I know the following statement might ostracize me permanently from the English department, but “I Britt Hainstock, teacher of the sacred English language, do solemnly believe that text messaging, or 'txting', is a legitimate form of writing”. Now wait dear reader, stop! Before you too throw your beloved “Heath’s Anthology of Literature” at the computer screen in disgust, hear me out!
Within my poetry unit I’ve taught (as perhaps you have too) the study and writing of haiku amongst other forms for many years at a variety of grade levels. Some students love it; three lines, count the syllables 5-7-5, short and sweet. Also within that same poetry unit I often examine the structure of sonnets. Iambic pentameter is not everyone’s cup of tea, but Shakespeare certainly make a good living off of it. And while very few friends, lovers, or coworkers converse through the form of haiku or sonnets, they are not cited as “enemies of language”, as I’ve heard one colleague mutter of txting.
Why then has txting been blacklisted from the English teacher’s cannon of proper form? It is the unconventional spellingz that puts traditionalists off? T’was the English tongue ne’er to be so transformed? Alack, alack, alack.
I think txting is just the new kid on the block and it hasn’t yet proved itself as a lasting fixture to the linguistic and literary powers that be. It may abbreviate to the point of barebones, but less we forget the wise old haiku only carries 17 syllables in total, and has endured for centuries. I would say that the prevalence of txting with the youth of today means that it will certainly be carried into our workplaces soon (if not already).
Confession time; I don’t actually txt. The whole thing is a bit strange and frightening to me too, given that I’m losing ground on the number of abbreviations being absorbed into popular culture. But seriously, I’m also not losing sleep over not being in the loop either. We don’t all have to love txting, just as we don’t all have to love foreign films.
If educators or parents are genuinely concerned about the prevalence of txting in young people’s lives and the deterioration of society, start doing it. Nothing will kill a fad (if it really is one) like having it adopted by middle-aged people.
JKJK CUL8R
I enjoyed your comments on what hopes to not be the decline of the English language with the onset of texting. I have a Language Arts minor and I have pondered this long before starting this class. I do not pretend to be 100% perfect when it comes grammar (sometimes those adverbs get me) but I am guessing all of us with even a mild appreciation for proper grammar and punctation cringe a little every time slang words are used in commercials or slogans. I think this has only gotten worse in the last 10 years. I am just really hoping that we do not see permanent affects of this in the long run.
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