OMG! FYI, the OED is like all TMI. Can we still be BFF? LOL.

Technology seems to be making people stupider.
The whole text speak reminds me of Newspeak from 1984

Newspeak is closely based on English but has a greatly reduced and simplified vocabulary and grammar. This suits the totalitarian regime of the Party, whose aim is to make any alternative thinking—"thoughtcrime", or "crimethink" in the newest edition of Newspeak—impossible by removing any words or possible constructs which describe the ideas of freedom, rebellion and so on. One character, Syme, says admiringly of the shrinking volume of the new dictionary: "It's a beautiful thing, the destruction of words."
en.wikipedia.org...

I see this nothing more than evolution really.

I think that all accents and things like that are just using less energy to say the same thing. For example I say "how are yall doing". Just saying the same thing smoother with less energy. Not correct english but you know what I'm saying. Whats the big deal?

If accents are left without correction you will have a whole new evolved language eventually. That is discouraged because we need to speak "proper english".

fo sho

lol

I am laughing out loud right now. I am rolling on floor laughing. Oh my Googleness.

Man, I am having hard enough of a time with the one we have had for the last several centuries.

over and out OAO away o

reply to post by soficrow


Whom ever has majored or minored in archeology, anthropology and linguistics among us knows this is huge! That's why the OED had to do this. It would have been shameful had they not as this meets the models.

Do not worry, your children are brilliant and they will excel beyond us all. This is an intersection of epic importance in history and reveals how fast their minds work. They need their language to reflect the speed at which they think.

I don't use those abbreviations much but I don't see a problem with them either. In the future when we begin replacing words as we know with symbols, and then communicating in some abstract unknown way...are you going to call that dumbing down the generation? No it's because our ways of communication are evolving; perhaps from pure vocalized intricate formulations of expression into a visual and/or telepathic medium. As for lol or omfg being an "evolution", that is up for debate.

reply to post by soficrow


YES this is the end of civilization...I HATE people who write like this...

But you know, TSHTF...TPTB want it this way. LOL glad no one here on A.T.S. uses abbreviations to talk about HAARP or TPTB or UFOs or the OED or anything...

I hate seeing my fellow humans devolve.



I can understand saying it online, like "lol" (aka: lack of laughter), but saying it in real life makes my eyebrow raise a bit. If it's done in sarcasm that's fine, but casually and constantly? Dear [deity here]

Also the people who say "like" every second word followed by an adjective that is either 'good' or 'bad' drive me up the chimney.




The dictionary is slowly having a knife being put into its heart. This was more of a speedy knock to its eventual demise, nudging it a bit closer to the aorta.

reply to post by angelchanneller


Ummm.......Kinda makes you wonder why we try to dumb them down to our level, with drugs. My nephew was listening to me play some music on my keyboard, I was recording instrumentals in various tracks. I noticed that he became more animated when I increased the tempo. I continued to increase the tempo so that to me it was no longer enjoyable. I let him adjust the tempo, he kept increasing it until it was unbearable to me but that was when he really enjoyed it, dancing etc... (he needed to "speed it up" so that it matched his level of process)
My nephew was seven at the time, His parents, and the school system decided that he had ADHD and then came the drugs.......
I remember thinking at the time that he was just experiancing an evolutionary leap, a genetic imperitive, causing him to "speed up", or process information at a much faster rate than the "norm". I thought that maybe this "imperitive" was a form of evolution that was enabling the next generation to speed the process of maturation, in order that they were ready........
I thought perhaps that humanity was being prepared by ? that the race grow beyond it's animistic natures......that perhaps time was short, that we "get it right" before whatever event or process confronted us....

I know how this all sounds, but that was my thought process at the time. Now he's sixteen and is scoring higher than anyone in the history of his school........WTF

YouSir

Originally posted by Crakeur
reply to post by soficrow

 

another sign that the end of civilization is nigh.

my daughter says omg all the time and it drives me nuts. if we can't speak and write properly, we're doomed

How dramatic...

