In the novel 1984, Syme explains to Winston that the purpose of Newspeak in the novel is to "narrow the range of thought." Syme becomes excited when he explains to Winston how "we're destroying words-- scores of them, hundreds of them, every day." After viewing the TED talk on "Texting is Killing Language" by John McWhorter, write a response to the following question:
Is texting the Newspeak of the 21st century? Is using this texting language harmful for society's ability to communicate (written/oral)? Does it affect students in a negative way? Or, is texting the just a new form of language used today separate from formal written/oral expression? Think about the presentation you just viewed from the TED talk with McWhorter.
14 comments:
I believe it is the newspeak of this century. I sometimes mix up formal writing with text talk when I am writing papers because it's how I talk daily with friends. It's way more easy and quick to use text talk compared to trying to remember how to actually spell a word that can be shortened.
I feel like it is harmful to society because people don't like to talk face to face or even make phone calls, they only like texting and refrain from face to face contact. I believe that it does affect students because they tend to forget how to spell certain words. They do this because they are use to texting in the "texting language" and not in English. Karissa Morder
Yes texting is the Newspeak of the 21st century. However, it is harmful to everyone due to the fact people talk in shorter words and sentences. Writing, over the phone is very informal as well. The use of words being informal doesn't help one broaden their vocabulary.
I believe that texting is not the Newspeak of the 21st century. Texting is just a form of writing to send something quick in a text message. People do not say I-D-K when they want to say "I don't know", they actually say the phrase. No one talks the way they text, that is why it is two different things.
I don't think that texting is killing our form of language because when I text for the most part I don't use abbreviations, also when I'm communicating with other homosapians I don't use terms like "idk or ttyl". Like the guy said from the video, talking and writing are not the same thing. As long as the same level of understanding is there between the two people communicating, it isn't killing it. - chaz
Yes, i think text talk is the new language of the 21st century. Things like brb, ttyl, lol, etc. are our 'norms' of talking these days, and who knows, maybe more complex forms of 'text talk' will be seen in the future. I don't think text talk hurts us on purpose, its just apart of our speech, but in my opinion, it does. Using text talk hurts our 'proper' form of English language. Things like brb, ttyl, lol, etc. are shorter forms of our 'proper' language. Using these shorter forms of words hurts the true structure of our language, and may even result in us forgetting the full forms of these words in the future.
I think that using shorter words like lol can destroy language even though it makes texting easier it would make you think more if you typed it out
Personally, I do believe that text talk is in no way good for our society. I believe that as all these short cuts are made such as "Text Talk" are just allowing people to be lazier than usual. Communication is now all on a screen. Nobody calls or sends letters anymore. Yes, I personally love the ability to text. The way it's now possible to have a complete conversation in just seconds is amazing. It's just unfortunate that face to face communication is now lacking. The fact that people would rather text than talk face to face is just adding to the lack of communication among people now. Text language is slowly becoming the Newspeak language for the society. There are multiple positives and negatives to this new way to speak to others.
I think think texting is the Newspeak of the 21st century. I know people that actually say J-K and I-D-K in person. They literally say the letters like they would in a text message. I think it is the same thing because I think some people do talk they way they text. I think later down the road in a couple generations it will get worse and it will impact the world more negatively than it is now.
- Riley Stovall
Texting is just a way of fast communication in todays age the world has become busier and it is more convienent to communicate through texting because people are on the go most of the time. But this can lead to issues in the younger generations due to not having the ability to communicate in person face to face or not having confidence to speak in public with what you say in text. Its negative and positive.
I think that texting is the newspeak language of today. As the man in the video talked about speaking is unconscious and writing is and does take thoughts. It is easier to speak then texting because our mind isn't able to process the information fast enough to the fingers to type. When you become faster and you need to get the information out quickly texting helps relay that information. lol is easier then writing out the whole sentence laugh out loud or i'm laughing right now. Texting is simpler at getting information out and helps you communicate easier because of the technology. We should be look forward to texting and communicating. The future is technology based and we need to look forward to that. Even if it is easier to talk what you are thinking the texting it, it helps communicate as you would never say something to someones face then through the phone. Now 4 the conclusion, i believe we r in the tech age, and need 2 b happy bout the changes in our language.
i believe that texting is not the new "Newspeak". I believe that texting is not destroying english because it is just a shortened swing off of the english language. Because the English language is more difficult to understand and includes a lot of useless conjunctions that are more or less taken out. Texting is writing because it involves full thoughts that are just shortened to cause ease.
-Zach Stal
I do believe that texting is the Newspeak of the 21st century. It is harmful for society because it shortcuts our ability to communicate. If we continue to practice speaking or writing in the text form, eventually it will become a habit. Plus, it takes away the emotion and tone of our responses.
Post a Comment