Language and The Digital Revolution

I recently read Ariane Sherine's article in The Guardian about the exclamation mark and how 'text talk' is a "crime."  Firstly. it was posted in August 2008 so perhaps in the two years since then she may have grown out of her naivety.  I doubt it.  Before I go on, feel free to read her article here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/nov/03/comment-and-debate-punctuation

The first thing that struck me upon reading this is how overtly she is part of the problem I tackled in my earlier post: "The Mannerless VS The Forgotten Generation." It is clear to me that the English Language is one of the many topics that serve as an avenue for people to convey their snobbery.  I have no problem with other people venting their opinions, except when they are wrong.  She talks with such overt arrogance I find it offensive.  Before reading her article I had no idea that there was a 'board of language' somewhere in England - probably Buckinghamshire - that meet up and decide what's right and wrong about other people's use of language, while they sit on thrones, eating foie gras and olives, casually spitting the stones into the mouths of their working class servants.  Ariane Sherine is chairwoman of this committee; she carries a solid gold dictionary, a sign reading "I went to grammar school therefore i'm better than you" and wears a hat made from the skin of the local comprehensive schoolchildren.  The small mindedness in which people all to readily criticise the various uses of language and its development is ridiculous.

Language evolves in time like everything else - except perhaps time itself - and does so for a number of reasons.  It is clear that the written and spoken word is culturally reflective and holds a beautiful insight into the societies in which we live in.  All too often change is seen as a bad thing and is criticised for being incorrect.  The attitude of "Why fix it if it isn't broken?" is so boring.  I say look at it, congratulate it, smash it up and try and make it better.  It seems to me that people from certain generations are so content with stagnation and what they like to call 'tradition' that they continually try to squash development.  Language is no different from technology, in fact it is technology.  Evolution is what life is all about, we all evolved from apes - some more than others (Susan Boyle) - and who knows what we'll develop to in the next hundred millennia, but language will be a fundamental part of it.  By all accounts I agree with her point that;

"All writers, avid readers and logophiles have at one point sighed in incredulous frustration at some scrawled misdemeanour, from misspelt signs to graffiti ardently declaring "JACK LOVE'S RACHEL."

This is just incorrect every way you look at it - it is not evolution, it is stupidity.  Sherine's article claims to be targeting the overuse of the exclamation mark and gets an article in The Guardian for it! The Guardian!!!!!!!!! That's ridiculous!!!!!! My gripe with her article is her secondary topics of 'text talk', abbreviations and emoticons.  She describes them as "textual atrocities" and gives the example of 'OMG' amongst others, likening them to 'viruses'.  She is blind to the beauty of them.  I bet she read Anthony Burgess' "A Clockwork Orange" gagging, with a red marker pen in hand, a frown on her face and a Collins Dictionary ripped to shreds on the floor while she tries frantically to check all the spelling mistakes.  I'm sure that she didn't stop once to marvel at the genius of this manipulation of language.

Language is powerful, beautiful and fascinating.  It is the original form of problem solving, people often say "anything is possible if you just talk about it" and this is so true.  In modern day society we are constantly being given more and more innovative platforms to do just that - talk.  From forum posts to blogs to a well worded tweet we can talk to thousands of people in an instant.  The word 'instant' is the operative word there, we are required to express information as fast as possible.  It is the ways of the world that are influencing language, not an age group or social class that people may suggest.  Social media is the fastest information tool around and is a competitive market (nobody is reading this for example).  Ultimately the challenge set is to say as much as possible in as few characters as you can.  Is this not a brilliant thing, social media is challenging people to use ingenuity with language and drum up interest.  There isn't time to write how people used to, if I wanted to inform a friend that I would be seeing them later, I would not write:

"Oh dearest acquaintance of mine, I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that later on this fine day I shall indeed convene with your wondrous self."

I'll write: "cul8r."

Done, in a fraction of the time! The same information is sent, the same plans have been made and everyone knows about it faster.  Sherine also tackles the idea of an emoticon.  Is she the most depressing person ever? :( poor Sherine.  An emoticon is genius, its a tiny piece of art in an otherwise literary world.  Even if you don't use them yourself, it is sometimes nice to receive one, or create your own.  In this fast paced world it is difficult to convey emotion a lot of the time, an emoticon solves that problem brilliantly.  The evolution of language is part of the evolution of society not the death of it.  I say write how you want, write what you want and have a good laugh doing it.

So tnx v much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D :P