Everyone needs a (decipherable) voice

June 3rd, 2008 catnipTags:, , ,
Posted in language |

Hmm, about this time of year I like to write a blog post, hehe. I know it’s been aaaages, but I’ve been seduced by the whole microblogging/social media malarky instead as well as a bit of dabbling on CriB, BiNS, hampstr and The Kitten Channel.

But finally I have been annoyed enough to write a post on my very own blog! Anyways, nuff rambling, here it is:

The comments on this post from Created in Birmingham started a train of thought that confused me. There are similar comments on a post about the Cue Club from ages ago.

For example:

dayum dats tight… make me wun..lol jux kiddin’ but yea props tu who made dis

While it’s important that everyone has a voice, if no-one apart from that person’s friends (if that) can understand it, what’s the point?

That’s why we have rules of spelling and grammar in English, right? So that we can talk to people other than our immediate friends (using inspeak).

I am overly aware that it might just be me getting old. Maybe I’m not supposed to understand these comments. Maybe they are just for kids to show off to each other. But what worries me is that when these kids need to have a conversation with, say, people in authority, about more important things, they won’t have the language to do it.

It’s the same sort of thing as text speak creeping into pupil’s exam papers etc. Don’t get me wrong, I love language and inventing new words. I’m fully aware that language can and should evolve, but not this fast. This could create real barriers between generations.

Am I worrying unnecessarily? I myself am guilty of using abbreviations and inspeak in communications with my friends, is it only a matter of time before this creeps into more serious conversations with strangers?

I love lolspeak, but hate text speak, why is that? Is it because lolspeak is very deliberate and you have to know the rules before you break them, whereas text speak just seems ignorant and lazy? Am I just being agist?

I’d love to hear your thoughts, as long as I can understand them!

4 Responses to “Everyone needs a (decipherable) voice”

  1. Shona Says:
    June 3rd, 2008 at 1:55 pm

    No, I loathe text speak too, although I can just about tolerate it if it’s actually used for a phone text message.

    It’s not you getting old, it’s other people’s attempts at linguistic subculture - I’ve received emails in this format and it makes me cringe that the writer thinks this is an appropriate way to communicate with an organisation…

    Can you imagine these kids trying to fill out a job/ mortgage application?

  2. Russ L Says:
    June 3rd, 2008 at 2:22 pm

    Once upon a-time I thought that the mass useage fo a text-based form of communication would lead to higher standards of effective verbal expression.

    Nowadays, of course, I realise that this thought was really, really stupid.

    I think lolspeak is fun in specific contexts, but not out of them.

  3. Antonio Says:
    June 3rd, 2008 at 5:18 pm

    I srsly h8 ppl hu tlk in txt spk! I also can’t stand it when people say “I’ll text it to ya”. Since when did the word text become a verb? I have been guilty of saying that in the past and although there is no proper English there is standard and I don’t think this standard should be lowered.

  4. see it as you say it? « graphiquillan | Says:
    June 9th, 2008 at 12:06 am

    [...] lovely Julia Gilbert’s recent article on deciphering text made me think about this. I’m a decipherable detail [...]

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