“…the convention of upper and lower case letters, a visual and spatial distinction devised for pint, becomes a means for indicating loudness. Similarly, the emoticon converts the finite alphanumeric keyboard into a source of nearly movable types…”
I thought this particular paragraph to be interesting in regards to the future of literacy. When we are talking with friends online or through email, we tend (or at least I, myself, find) that we become lazy. Instead of “you” it become “u”, if we’re happy, we tend to write :-) to convey emotion, and we even go so far to stop capitalizing “i”, simply because the computer will convert it for us.
But how soon will it be that we’ve translated the way that we write to our friends into the way that we write formally? With all the different ways in which we use the keyboard to convey our emotions and feelings, as stated by Lee, what’s to stop us from starting to use those methods of typing in a formal setting? We have a keyboard with vast options to convey our messages. For example, iF I typed LiKe ThIs, not only would you probably want to smash my keyboard, but you also might think that I am a 12 year old girl writing online for the first time. IF I STARTED TO TYPE LIKE THIS, you might think that I was angry at the fact that I have to continue typing. if i just simply typed like this n didnt care if i was riting formally or not, u mite think i was just talking to a friend.
Our keyboards help us to convey a message, but how does that message “convey” us? And how much longer will it be that we use these different ways of typing before they all blur together into one, non-formal, way of communication?
The New York Time article, "I Think, Therefore IM" discusses the challenge of teaching English to students who are accustomed to typing on AIM and other internet chat programs.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/19/technology/i-think-therefore-im.html
Jacqueline Harding, a middle school English teacher notes that in some cases the shorthand isn't even shorter. ''I understand 'cuz,' but what's with the 'wuz'? It's the same amount of letters as 'was,' so what's the point?'' she said.
excellent points, and consider as well what happens to language when we're texting!
ReplyDeleteit is odd to see the dynamic behind the different forms of typing. I didn't realize the major differences between any of it, but I certainly type differently when I'm writing an email to a professor/employer or on AIM.
ReplyDeleteIts important to know when to type using the keypad to your advantage. It is important in a professional setting to send professional e-mails, while friends who send emails and texts using the formal English language would probably weird me out.
ReplyDeleteOver time we have become lazy and not willing to spend the extra two seconds to type out "you" instead of "u". It in a way dumbs down our culture and makes us look a bit uncivilized and not knowing grammatical information. And I agree with Marc that there is a difference we have to definitely consider when choosing between professional and friend level e-mails or texts, because it makes all the difference.
ReplyDeleteI am a Blackberry user and recently downloaded the new Blackberry Messenger platform. Blackberry Messenger is a form of instant messenging that can be done from one Blackberry user to another. Among many great new features, there are at least 20 new emoticons if not more. They range from an emoticon that signifies "Talking on the phone" to "dancing" and "Talk to the hand". It struck me that because of all these emoticons and their range, one could probably have a limited conversation just through symbols.
ReplyDeleteIs it possible, as we move from a text-based society to a visual based society, that we could be moving more and more to the use of symbols for communication? We seem to be more and more attuned to meaning through visuals and a new visual language may start to develop.