People often complain that texting, SMS, and Watsapps are bad for language. Do you agree? How do you write text messages? In this TED Talk John McWhorter gives a different perspective on the argument:
0:56 When we “pull the camera back” to think differently about language, what do we see?
1:11 The majority of the history of language is what?
2:40 What is the difference between casual speech and writing?
3:08 How have speech and language influenced each other? Can you give an example from Spanish?
3:59 What is the Gettysburg Address? You can Google it.
4:24 What are the limitations to writing like you speak?
5:21 If texting is not writing, what is it?
6:01 What are its characteristics?
6:45 What did LOL mean originally? What is it now?
8:11 What has been the evolution of slash? Note: this is a slash /
9:58 How long have people been complaining about the decline of language?
11:26 How does McWhorter consider texting? What is your opinion?
If you want to explore more about this topic, check out the Spoken and Unspoken episode of the TED Radio Hour podcast.
Writing Question (optional): Write a brief, formal letter of introduction to apply for a job.
