Parents and teachers have speculated since the emergence of texting if this “new age” communication technology hinders formality and accuracy of academic writing. David Crystal in “Why All the Fuss?” presents a compelling and persuasive argument emphasizing that texting has not negatively influenced academic writing, and that it may also have some benefits to students’ ability to write formally. I agree with Crystal’s emphasis that text language is not used in formal writing and that texting does not interfere with academic writing, but can contribute to writing fluency and skills.
In “Why All the Fuss?”, Crystal contends that texting does not encourage the usage of text language in formal writing. He states that assumptions that texters incorporate …show more content…
He argues that only “a few dozen common words and phrases” are abbreviated, and even then only by some texters. My experience as a texter supports this statement. The only abbreviation I have ever used when texting was lol (Laughing out loud), and I seldom use that with a select group of people. That abbreviation of “lol” as well as “u” instead of “you” are the only forms of text language that I have received in a text as well. Crystal concluded, “They [students] were perfectly clear in their minds that texting was for mobile phones and not for other purposes (Crystal, 2008, pg. 172-173). I support Crystal’s argument. Texting has been a part of my life, as well as my peers’ and family members’ since I was in elementary school, and not once have I witnessed abbreviations or other “text language” in anything but text messages. It is rare that I even see “text language” in text messages. This is likely due to the change in technological times. When texting initially emerged, text language and abbreviations were more common because people were charged per text. Therefore, we see a diminishing of text language now because of a difference in how the texts are charged. Texters can now write in complete sentences without fretting about running out of character space and being charged for the content of one message being divided into multiple messages. Therefore, Crystal’s viewpoint rings accurate. Abbreviations are few in texting and even fewer in formal writing. However, some may further contest the age group Crystal studied. He analyzed the usage of text language of teenage students, not all texters. Recent experience of my own has shown that it is not teenagers, but older adults who use text language most frequently. Yet, even with this contrast, text language by both young and older age groups that I have encountered has overall a minimal usage and I have never seen it
In “Why All the Fuss?”, Crystal contends that texting does not encourage the usage of text language in formal writing. He states that assumptions that texters incorporate …show more content…
He argues that only “a few dozen common words and phrases” are abbreviated, and even then only by some texters. My experience as a texter supports this statement. The only abbreviation I have ever used when texting was lol (Laughing out loud), and I seldom use that with a select group of people. That abbreviation of “lol” as well as “u” instead of “you” are the only forms of text language that I have received in a text as well. Crystal concluded, “They [students] were perfectly clear in their minds that texting was for mobile phones and not for other purposes (Crystal, 2008, pg. 172-173). I support Crystal’s argument. Texting has been a part of my life, as well as my peers’ and family members’ since I was in elementary school, and not once have I witnessed abbreviations or other “text language” in anything but text messages. It is rare that I even see “text language” in text messages. This is likely due to the change in technological times. When texting initially emerged, text language and abbreviations were more common because people were charged per text. Therefore, we see a diminishing of text language now because of a difference in how the texts are charged. Texters can now write in complete sentences without fretting about running out of character space and being charged for the content of one message being divided into multiple messages. Therefore, Crystal’s viewpoint rings accurate. Abbreviations are few in texting and even fewer in formal writing. However, some may further contest the age group Crystal studied. He analyzed the usage of text language of teenage students, not all texters. Recent experience of my own has shown that it is not teenagers, but older adults who use text language most frequently. Yet, even with this contrast, text language by both young and older age groups that I have encountered has overall a minimal usage and I have never seen it