens me how much technology has influenced their grammar. My kids have struggle writing a four – six legible and cohesive sentence paragraph, use “ma” to refer to “my”, “brusht” to refer to “brushed”, and have difficulty distinguishing between “your vs. you are”, and “their, there, they are”. Reminiscing to my elementary school days, I was not exposed to iPads, Facebook, Smartphones, and everything else technology because it was not invented! Nowadays, kids who are not even born are on the internet! I agree with Yorquidia stating if a child repeatedly uses these abbreviations, then it is assumed that their spelling, punctuation and grammar would be negatively affected . Being that I work at an elementary school in the Bronx; my kids are from urban communities. As much as they hate afterschool, I try my best to incorporate as much grammar in our lectures, yet they seem to always get distracted by smartboards, computers, Smartphones, Gameboys, and PS3’s. If this is our generation, a generation filled with fourth graders who cannot complete a simple math fraction because of their fixation with touch screens and social media, I am very scared to witness the further evolutionary characteristics of technology.