06 Nov 09 Unacceptable Words
Some words remain forever unacceptable in polite conversation or writing. The ‘C’ and ‘F’ ones, and of course the ‘N’ word.
Arguably, and it’s certainly something that has been argued about for many years, is that they are only words.
Of course this is true, but I would suggest it’s not even the meaning of such words that makes them objectionable. Most people know what the ‘true’ meanings of the three words used in the example above are. No, I would suggest that what makes such words objectionable to most of us is the reason why they are used, because most of the the time, it is as derogatory terms.
O
ne often hears complaints today about the way that young people use ‘text’ language as if it is the norm. While it can be useful when writing an SMS message limited to 160 characters, it’s really out of place in normal writing. Or is it?
Some observers worry that young people that text a lot will end up forever using these abbreviated, stunted words in their normal writing.
On the one hand, some feel it’s important to preserve the language in all its forms as pure as possible. On the other, language is not set in stone, whatever the text books of the day will have you believe, but it’s a liquid flowing living thing, that adapts with the times.
Does it matter if future generations end up writing or typing ‘r u ok 2day? ‘ if everyone else knows what it means? Isn’t language all about communication?
This argument was raging a century ago. Words like phone, auto, photo, exam, and gym were considered to be out of place in any ‘serious’ writing. Such abbreviations were considered slovenly, common, and showing a lack of a good education. Nowadays, very few people sit, or take (depending on which side of the Atlantic you’re on), an examination, and who talks matter-of-factly about going to the gymnasium for a workout?
I’m sure, dear reader, that you can find grammatical errors in this article. I know I see them jump out at me when read books, magazines, and blog posts myself.
Whilst it is nice to ‘get it right’ perhaps at the end of the day, it’s more important to write, and to be able to read, something that was enjoyable and informative, and perhaps flowing, than something that is totally grammatically correct (I’m not sure if that is possible, when you listen to some scholars).
What do you think? I’m always interested to read your comments.
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I am reminded of the famous piece by Mark Twain, in which he proposes how to simplify the English language. Some of the rules he came up with resemble what today's youth do when communicating with each other in casual settings.
And I think that is the key here, the context in which one is communicating. It is perfectly acceptable to condense your thoughts to fit within a character limit, by whatever means necessary, provided your abbreviations can be understood by those you are communicating with.
I think it only becomes a real issue when those abbreviations pop up where they are not understood, not considered the norm, and do not fit into the writing style one would expect in the given situation.
An example would be how the name DonationCoder is abbreviated on that community's forum or within their chatroom, as simply DC. We, the members understand that, but to an outsider in another setting, they might mistaken DC to mean Washington, DC, so one has to be careful not to use that type of abbreviation in settings where the meaning isn't so obvious.
Another example is how Friendfeed users abbreviate their community name to just FF, which on Twitter could be mistaken to mean Follow Friday, or in another setting could even be mistaken to mean the Firefox browser.
I do not believe that some day we will be reading long news articles where everything is abbreviated like an SMS message. The kids of today do not turn in their homework written in this manner, because they understand the time and place for such language, and that isn't when there are no restrictions on length or one is expected to express oneself to a certain standard.
I believe the people that use such abbreviations are a lot smarter than other people give them credit for. For one, they know how to effectively communicate within the restrictions of any given technology. This does take some thought. It goes against everything they have been taught is correct. They not only invent their own form of the English language, they are also quite good at deciphering it, too, and within the context in which it is expressed.
I am reminded of the famous piece by Mark Twain, in which he proposes how to simplify the English language. Some of the rules he came up with resemble what today's youth do when communicating with each other in casual settings.
And I think that is the key here, the context in which one is communicating. It is perfectly acceptable to condense your thoughts to fit within a character limit, by whatever means necessary, provided your abbreviations can be understood by those you are communicating with.
I think it only becomes a real issue when those abbreviations pop up where they are not understood, not considered the norm, and do not fit into the writing style one would expect in the given situation.
An example would be how the name DonationCoder is abbreviated on that community's forum or within their chatroom, as simply DC. We, the members understand that, but to an outsider in another setting, they might mistaken DC to mean Washington, DC, so one has to be careful not to use that type of abbreviation in settings where the meaning isn't so obvious.
Another example is how Friendfeed users abbreviate their community name to just FF, which on Twitter could be mistaken to mean Follow Friday, or in another setting could even be mistaken to mean the Firefox browser.
I do not believe that some day we will be reading long news articles where everything is abbreviated like an SMS message. The kids of today do not turn in their homework written in this manner, because they understand the time and place for such language, and that isn't when there are no restrictions on length or one is expected to express oneself to a certain standard.
I believe the people that use such abbreviations are a lot smarter than other people give them credit for. For one, they know how to effectively communicate within the restrictions of any given technology. This does take some thought. It goes against everything they have been taught is correct. They not only invent their own form of the English language, they are also quite good at deciphering it, too, and within the context in which it is expressed.