Slashdot Log In
It's OK to keep AIMing
Posted by
timothy
on Mon Jul 31, 2006 03:23 PM
from the dat's-what-u-think-lol dept.
from the dat's-what-u-think-lol dept.
fooby12 writes "According to the Univeristy of Toronto instant messaging does not hurt the grammar of the people who use it. From the article: "With 80% of Canadian teenagers using instant messaging and adopting its unique linguistic shorthand, many teachers and parents are concerned about the medium's potential to corrupt kids' grammar. But instant messaging doesn't deserve its bad reputation as a spoiler of syntax, suggests a new study from the University of Toronto.""
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
NO WAI! (Score:3, Funny)
{o,o}
|)__)
-"-"-
O RLY?
{o.o}
|)_(|
-"-"-
YA RLY
{o,o}
(__(|
-"-"-
NO WAI!
(Courtesy of the usual suspects [wikipedia.org])
Re:NO WAI! (Score:5, Insightful)
Fortunately we have the Internet with places like slashdot, where everybody's bad grammar and spelling can shine.
(And when I starting talking in l33t3, just do what a guy I knew does: go to the mall. Being around all the Valley-speak tends to normalize the speech centers somewhat.)
Parent
Bad terminology (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Bad terminology (Score:5, Informative)
eg.
That it was May thus dremed me
In time of love and jollite
That al thyng gynneth waxen gay
For there is neither busk nor hay
In May that it nyl shrouded ben,
And it with new leves wryen.
These greves eke recoveren grene,
That dry in wynter ben to sen,
And the erthe waxeth proude withal
For swete dewes that on it falle . . .
Maybe thats why the can still do well in their English classes.
Parent
Re: "Net doesn't corrupt grammar??!" (Score:3, Funny)
That it was May thus dremed me
In time of love and jollite
That al thyng gynneth waxen gay
For there is neither busk nor hay
In May that it nyl shrouded ben,
And it with new leves wryen.
These greves eke recoveren grene,
That dry in wynter ben to sen,
And the erthe waxeth proude withal
For swete dewes that on it falle . .
'Tweener Net
in mAY i hd a drem
like a stry it seems
i luv it now lol
tht all that ssht is kewl
May has these prety leeves
Fck hey its green like sleves
Winter sukked so flipin cold
gimme a light
Re:Bad terminology (Score:3, Insightful)
Because it arrived prebutchered.
S'ok, if you think it's bad now, you should have seen what was happening to it in the 1500s.
KFG
Re:ROFLMAO. (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
You don't seem to have much of a sense of humor. (Score:2, Informative)
Re:ROFLMAO. (Score:3, Funny)
I don't understand how the parent managed to make a confident proclamation about the attribution of the quotation, then completely failed to get the point of the quotation itself. Oh right...Slashdot.
Re:ROFLMAO. (Score:3, Insightful)
Churchill (or whomever) could have easily said, "I will not put up with the practive of ending a sentence with a preposition."
Alternately, he could have kept his basic sentence structure and used a verb, instead of a prepositional phrase that acted as one. "The ending of a sentence with a preposition is a practice I will not tolerate."
In truth, it seems like a non-issue to me. (Score:4, Interesting)
One of the points a teacher once impressed on me is that the English language is a "living" language - new words and new usage are central to that definition as "living". The English language is a language of usage. If enough people use the language in a certain way, then that way of speaking or writing becomes acceptable. For example, I can google on a subject if I need more information. Erm, how do I AltaVista something? Oh, wait; AltaVista isn't defined as a verb nowadays, but Google is, or at least google is (Google is a proper name, of course).
Now, Latin and Hebrew are good examples of dead languages. One Rabbi I studied under told me that the closest you could come in Hebrew to saying "Jumbo Jet" might literally be translated as "big silver bird that flies fast". Those are dead languages; any unacceptable use of grammar or syntax is incorrect.
English, however, adapts and grows to accomodate the concepts and lifestyle of its users - hence, googling, IM'ing, and a whole host of other newfound verbs and nouns which weren't in the lexicon a decade ago. If online chat clients encourage people to find briefer ways to express themselves, perhaps this is simply English evolving into a more compact, precise form.
Parent
Re:In truth, it seems like a non-issue to me. (Score:3, Interesting)
A lot of the problems with teaching Latin come from the fact that many modern IE languages have lost their inflection (in the case of English, almost entirely) and rely on prepositions and word or
Re:In truth, it seems like a non-issue to me. (Score:3, Interesting)
Because Shakespeare is not too hard to read, you have to think it through sometimes, but it is very understandable; Chaucer is like reading another language.
