The Art Of Language - How Far It's Fallen
By misskatonic
@misskatonic (3723)
United States
January 27, 2007 3:53pm CST
I came across something somewhere - possibly here, possibly somewhere else - where someone was claiming that anyone who used big words or spoke eloquently or refused to use netspeak was just 'pretentious' and 'showing off'.
That got me thinking - as I do use big words and I do speak eloquently and I won't use netspeak - about how the English language is now being viewed. I've always thought of language as a form of art - some people can connect lines to make beautiful paintings, some people shape clay to make beautiful sculptures, and some people connect words and shape sentences to make beautiful paragraphs.
And yet now there are people who consider anything that isn't dumbed down and full of acronyms to be 'snobby'. Maybe my views are so different because I'm a writer, and language is my trade. It's my medium, and like any artist, I respect my medium. I don't want to abuse it. Should I be ashamed of this? Is it my fault that while I love words and the simplistic beauty of a well written sentence, others don't? Should I have to change how I write, how I speak, just because someone else sees me as somehow looking down on them?
Am I proud of my writing? Of course I am! It pays my bills. Do I get frustrated with people who mangle writing? To an extent - if I know someone is capable of a higher level of writing but refuses to do so, of course I do. Just like I'm sure an artist would be annoyed by someone who has a great source of talent but just finger paints.
Whatever happened to being the best you could be? Whatever happened for striving for improvement, for using all of your talents to their fullest? When did we become so lazy about language?
(Disclaimer: This does not include vernacular, professional jargon or slang. Nor does this apply to anyone who's not writing or speaking in their native language.)
12 people like this
39 responses
@chaygylmommy (2470)
• United States
27 Jan 07
I see nothing wrong with speaking eloquently and not using netspeak. I use it all the time, but that doesn't make ME cool and you "pretentious". Keep talking the way you do. you sound very nice to me. :)
5 people like this
@redyellowblackdog (10629)
• United States
27 Jan 07
People with big egos and little minds will always try to drag down people with talent. Just don't let them.
Someday, I hope, after you are a famous author, to be able to tell people, " I knew her when she wrote on myLot!".
I suspect that other than the really talented finger paint artists (they do exist, you know) most people are in complete argreement with all of your post. :-)
Keep up the level of excellance. That way, those of us who would like to become better writers have an example to follow.
@rainbow (6761)
•
28 Jan 07
I use big words but I can't always spell them, so you have to put up with my best attempts and bad typing.
I think the person who made you feel concerned is probably very young and "trendy".
Language is a difficult thing to deal with and many people are fluent in more than one, so people here do very well, I cannot "get by" in another than English. Just remember everyones a critic - doesn't mean they are right.
I like the way you write, don't worry about dumbing things down for the trendies. They need to learn to read big words as well as abbreviations.
3 people like this
@misskatonic (3723)
• United States
28 Jan 07
I'm not an English teacher, so my advice to you is to practice your English as much as possible and read as much of it as you can.
1 person likes this
@sigma77 (5383)
• United States
28 Jan 07
I hope you don't get upset, but I agree with your views. I am not a great writer and would not make that claim. My best talents are elsewhere. I see nothing wrong with using sophisticated words and mixing them in with simplier ones.
Sometimes thoughts and feelings are very intricate and not easily explained. There is simplistic beauty in stringing words together. I have often strived to write something that I would consider perfect. It would be a grouping of words that is meaningful to me.
As of yet, I have not completed the task. Do I want to get better at writing? To an extent I do. I has been forever since I have done a lot of writing. I appreciate those who can express themselves using "big" words. I sometime go to the dictionary to find their meanings. No problem.
I do not think that writing eloquently is a sign of snobbishness. It is a mark of a person who has taken the time to perfect their craft. Write as well as you want, their will always be many who appreciate the effort and the perfection.
