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As time marches on and the internet age enters full swing and the era of the quick cell text message is now the standard for communication, do you feel this has an impact positively or negatively on society in general?
To give a little more insight, I'm sure many older and even a few younger members may notice a trend towards a more vulgar use of the English language in our daily lives. Terms like "Milf, Gilf, WTF, WTH, along with numerous other examples have become almost standard usage in everyday life. From work to school, even in the heart of politics on the very floor of Congress. Once reserved for bar rooms, boys hanging out at the basketball court or at the poker game, has now become common.
Even the use of forum or chat or cell text short hand such as LOL, ROFL, BRB, etc... all contribute in a minor way to a loss of nuance and complexity in our language that has developed over hundreds of years. The use of grammar and punctuation to show inflection and give emotion to the written word seems almost lost in today age.
Curious to peoples thoughts on this both specifically and generally.
A couple of observations I would make is it appears to have blurred the line concerning the acceptablity of vulgar or crude language, and seems to be allowing it to creep into everyday public dialogue. In addition, it appears to have resulted in folks making statements with fewer nuances, making comments more of an "all or nothing" type of exchange.
I think it depends on the situation. I feel that the message the word conveys is more important than the letters we choose to combine into words. It is no better to turn to someone and say, "Get out of my way you f'in n-word" than to say the words themselves. It's no better to say, "Shut the heck up!" than to say "Shut the h e l l up!". They convey the same meaning, even if the letters in the words are different.
We allow any language in our home as long as it is not hateful or disrespectful. So if our daughter dropped a jar on her foot, we wouldn't care if she said "Fudge!" or the alternative.
But we have also taught her that language is a tool that can be used to express ideas and opinions, and a large vocabulary allows one to be concise and powerful at the same time. We've also taught her that people will judge you based upon your vocabulary, so choosing to use words that society deems as vulgar, will lead people to believe that you are incapable of expressing yourself without such words. So there really is a time and a place for language, and when you are around your friends it is a different situation than being around potential clients.
It's also important to know that when faced with a debate, argument, or discussion, the person who has a better command of the language will often times appear as the more credible source.
As time marches on and the internet age enters full swing and the era of the quick cell text message is now the standard for communication, do you feel this has an impact positively or negatively on society in general?
To give a little more insight, I'm sure many older and even a few younger members may notice a trend towards a more vulgar use of the English language in our daily lives. Terms like "Milf, Gilf, WTF, WTH, along with numerous other examples have become almost standard usage in everyday life. From work to school, even in the heart of politics on the very floor of Congress. Once reserved for bar rooms, boys hanging out at the basketball court or at the poker game, has now become common.
Even the use of forum or chat or cell text short hand such as LOL, ROFL, BRB, etc... all contribute in a minor way to a loss of nuance and complexity in our language that has developed over hundreds of years. The use of grammar and punctuation to show inflection and give emotion to the written word seems almost lost in today age.
Curious to peoples thoughts on this both specifically and generally.
VERY interesting subject. I find it completely plausible that such a 'degeneration' of the language will be inevitable....just as the ability to 'read a sundial' (or even a wall clock)....or to navigate with a sextant....or to even hand-write a letter or read a book will EVENTUALLY deteriorate over time, as these things become more obsolete due to being eclipsed by newer technology. Eventually, these and many other once-vital skills will become 'lost arts', practiced by a few devotees, but outside the awareness of the general public.
Reminds me of the award winning "Civil War" TV series a few years back. The author (Ken 'somebody'?) stated that much of his 'info' had come directly from the letters and diaries of the soldiers themselves...and he was continually astounded by the wonderful prose, penmanship, and 'command of the language' shown in entry after entry, MOST of which were written by what essentially were "teenage farm boys". Teenagers they were...but it those days, command of English and its most subtle sentence structures, syntax, and 'nuances' was regarded as absolutely essential to anyone who hoped to be regarded as 'educated'....a BIG change from the 'iPod' generation, for sure.
And it's not just the hare-brained (NOT hair-brained; whose brain, after all, is made of hair?) acronyms. The increasingly slapdash approach to spelling and syntax (e.g., "don't be a looser"; "tow the line"; "I could care less") -- all have contributed to a general imprecision and dumbing down of the public discourse.
I don't think that what you refer to necessarily detracts from the language, any more than anglicisms adopted into the French language have created a lesser language. I actually believe quite the opposite is true, but only for those who were fully literate in the first place.
Last edited by norcalmom101; 10-03-2008 at 04:55 PM..
Reason: typo
TN has a point. However, I was very surprised by my CSpan experience this week. I watched almost every morning as they have a call in show. Every time a caller sounded like a hick (from SC, so I know hick), I deducted 10 points from his IQ. Many times, I felt a need to add 20 back to the original after the caller was done. Some people do have a grasp not just of language, but of words. I refer to this often, but Frank Luntz says it's not what you say, but what they hear.
Irregardless is not a real word. Are you being sarcastic?
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