John Mcwhorter Summary

John McWhorter talks about how texting is not writing at all, but it is a miraculous thing. He explains how first there is speech and then writing comes along. When speaking casually we speak from 10 to 12 words and less reflective, it is very different from writing. People used to talk like they used to write back then, because writing like you speak was harder back then. This is when texting comes in because it is easier now with our new technology. John says that it is finger speech and now we can write the way we talk. He gives an example of how young people are spelling now like using LOL and SLASH. When they write LOL they are using it as empathy and not what it really means. They use SLASH when they are changing the topic of what they are talking about. Like being bilingual John believes that know how to text and write is Bi-dialectal, a balancing act of texting and writing correctly. He believes a whole new language has developed with our young people and it is a linguistic miracle that is happening today. …show more content…
If someone texts you, with all of the new meaning and abbreviations to words, you may not even know what they mean. Another reason that learning the new texting dialect is important is because you may take things the wrong way and not how it is meant. There are even doctor’s offices and government programs that use texting now, and they also use texting dialect. It is much easier to make appointments and get information form these texts, but you must understand the dialect of texting most of the time. Being fluent in proper writing is also very important in life because that will allow you to better your education and get a job. If you do not know how to use proper writing in school and in life after school you will struggle in life. Having a balance of both proper writing and texting dialect is the best thing to know now and for a successful