"These days you sometimes hear students saying "brb" (be right back) to one another when they temporarily take their leave. I have also overheard "lol" (laughing out loud) in conversations among young people. However, these neologisms need to be put into perspective. Infusion of written acronyms into everyday speech is a common linguistic process—to wit, RSVP, AWOL, or ASAP. If a few more lexical shortenings make their way into general usage, that's nothing out of the ordinary."
Reaction:
New abbreviations in the English language should accepted in the correct environment. Middle school to high school students know that they should not write BTW in their schoolwork. The English language goes through cycles and new words are created constantly. For example, the acronym ASAP from my quote above is a generally accepted term in the English language. However, students know that using the abbreviation in a paper or homework is not acceptable. The same goes for LOL, BRB, and IMO. Students may write IMO to state their opinion on an online blog, but would not write it in a school paper about global warming. All is not lost in the English language by creating more shorthanded words. We are in the digital age, after all.
Baron, Naomi. "Are Digital Media Changing Language?." Educational Leadership 66.6 (2009): 42-46. Web. 4 Sep 2011. <http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar09/vol66/num06/Are-Digital-Media-Changing-Language%C2%A2.aspx>.
I agree with your reaction completely. Students are smart enough to know when certain language is necessary or not. It is comparable to how kids know to talk to their grandparents differently than the way they might talk to their friends. Shortening words and using abbreviations is just faster and easier, I don't think its harming anything.
ReplyDeleteYour reaction is exactly how I feel about the whole debate. I just think it is going to take the rest of society to catch up and realize that there a change taking place and that it would be smart for everyone else to keep and realize that the English language will still be in tact.
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