The Five-Minute Linguist - Bite-sized Essays on Language and Languages Third Edition - Caroline Myrick
56. Is Text Messaging Changing How I Write and Speak?
The Five-Minute Linguist - Bite-sized Essays on Language and Languages Third Edition - Caroline Myrick
Joel Schneier [+]
University of Central Florida
Joel Schneier received his Ph.D. from North Carolina State University in Communication, Rhetoric, & Digital Media. He is currently a lecturer at the University of Central Florida in the Department of Writing & Rhetoric.
Description
Until the late-20th century, most people would write for work or school and occasionally for personal or social reasons. However, after the digital media boom, email, instant messaging, and text messaging made writing an integral part of communicating in people's everyday lives. But how do these kinds of writing, particularly text messaging, affect how people write and speak in other areas of their lives? This chapter examines what language things people learn from texting, how they may use this language to represent themselves, and why the myth that texting is ruining writing is just that: a myth.