Language and Technology

Texting by David Crystal and TED talk by John McWhorter

There are many similarities and differences, in theories of how technology impacts language, from John McWhorter and David Crystal.

Firstly, the most important thing is that both authors believe texting or textspeak does not decrease the ability of using ordinary language. They state that textspeak is a way of writing that young people are developing, and needed ordinary structure of language adapted into another form of written language using imagination and creativity. Textspeak is developed by, mostly, phone-using young people who try to suit language within particular situation when texting. In texting, they also state that textspeak has lost its structure by ignoring the importance of punctuation and capital letter, but it has been given new function or use instead to express emotion through texting. Meanwhile, they believe that complex abbreviation is used between close relation recipients in order to convey information when abbreviating efficiently otherwise the meaning of abbreviated word will be changed into, perhaps, negative way. Lastly, both authors believe that the textspeak will exist and evolve along the time.

Within two theories, there are some differences that both authors believe.  David Crystal believes that textspeak has evolved into another kind of language, but John McWhorter believes that textspeak is fingers speech, which speech is one of the existed kinds of language. David Crystal