2b or not 2b Summary

Joshua Hahn-Varona
1/28/15

2b or not 2b Summary

   Texting and instant messaging has be come a part of everyone's lives over the last decade. My generation has come to incorporate messaging as a part of our regular routine with ease. However, the older generation of my time may have trouble with learning the new ways of communication and because of this, it is no surprise that some may be completely against texting and instant messaging. So much so that they make emotional, not so thought out arguments as to how texting will ruin language.

   One argument about how texting will ruin language is that abbreviations and acronyms ruin the way people utilize grammar and spelling. Acronyms and abbreviations have been used in language for hundreds of years, as David Crystal explains in "2b or not 2b?" Crystal also talks about how our generation is actually better at reading and writing in part because of texting and instant messaging.

   To be fair to the people who believe texting ruins language, texting and instant messaging have spell check and word correction integrated into them so that people don't completely butcher words. However, texting and instant messaging do not have a grammar check. Because of this, from what I have noticed anyways, many people are unaware of the differences between words like "you're" and "your" and others like "their," "there," and "they're" and is quite annoying to see, but that doesn't mean that these grammar mistakes are destroying language as a whole.

   "2bor not 2b?" gives great insight on how texting and instant messaging actually helps language rather than hurts it, and should be read by anyone who wishes to understand the effects of today's ways of communication.