'IM-speak' infiltrating classrooms

[The Man who was Thursday]

Yami no Hitokiri

That last guy really pissed me off. Typical PC liberal bullshit. No standards for right and wrong, good and bad, etc. If we keep celebrating all the different ways of typing, sooner or later we'll end up with the Tower of Babel.

Uh?

Might want to check your mythology references. The Tower of Babel came about because everyone spoke the same language.

God, then, in all his bastardly malevolence, confused the speech of man, fracturing language.

:/  

[x-Sadistic_Angel-x]

That was probably a good thing.  

[master kavi]

I am in high school, and the use of "im" speak is growing badly. I once had to revise a classmates work, and found that even on the final draft of the language assignment, they had put " LOL " in the one page of writing, about six times. In the end, that person passed the assignment with a relatively high mark. It is not rite for teachers to encourage this.  

[Patron with a Mission]

I'm a writing tutor at a university, and I have also seen the use of IM speak in essays...and I have heard that there is a state (I forget which one) is considering allowing this in state exit exams. Why? It seems that kids and teens in school don't really want to be literate anymore, and if someone is, it's considered "nerdy" or something. Oh well...  

[omiyashi0]

I knew it would happen sooner or later. I'm pretty sure that no one in my school has turned in a paper with "IM-Talk" in place of actual words, but I could be wrong. I'm glad that at least the teacher's don't do that... right?

I think they should treat it as bad grammar/spelling. Maybe even go as far as to make them rewrite the paper. I know I would! I never use "IM-Talk." My text messages are always grammatically correct.  

[Gachetemas]

Yami no Hitokiri

Some educators, like David Warlick, 54, of Raleigh, N.C., see the young burgeoning band of instant messengers as a phenomenon that should be celebrated. Teachers should credit their students with inventing a new language ideal for communicating in a high-tech world, said Warlick, who has authored three books on technology in the classroom.

I would hesitate to even call it a language. Esperanto is an invented language. HTML is a language. Tolkien invented languages. I think a lot of what we call 'IM Speak' is really just jargon - which is not "ideal for communicating in a high-tech world." We need language that average, normal people can understand. Though, sometimes jargon gets enough use to become part of a language. So I'm not celebrating yet.  

[Mentally Unstable Kitten]

It's all AIM's fault! mad  

[GameNeko]

Super Happy Kitty!

It's all AIM's fault! mad

No, It's all the people who don't spell out their words on AIM's fault. 3nodding  

[MadnessFreak]

MSN.
Need I say more?  

[Kohy]

I can't say any of my teachers find problems with the work handed in by we, the students of my year. We're more or less 16 or 17 and I've realised many of my classmates have grown out of it. Instead of using it, they joke about the younger classes that still use it continuously to the point where we can't begin to interpret what they are trying to say.

My biology teacher of two years has informed us there was nothing wrong with using such short-cuts when taking notes, and in this matter, I believe she has a valuable point. I myself wound not use 'IM-Talk' even in writing notes but I could see the use of placing these short-cuts if it's for yourself for future use in which you understand what you have written. But my Biology teacher is also very adamant on the proper use of the English Language when taking any of her exams or doing her assignments.

I find many teachers are lackadaisical to spelling and grammar if their subject has nothing to do with the language. Thankfully, there are still some teachers that take the time to make sure not only the material is correct but also the grammar and spelling. Can we say it's best to let the youth continue as they do? Can you imagine our future lawyers writing legal documents with 'u' instead 'you' and 'da' instead of 'the'? This isn't the beginning of a new era for technology, it's only the downfall of an old language by lazy people.  

[Ceribri]

Gachetemas

Yami no Hitokiri

Some educators, like David Warlick, 54, of Raleigh, N.C., see the young burgeoning band of instant messengers as a phenomenon that should be celebrated. Teachers should credit their students with inventing a new language ideal for communicating in a high-tech world, said Warlick, who has authored three books on technology in the classroom.

I would hesitate to even call it a language. Esperanto is an invented language. HTML is a language. Tolkien invented languages. I think a lot of what we call 'IM Speak' is really just jargon - which is not "ideal for communicating in a high-tech world." We need language that average, normal people can understand. Though, sometimes jargon gets enough use to become part of a language. So I'm not celebrating yet.

How is it a language? Even part of a language isn't the entire thing.
I'm tempted to write an essay just for fun in either Elvish or HTML. Or both. xd It would be quite the interesting subject.

And just for the record, if being literate is considered 'nerdy', then I'm a proud nerd! When I first started my email account, I wrote it as a formal letter. Still do, usually. My teacher whom I was writing to even commented on how well I can write. Hah. I pity those 'txt-ers'.  

[Warrior of Metal]

Zyderic

Indeed, literacy itself is under threat, but as long as us literates stick together, literacy will survive the harshest storm.

*Applause* eek
Wow, that's friggen'(I actually use this word in place of another four letter word, so I have no problem using it, and I even use the proper apostrophe.) deep man. Sounds like something someone in the powermetal guild said...  

[Warrior of Metal]

Yami no Hitokiri

That last guy really pissed me off. Typical PC liberal bullshit. No standards for right and wrong, good and bad, etc. If we keep celebrating all the different ways of typing, sooner or later we'll end up with the Tower of Babel.

Haha! I love when people slam the mainstream liberal thinking!
This is the liberal mindset:
Do whatever feels right! If everybody is using "Txt Tlk", then we should all embrace it. What is right to one person may be different from what is right to another person, so everybody is right, so we wouldn't want to offend the jack asses who can't think for themselves and who don't realize that it is wrong to sit in trees and obstruct the rights of others. We can't say God, because somebody may not believe in God. Hey! Don't call him black, he has never been to Africa, but he is African-American. But him, he's white, you can call him that. (that is racism in the fact that I am white, he is black, but because he is what he is, we can't call him that. It is so condescending.)

I can't stand the mainstream America at times...  

[emobitch611]

I hate, HA-te, HATE this!!!! My French teacher, who is also head of senior school (you'd assume he would at least have the 'courtesy' to NOT use "txt talk") always shortens words. Like in double French this afternoon.
He wrote, on the board.
Quelquefois- S'times.
What the hell is wrong with him??? How hard is it to write 'Sometimes"?
He also seems to have problems with writing "Sil vous plait" instead writing "S.V.P"
He's killing me.  

[SilverBellsAbove]

Eh, I myself am liberal and STILL find that a bunch of steaming cowcakes.

I have nightmares where the English language has integrated and muddled itself up so badly that proper grammar is the equivalent of old English (I mean REALLY old English, similar to German) and is understood by no one.

"ROFFLE! I cn'7 w417 4 t3h pr7y!"

"Ya i7z g0na B Awsum!"

Me: Excuse me?

"...wtf."

"fr34k."

Me: NOOOOOOOOO!!! gonk

Truly that is a scary premise. I've heard of language evolution, but that's insane.