'Textspeak' or 'Netspeak' are not new terms for me and people have been arguing about whether Textspeak will affect the language standard of students, especially for younger students where they haven’t been mastered the rules of language very well. Teachers would be very worried about the English proficiency of the students, as they have to handle public examinations.
I remember when I first learnt to use ICQ in Form 2. My proficiency of English was not good enough to chat with my friends in complete English sentence, but on the other hand, I didn’t know how to type Chinese characters either (yet), so I tried to use Cantonese written as English, like ‘ng’ (唔), final particles, like ‘la’ (啦), acronyms, like BTW, LOL.
I have a cousin living in Canada and one day he MSN-ed me and chat with me. Later on, I found out that I have to force myself to use English in MSN and SMS to communicate since I have to talk to him. At the beginning, it was quite difficult because I have to use English to express different meanings as the sentence structure of Chinese and English are quite contrastive. But it became easier when I used it everyday and I can even type English faster.
What I want to bring out is that using Textspeak didn’t worsen my English, but the opposite. I found out that I am more capable in constructing a complete sentence, just like when I MSN or SMS my friends, I will just type out what I want to say in the message. By ‘practicing’ everyday, I can type English faster with my keyboard with construct a sentence more smoothly. I totally agree with what David Crystal said about txt. I think people who use Textspeak doesn’t necessary make you stupid, but to make you become more capable to distinguish the difference between Standard English and Textspeak and to use it wisely.
I agree with David Crystal too! Actually, Netspeak doesn't affect or even ruin my English like many educators have been worrying. Many people use standard english even though they are talking to their friends on msn or phone. But isn't it too "formal'? :P If we use netspeak, that's more like spoken language and it's more friendly and casual.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting image!Although netspeak sounds more casual for friends, people abuse it even on academic writing.They should be very mindful when they use standard English or netspeak in different areas! =]
ReplyDeleteI think if people can manage both textspeak and standard English in right situation, their proficiency of English would be even more higher. :)
ReplyDeleteHhaha ' type faster' is one reason for me to start playing ICQ. In school,teacher taught me which fingers should be responsible to which keys and asked me to type the words on a paper she gave, but this didn't help me much in typing. When having instant chat, I have to type fast to get attention especially in chatrooms where there are 3 or more friends talking at the same time. Couple years later when I realized how important Chinese-typing is, I also practised it through chatting online. Netspeak doesn't destroy my standard English, instead it helps to develop my typing skill.
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