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I actually see phonetic spelling as a potential asset to communication.
To wander off topic a bit though, what concerns me more, is the fact that we seem to be losing social skills as the result of modern technology's influence.
Case in point, shortly before I retired, I can remember seeing a group of half a dozen colleagues sat at the canteen table, each of them intently looking at their smart phone.
There were a few of them actually messaging someone else on the same table!****** FFS just speak to people! ******
If you don't we will lose these interpersonal skills quite quickly.
The 'keyboard warrior' is a corollary to this. 😉
This obnoxious type is way more abusive than they would ever dare to be in a face to face situation.:0/
@eelgoo I'm one of those rare people who still write letters; especially to older family members and friends. I hate the fact that people do not interact on a personal level anymore; I do believe that it adds to the loneliness and sense of isolation, which people are experiencing - especially since COVID struck. My mum died horrifically suddenly and unexpectedly, well before her time, just before Christmas 2022, and I received emails, online condolences and PMs, more than the customary sympathy cards and letters; which I would have appreciated more. (Not that I am not thankful for the sentiment expressed in the aforementioned formats)
The only people to send written messages and cards/letters of condolence were older family members and friends.
There's something touching, meaningful and infinitely more personal to receive such correspondences in someone's own handwriting, than via a typed message, in my opinion.
@Eelgoo
I fully agree.
There have been studies showing younger kids having trouble "reading" body language during a conversation. In France, primary schools are teaching kids social skills... ( basicly how to interact with one another)
All this is credited to extensive screen use.
To get back to the topic on this point, also there writing skills diminished.
This also steams from the fact that reading a book is seldom done anymore. Reading adds words to your vocabulaire, but because people do not see the words anymore, spelling is a disaster for some ( I know I can not speak for a whole group, but there are overall tendencies)
A written answer on a school test was full of spelling errors( bild in stead of built), but the answer was considered ok , for the pupil got the geste right....
If this goes on we will not be able to read a message from an teenager in say 10 years.
If they even are capable of writing something like this.
Socially I guess we end up in little rabbit cages, hooked in on the metaverse 24/7, letting AI make our desicions, so we can spend our time following the latest influencer, or going out of our way to take part in the next bucket challenge.As an old teacher misspelling and incorrect grammar is perhaps more apparent to me, but so long as I can understand what it being written I usually don't mind too much (note the double "o")🙂.
I accept that written and spoken language evolves over time and I'm determined not to become one of those cranky old men who see any societal change as apocalyptic.
Although long retired, I still take one or two courses a year. It's great fun to be in class with young folks and the profs do appreciate me being there. I can give a perspective to some subjects that the kids can't. Anthropology has been a blast, especially cultural and linguistic anthropology. This is probably why I notice spelling and grammar so much. We can easily read a text from several hundred year ago but can't understand something from a 10 year old? That's not evolution, it's a bomb!
I mean, Old English led to Middle English led to Modern English. We're actively living through, and have for the past 50 years or so, the largest and most rapid transformative event in culture, society, and technology that humanity has ever seen. It makes sense that linguistics will transform just as quickly. We're seeing something akin to a definable language shift, possibly with a new name that sticks pretty soon.
The extreme use of slang and inside references is something that's interesting to me as a sociology student (actually this conversation has me considering sociolinguistics as a focus later on in school), along with the deterioration of spelling and grammar strictures.
Literally can now mean both "Literally" as well as "Figuratively" and be considered correct English. Shit's hard, fam.
@Mona
...The extreme use of slang and inside references ...
I am guessing you refer to , what we call here " street language" ( If not this whole reply isn't relevant)
I think each generation has it's own kind of "secret words" that older people do not get.
And I must admit, it works, for sometimes I can make head nor tails from those conversations.
It is a kind of bonding thing, only the " in crowd " knows what is said.It defines group identity.This phenomena on it's own isn't bad.
The difference between when I was young and now is, I think, that we did not expect the older generations to adapt our speech, and the words we used slowly subsided. There are always a few words that survive, but they do not have an impact on the overall language, like the term " far out". It is a "Description of sensation", and just one of many ways to express that sensation.It is a different thing all together if you start changing words that have a single meaning.
( I do not want to start an argument about gender, but this is confusing for a lot off people)
take personal pronouns.
I have seen a lot of comedians make jokes about it. They are all " older" people,and they just do not get it, is there message.
Even though I understand that, in modern culture, people want to be addressed by the way they feel, be it male, female or else, the younger generation can't demand from older folks, that they embrace this new way of communication ( which language basicly is).In other words, the language of the young now changes language in a way that words do not longer mean what they used to. So it is not an addition to the language with words that did not exist before, but changing the fundament of the language itself.
I heard/read that the word " woman" no longer was ok, but it had to be changed to "breast feeder" or something.
When we start changing words like that, i get reminded of an episode of the twilight zone.
A man lived in a world where all words slowly became a different meaning, and he was the only one who " remembered" the old meaning off the words. He ended up not being able to communicate to anybody. The end of the episode you see him lying in bed with a children's book with big pictures and a single word under every picture. He was trying to learn this " new" meaning off words.I do not expect it to go that far.
But going back to identity through language, I think it is gonna be a hard sell, to incorporate modern use of words, in a society that does not want ( or can) adapt.So...
Although nobody will object to additions over time of words like " cool, groovy, rad", a lot of people will object to the fact that nouns get different meanings.This is an observation, and not a personal statement ( just to make sure)
I heard/read that the word " woman" no longer was ok,
Ironically, I read recently that in Old English the word for man was originally gender-neutral and used to refer to both males and females.
Language and especially slang has always been used to signify 'In' and 'Out' groups; teenage slang and professional acronyms and regional accents are prime examples of this. We use it to establish who we are and to identify others of the same group(s) and within and without those groups words can have different meanings. Just look at 'woke,' 'liberal' or 'Trumper' for example. For the people in those groups they're a description of their beliefs, a badge of honour, but for others they're slurs and insults. As the groups age or grow their slang enters general usage. Mobile phones/SMS and the internet have put abbreviations like l8r, wtf, noob, etc. into common usage even if their original use, to fit a message into 128 characters, is no longer needed.
Change is inevitable, In 20 years time, Gen-Z will be asking the same questions about just wtf Gen-Αlphas' are talking about. As that great sage Abe Simpson said, "I used to be with ‘it’, but then they changed what ‘it’ was. Now what I’m with isn’t ‘it’ anymore and what’s ‘it’ seems weird and scary. It’ll happen to you!"
Nice addition Skipp, I was trying to say the same, but could not find the words. ( funny in this context)
My dad was 57 years old and severely dyslexic and dysgraphic. The first smartphone he got I was the one tasked to teach him on how to use it properly. First thing he learned were abbreviations and online slangs. Even though he failed to understand a lot of things, things like pls, idk helped him actually communicate with others online and search for things on his own.
The world changes, and people learn how to adapt. My dad had his disabilities and adapted to the online world.
Most people know how to type, but language is alive. It changes shape and form with time. Just like humanity.
Adapt.I'm with Abe! :0/
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