Figure of speech -
OMG, BRB, and MSG - the list goes on and on when it comes to the language of the Internet and texting.
Words never before thought of abbreviating have been shortened to two or three letters for convenience of conversation through the virtual world.
Take LOL for instance, or "laugh out loud" to those who are virtually illiterate - since when did the response to laughing at someone's joke become a three-letter abbreviation?
"Oh, very good" has become OVG, "great" becomes GR8 and "debate" translates to Db8 to the younger generation who text or use a messenger program on their computer. There are even abbreviations for the word text (TXT) and best friend forever (BFF) and leave a message (LV IT).
Could this be the unfortunate death of the English language among our younger generations?
As texters all over the world drop consonants, vowels, add acronyms and include punctuation that has no distinction between numbers or letters - will the growing population of virtual communicators produce generations of illiterates?
Will our children know what the abbreviation of "p.m." actually means? ("Post meridiem", Latin for "after midday"). How about what the word "laser" actually means? (Light amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation).
As a lover of William Shakespeare, I am very fond of his 1600 play entitled "Hamlet" and I know the soliloquy spoken in act three, scene one, very well. The piece begins with a famous quotation; "To be or not to be - that is the question".
So, when I saw a student's notebook not that long ago with the beginning of the soliloquy broken down to "2B or not 2B", I left with little hope for the English literature.
It's not just a matter of embracing the English language, but to also ensure students spelling doesn't depend on their automatic spell check option on their cell phones or computers.
Like any advancement of technology it takes time to fully understand the effects on the population that implements it's use. We may not see the full effects of texting for generations to come. Until then we must dot our I's and cross our T's, b/c children learn by example.
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