1 person likes this
@misskatonic (3723)
• United States
28 Jan 07
Why would your response upset me? Your response is well written and expressive and easy to understand. :D
1 person likes this
@steerpyke (396)
•
27 Jan 07
I love language and hate the way that netspeak and general laziness is ruining the art of communication. Language evolves naturally over time, just look at the language of Shakespeare, compare that to Caucers time, to the poem Beowulf and you can see dramatic changes. Its only natural.However there is no excuse for people who can't be bothered to properly learn and use their own language. Technology isnt helping and a classic example is this. The word book has taken on a new meaning recently, it is a slang word for cool. This has come about due to predictive texting on mobile phones. On some if you put in the word cool it changes it to book. As the average fifteen year old kid couldn't possibly spare the half a second it would take to correct the word from scratch it gets left in and the word book has gained another new meaning. Its all a bit sad really.
3 people like this
@sirensanssmile (3764)
• Netherlands
29 Jan 07
I think that English being dumbed down is terrible. If people really feel that it is snobby to use proper english then I am sad for them. Is it that people are becoming less literate because of this?
For me, I spent many many years and tons of money learning English. I am not perfect but I am certainly not about to throw all my training in the bin to use netspeak or only small words.
I definatly agree with the idea that people should use their talents or education to the fullest. People should strive for greatness and do the best that they can in every facet of life.
For me, I am LESS likely to listen to someone who uses only one syllable words or made up- new hip words. I am MORE likely to listen to someone who has a good command of English.
I am LESS likely to read something written in netspeak or intentionally misspelled words.
I don't care if it is looked at as snobby. I think that using your education is the reason that you got it in the first place.
1 person likes this
@danishcanadian (28955)
• Canada
29 Jan 07
An interesting piece. I totally agree that the English language has been dumbed down.
I am constantly teased because I enjoy men with thick accents. It seems to me that people who are here and really want to be here make more of an effort to learn the language than people who take it for granted.
My relatives who have had to learn English speak it so much better than the other side of the family, who were all born here.
1 person likes this
@Wanderlaugh (1622)
• Australia
27 Jan 07
Who cares if these dreary digitized diseases like it or not? Slang comes and goes. Netbabble will go the same way as jive, to the scrapheap.
If I see “u n ur bf/gf…” all I see is someone who may know how to use a phone, but not the English language. I usually don’t bother replying.
Who writes for idiots? My books are written in a pretty intolerant style, and anyone with a phone-based vocabulary wouldn’t have a hope of getting through the first page. Nor would anyone with a one-letter attention span.
I’m not going to miss a decent discussion for the sake of some drab little bit of pseudo egalitarian social protocol imposed by an ignoramus.
On Helium, nobody writes like that, because they’re all writers. Quite a relief, too.
This is yet another version of the tedious process of proclaiming that all rocks are diamonds. Ask any geologist or jeweler, it’s just not true. Snobbery is in the mind of the person trying to be offended.
Dumbing down can be offensive, too. If you speak to someone in baby talk, you are probably insulting that person.
1 person likes this
@rosie_123 (6113)
•
28 Jan 07
I am a former journalist and I am firmly with you in this regard. Language is a beautiful thing - the way you write and express yourself tells so much about you. I hate "netspeak" and "test speak" - to me it looks ugly and it just shows the writer is too lazy to bother to even write a few letters down properly.
@Gruzzle (294)
•
28 Jan 07
I find "netspeak" afwul to look at. I don't think it's snobbish to use language correctly. Written language has rules, and while they may not be mandatory for you to make yourself understood, breaking them isn't something to be encouraged or proud of.
@Qaeyious (2357)
• United States
28 Jan 07
I think I tried this "netspeak" for a day or two years ago, but I gave up on it because I couldn't understand it as quickly as when it is written out. I'm a fast typist so it is no problem for me to type entire words out. As for quality, I don't think I can be particularly eloquent, but as long as I'm communicating without scrambling the words in my sentences (I've been known to do that) I'm happy
@jjones474 (123)
• United States
28 Jan 07
I could not have said it better! I recently posted about the lack of correct grammar and spelling, at the time I didn't realize some users are not native speakers. I get frustrated reading what I believe may be intereting topics, only to find a post full of acronyms and netspeak, I guess you call it. I'll read post such as yours any day over "How r u?"
1 person likes this
@Yuusha (111)
• Sweden
28 Jan 07
English is my second language, but I'm very proud of the English skills I have built up over the years I've spent on the internet. Thus, I feel offended when other people take the language and stomp on it just because they're too lazy to type "you" instead of "u". People should really try harder when they're typing, because using netspeak just ruins the language and makes you look dumb.
