Creative Language?

The prophets of doom emerge every time a new technology influences language, of course-they gathered when printing was introduced, in the 15th century, as well as when the telephone was introduced in the 19th, and when broadcasting came along in the 20th; and they gathered again when it was noticed that Internet writing broke several of the rules of formal standard English-in such areas as punctuation, capitalization, and spelling.

This is an excerpt from an article published in The Science Dailyby Professor David Crystal, Honorary Professor of Linguistics at the University of Wales, Bangor. Why is it that people are resistant to change? It seems that change is often brought about by the younger generation, and it is the older generation that thinks language, or English, is “going to the dogs!” This topic is very interesting to me. I want to find out if the Instant Messenger language, or text language is really wreaking havoc on modern English. Crystal claims that

All that has happened, in fact, is that the language’s resources for the expression of informality in writing have hugely increased-something which has not been seen in English since the Middle Ages, and which was largely lost when Standard English came to be established in the 18th century.

I have read some articles that express great concern for what texting has done to our language, more importantly, and pertinent to my blog, the formal writing of students. I’m anxious to further my knowledge on this subject and excited to learn more about this newly created, innovative language which, I believe, can set apart this 21st Century in history. Professor Crystal suggests that

Rather than condemning it, therefore, we should be exulting in the fact that the Internet is allowing us to once more explore the power of the written language in a creative ways

Of course, there is a time and a place for everything, and while texting and IMing each has its place, so do the teaching and the writing of formal English. However, Professor Crystal also states

Blogging and other forms have given radical opportunities to develop new stylistic rules . . . new forms of interaction seen in Internet exchanges are far more important than changes in vocabulary, grammar, and spelling.

We have discussed in class the challenge of finding one’s voice when writing. I believe that the use of Internet writing has given kids, and adults, the opportunity to express themselves in a new, unique, and creative way. I also believe that this will carry over into the classroom in writing classes. Practice makes perfect, and kids today are getting a lot of practice writing. Who cares if it isn’t grammatically correct? It may be a challenge for students to remember to use correct writing in formal work, but just as we adapt our speech in different social settings, I believe we can adapt our writing when needed.

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