Language: Is It Evolution or Laziness?

The English language isn’t what it used to be.

This is true, I suppose, of all living languages.

The study of the evolution of language–over the long term–is very difficult, as spoken language left no footprints in the pre-technological days.  For most of the history of this world, only the wealthy and privileged would be taught to read and write, and for that reason the “Vulgate” was seldom recorded.  The well-educated would never speak (write) like commoners.

These days the mother tongue seems to be going through changes at an accelerated rate, and given the effect of Social Media this is no surprise.  While the reading (of books) seems to be on the decline, writing–of a sort–is clearly increasing.  Everywhere you look people are writing with their thumbs.  And that’s gotta hurt.  Really.

And, to some degree, it is writing with thumbs that is pushing a change in how we write.

Chatspeak is easy.  It is fast, or at least faster, than using full sentences and correct spelling.  More than that, it gets the message across, albeit at the loss of nuance.

It is the job of old curmudgeons like myself to rail against the travesty that is Chatspeak, but frankly, I’ve given up on it.

For one thing, it is all-pervasive.  For another, the kids out-number me.

But my best excuses for leaving it alone are these:  1) I don’t have the time, and 2) you can’t push the river.

Language is indeed an evolving thing, and hopefully always will be.  How else can it fulfill its role of communication?

I can recognize abbreviations and clever spellings for what they are: evolution (and rebellion), and I can live with that.

The question is, will I be taken over by it as well?  Nah.  I don’t think so.

C U L8er

Tagged as: Chat Speak, Evolution, Language, Social Media, Vulgate