Is Texting Ruining the English Language?

Some say that it is thwarting children’s ability to effectively communicate both written and orally, and there are arguments saying that it actually helps children communicate better. In this essay I will be looking at both sides of the argument and trying to come up with a conclusion as to whether texting is actually destroying the English language. Arguments against this statement are varied; some believe it helps the children communicate more effectively. As a child communicating by text can be seen as ‘cool’ i personally believe it’s just a trend that like others will come and go. At the moment the trend of text message language is very popular and with most English citizens owning a mobile it is very widely spread but i doubt people actually use text message language in everyday speech and other things such as school and work. I think that the use of this language is purely for texting and should be kept to that. while others think it’s just the English language evolving as it has done for hundreds of years, for example our language currently evolved from Shakespearean and so on.

People believe that the English language is flexible and used to change therefore it can adapt to changes, in this case text messaging; Text messaging is a perfect example of how people adapt and mould language to suit different contexts. Text messaging can also be seen a more of a convenience than a new language in itself, more a tool than the creation of a whole new language. Text message language is highly abbreviated an therefore saves time, time that can be used to do other things, another reason why people like it so much. Arguments agreeing with this statement also differ. The main argument to be considered is that people can be considered as plain lazy for using this language. The use of abbreviations allows the user to avoid having to spell correctly and therefore confines the person to the text language itself; therefore I believe its pure laziness.

People would also argue that its effecting children’s ability to communicate both written and orally which in their future lives would be a massive problem with school, jobs and what not. The people arguing against this believe that texting itself is causing children to forget the rules of RP English and completely ignore the use of proper grammar whereas i would say it’s informal and just a tool of convenience. I personally believe that it is harmless and is just an easier and much more convenient way of communicating I believe that some people are looking too deeply into the outcome of text message language and that the language itself is possibly just a trend rather than a whole new language emerging. Like the Morse code I believe this is just advancement in technology and that as long as it is kept on text then the English language should face no trouble in surviving, just as it has done for many years.