You shouldn't listen to people when they say you're "showing off". I've had people tell me that, but I just ignored them.
1 person likes this
@lossforredwords (3620)
• Philippines
28 Jan 07
you know what i'd be more happy to be like you when it comes to writing... it think that is one of your powerful tool and using it the right way is the only way to make it more powerful.
english is my second languange, so as far as i could i want to write in a more understandable way and not use any chatspeck language cause it will definitely not improve my writing skills in english.
dont mind those who make critics to your good writing skills there just jelous or afraid to write large words cause they dont knwo how.
1 person likes this
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
28 Jan 07
I remember one of the first times that I allowed my older daughter to try instant messaging. She wanted to IM with her cousin. I was watching over her shoulder. She typed a few lines, inquiring about school, friends, activities and the like. Within the first five minutes, her cousin sent a message that said, "wuts wrong wit u... y do u type ur words lyk ur in skool" We all know that it's faster to type like that, right? Wrong. It takes a fraction of a second longer to type "you" than "u." My daughter replied that she preferred to type "properly" and her cousin made fun of her saying, "u always haf to be smart... ur a snob." Nice communication from a family member. Needless to say, it never happened again.
My daughters love to read and write. They excel at their English courses in school. I'm thrilled. My older daughter received a comment about her vocabulary in a notation on her Chemistry lab report. I'm glad she realizes that attention to language should not be limited to English assignments. I feel that, to allow them to "dumb down" their writing skills now would only hurt them in the future.
I love to write and do so on a freelance basis. I devote the same attention to a blog entry that I give to a corporate training manual. I believe that my writing projects what I expect of myself, the standards to which I aspire. I don't think there is any excuse to be lazy.
1 person likes this
@dutchess67 (917)
• United States
28 Jan 07
First of all, taking pride in the way your present yourself to others can never been considered snobbish. If you think about it, when you're online, the words you use to present your thoughts and ideas ARE the way you present yourself. People have no other means of judging who you are and what you're about when they're looking at you through a square glass screen.
I, too, try to take a bit of pride in my words. How else can I present myself well to the people that I interact with online?
I hate the laziness that people have allowed to take over the English language and the advent of "chatspeak" (to quote you). I remember when I was younger, learning to read and write and to say things the correct way. I took a great deal of pride in trying to learn these things well, just as I did in learning to write. My penmanship was a matter of pride that my Mother encouraged a great deal.
Kids, and yes, I know I'm generalizing, these days are learning to communicate via the internet and text messaging, where using abbreviated versions of words is time and cost effective. It sucks, because as they learn these spelling habits they forget to use the correct ones that there were taught to begin with.
Frankly, it makes me sick when I think of what literature is likely to become if we don't put a stop to the abbreviated English and internet lingo that is invading and taking over our communication skills. I, for one, say I will not participate in the raping and pillaging of the English language!
1 person likes this
@manong05 (5027)
• Philippines
28 Jan 07
It is from people like you that non-native english speakers like myself can learn a lot from. Using English as our secondary language, we need to have a much broader linguistic base that encompasses the formal and intelligent way of using it. Some of my friends learned english in the context of their jobs but outside of it, they have serious difficulty in expressing themselves i.e. formal meetings, conversations with people who are in the academe or other professions. Listening to pretentious people and highbrows can be annoying but to those who know how to use the language as an art can be a very rewarding experience.
1 person likes this
@XxAngelxX (2830)
• Canada
28 Jan 07
You are one hundred percent correct. It irks me to no extent to see how our language is constantly degrading. It has gotten to the point when my children speak, they are using netspeak! I am constantly correcting them. I believe in being the best you can be as well. Well said!
1 person likes this
@nw1911guy (1131)
• United States
28 Jan 07
I've wondered about this for a while. Personally, I also refuse to use "net speak" for the most part, with the exception of lol. I found I have to use that now and then so people don't think I'm serious about a lot of stuff. It's sad. I love for someone to use a word I've never heard before because it means I'll go look it up and have one more in my vocabulary.
1 person likes this