Language is a living thing, it evolves.

ps. I wonder if nutjob is in the dictionary...

reply to post by YouSir


Your assessment is accurate to me.

I am a Montessori trained educator and administrator.

I see miracles like you have described everyday in our children, pre-teens and teens.

They are the key to our future.

Frankly, I am grateful.

Originally posted by Chindogu

Originally posted by Crakeur
reply to post by soficrow

 

I'm with ya there. Net speak drives me bloody nuts. It's lazy when you type it and it's downright offensive when it's spoken. Shakespeare must be turning in his grave.

While I am against the inclusion of these words in the dictionary, Shakespeare used Zounds which was shortened slang for the already then offensive "Gods Wounds", so, he would be a hypocrite if he complained.

edit on 26-3-2011 by watcher3339 because: (no reason given)

reply to post by angelchanneller

......This is an intersection of epic importance in history and reveals how fast their minds work. They need their language to reflect the speed at which they think.

Therein lies the problem!!!

I can no longer think fast enough to translate and respond within any reasonable timeframe! LOL

It's like having to learn a new language or communicate by using mathematical equations.

[I said that on purpose. Meaning I think that is exactly what it is. ...Sucks to be old.]

OMG, FYI that is ridiculous. I hope those who are making these changes realize how ridiculous it is. This is a disgrace to the English language.

LOL

reply to post by soficrow


No, no, no...you are apart of the collective consciousness that evolved them!

I have a 13 year old. We are the street wise. I do not do the "...lets pretend we are young thing." and he does not do the "... I can handle the streets thing."

I think this may be the parent child balance immemorial. Not sure.

I do not think this will be the end of intelligent discourse. Quite the opposite...I think, because of the computer, we will refine it to a higher art form.

I don't feel it serves any purpose to up turn ones nose at this sort of thing.

After all, the dictionary doesn't tell us what to say, we tell it what to read!

Think back to when you read Shakespeare, doth the reflection nay enter thy mind that supposed the language used at the time was a little over complicated?

Conversely, over simplified acronyms tend to encourage over use and a lack of creativity.

It's ok to use them but it's also ok to have a little self respect.

Isn't it about time we all shared the same language anyway?

Originally posted by Hawking
reply to post by soficrow

 

YES this is the end of civilization...I HATE people who write like this...

But you know, TSHTF...TPTB want it this way. LOL glad no one here on A.T.S. uses abbreviations to talk about HAARP or TPTB or UFOs or the OED or anything...

edit on 26-3-2011 by Hawking because: (no reason given)

I've been here for a month and still don't know what TPTB is. It sounds like an acronym for NWO though. B is for Bilderbergs? T is for Trilaterals?

The powers to be Our future overlords or should we just say OL's

Originally posted by ELahrairah
Technology seems to be making people stupider.
The whole text speak reminds me of Newspeak from 1984

Newspeak is closely based on English but has a greatly reduced and simplified vocabulary and grammar. This suits the totalitarian regime of the Party, whose aim is to make any alternative thinking—"thoughtcrime", or "crimethink" in the newest edition of Newspeak—impossible by removing any words or possible constructs which describe the ideas of freedom, rebellion and so on. One character, Syme, says admiringly of the shrinking volume of the new dictionary: "It's a beautiful thing, the destruction of words."
en.wikipedia.org...

Yes perhaps there is some similarities. I don't know 1984 that well but from what it sounds like something the powers come up with. This however is the exact opposite. This starts with the people. Youngsters, geeks etc. It is the news etc. who are trying to hold on to their official form of english with desperation

So does anyone care to explain how we are evolving backwards because of a few text acronyms or is that just a common uneducated opinion that doesn't have any backing? Does anyone who can think about the things they say have any words on this or are we just going to let this one go?

reply to post by watcher3339


ooh. Great point. Thanks