As a demonstration, the first 4 lines of "The Canterbury Tales":
Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote
And bathed ev
Instant msg-ing messes with grammar? As if! lol! (Score:4, Funny)
that is gd (Score:3, Funny)
To the Contrary! (Score:4, Informative)
- dshaw
Re:To the Contrary! (Score:4, Funny)
I'm pretty sure that "it has led me to getting" is grammatically incorrect. You might want to try "it has led to me getting" instead; while it involves splitting an infinitive, a practice frowned upon by some, I believe it to be far more correct than your version.
Furthermore, "just like emails or passing notes in class" is not a complete clause, so I don't believe your other sentence to be grammatically correct either. I intend no offense; however, you attaining a near perfect sore on your "SAT exam" may say more about the aptitude of the SAT to measure your proficiency with the English language than it does about your own aptitude.
P.S. English is my third language. If I have made any grammatical mistakes in my post, feel free to correct them; however, if you do happen to come across such mistakes, please keep my ameliorating circumstance in mind.
Parent
Word Processor Autocorrect (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Word Processor Autocorrect (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Word Processor Autocorrect (Score:3, Funny)
I agree with you on this. I also replied to the parent post, but there is a huge difference between when the software shows you the mistake, perhaps suggesting an alternative, and when it simply "fixes" it. For example, open Microsoft Word and typ
Re:Word Processor Autocorrect (Score:3, Interesting)
To me, AIM called instant attention to spelling lazyness, not grammar issues. I thought it was an AIM-borne disease where one by one my friends all started to use 'your' in place of "you're." I think it's an easy place to pick up bad speaking habits, but that's certainly nothing new... people pic
Not done nuthin' 2 me. (Score:2)
Careful where you keep that chat history active though. Never know what your sysadmin finds interesting.
Hand Writing has suffered (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Hand Writing has suffered (Score:3, Informative)
Good thing you don't lose them before you have a chance to loose them.
Re:Hand Writing has suffered (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Hand Writing has suffered (Score:2)
Canadian teens? (Score:5, Funny)
Maybe it's just me (Score:5, Insightful)
From a business perspective, I've seen college graduates emailing using the typical IM abbreviations -- but typically, when reminded that it's not appropriate, I'd say that the grammar of these new hires tends to be as good or better than some of what I see elsewhere. At least they've been communicating in a non-verbal format.
If anything, I find that those who have IM'd a lot tend to have an easier time of getting their message across clearly in emails -- maybe it's due to their understanding of the shortfalls of text communication.
M-m-m-max (Score:2)
Back in the '80s, parents were worried that kids would try to copy Max Headroom's stuttering.
...WTF were they thinking? S-s-s-seriously! No-No-No one would ever t-t-t-talk like th-th-that.
(I need a Coca Cola! Haah!)
I instant message and use IRC all the time. (Score:2)
NO, it's NOT! (Score:5, Insightful)
NOT AIM! [jabber.org]
Not True (Score:2, Funny)
Speaking of grammar (Score:2)
I vaguely remember my English teachers telling me not to start sentences with "but." I think that may also be a run-on sentence.
Toronto? (Score:2)
I'm reminded (Score:4, Informative)
also in the news (Score:2, Insightful)
Could it get worse if it's bad to begin with? (Score:2)
Maybe bad grammer isn't a bad thing. The main point is everyone can understand you. What's a difference between "me and my friend" and "my friend and I" to someone who doesn't have a rule book in their head? Maybe it's evolution of language.. losing the unecessary fluff and I guess unecessary letter with it.
I tend to agree (Score:2)
havin said that, when i m on im im concenred about getting the point across quickly and with the least amout of keyboard travel as possible, spellin and grammar take a backseat to speed and more importntaly flow of conversation....
Ok, back into "refined mode". I do find it interesting that I don't bother to correct spelling while conversing on IM, particularl
Decline of Language (Score:2, Insightful)
I somehow doubt it... (Score:2)
Fun with Punctuation (Score:4, Funny)
Telegraph didn't hurt anybody's grammar (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Telegraph didn't hurt anybody's grammar (Score:4, Insightful)
Also, most kids these days spend a fair bit of time on IM / SMS / etc, whereas kids almost never sent telegraphs. It is plausible that using bad grammar and syntax would hurt more when you're young and still learning.
I don't think telegraphs are a particularly relevant comparison.
Parent
Re:Telegraph didn't hurt anybody's grammar (Score:3, Funny)
Not correct to assume message content affected by path (stop)
Silly people (stop)
I agree.... (Score:5, Funny)
I think it helps (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Is grammar taught anymore... (Score:2)
Re:Is grammar taught anymore... (Score:2)
Re:Is grammar taught anymore... (Score:5, Informative)
Children don't have to formally learn grammar. A child learning a language natively will by definition speak with perfect grammar even without schooling, because in the science of linguistics rules of grammar are based on what is heard in the vernacular of the language in question, not what some pundit sets down by fiat.
If you're asking whether children are still taught prescriptivist rules, that's a whole 'nother matter.
Parent
Re:western union telegrams (Score:3, Insightful)