ARTFUL NEGOTIATION

TECHNOLOGY AND LANGUAGE

 

The advent of a new approach always introduces solutions and a new array of problems.  We can usually gauge the worth and usefulness of this approach by determining if the benefits outweigh the costs, though this is certainly not always the case.  With technology, we have experienced more efficiency in the production and as a result we have an improving economy, but we have also dealt with some of its problems- or seeming problems.  For some time now, there have been many voices who are quick to criticize technology as the source of degeneration for language.  Conversely, there are also some people, like McWhorter, who claim that it is just part of the natural evolution and progression of language, and that it therefore should be embraced. 

            Personally, I find that my views on the issue lean towards the negative side of the spectrum.  I think technology will serve as a catalyst to the growth of subcultures and the language and lexicon that come with them.  Subcultures such as meme-culture, internet speech, and “txt talk” have all been rapidly developing with the aid of technology.  While this may be counted as a strengthening point to McWhorter’s claim that language changes and evolves, such a claim says nothing about whether or not this rapid change is truly conducive to improvement.  Some examples of more harm than good that come to mind are my friends overseas.  While I was in Japan, almost all of my friends and acquaintances were complaining that they were slowly forgetting how to write the characters of their Kanji alphabet because their phone automatically selected them for them.  This is similar to “autofill” except it’s different in that it writes out a whole character for you as it replaces an (word) input.  Some claimed that they have forgotten how to write over 420 characters since the advent of text autofill! In Mexico there is a similar situation where many of my friends say a lot of people are forgetting where accent marks go for certain words because of texting.  In my immediate experience, I have many colleagues that have not attended college and have maintained avid internet and texting communications from which they attribute the erosion of their language.  They claim they used to be really good spellers, but that the overt use of acronyms and text lingo have “regressed their skills a few grades back”.

            I do see the benefits of an unfiltered “speech-oriented” writing style such as texting, and the effective method of communication of memes, but also think there is a balance that should be maintained.  I don’t necessarily think it’s one or the other, and people can develop both with the right kind of attention to our currently accepted speech.