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 

“The Mannerless” VS ‘The Forgotten Generation’ – Can Social Networking save the day?

At university, Facebook was used to laugh at friends photos, organize drinking sessions and compete in those addictive little games they offer.  Since graduating I have found myself so overtly effected by the economic crisis and the knock on effect it has had on the employment market that I find myself labeled under the umbrella of ‘The forgotten generation.’  However, those tools we used solely to socialize could now offer our salvation from the mire we find ourselves living in.

The old enjoy criticizing the young but this time they’ve gone too far.  It is clear to me that the generation spanning 30-50 now have essentially shat all over those to come - and I’m not just talking about the bankers.  Generally speaking, the generation who came before mine have no concept of manners, etiquette or respect, yet love to look down on us from their X5 driving, huge loan owing, DKNY be-speckled pedestal that they find themselves sitting on - selfishly cocking everything up and waiting for someone else to sort it out.  It is they who have made appalling financial decisions on our behalf and have ruined the economy to such a degree that jobs are in short supply and unemployment is spiraling higher and higher out of control.  What annoys me most is that the people we’ve set the task of saving the day are the very same who got us in this position to start with.  I read recently that there is a strong campaign to make the retirement age older than 65, which will once again reduce the opportunities for the young.  Ultimately I agree with the idea, it is true that we are a healthier and fitter society than before and that most of us have a perfect sense of mind at that age - so it is simple logic that the retirement age is pushed back.  However, it is who is campaigning for this that annoys me.  It is the very same snob filled generation that has already done enough damage and they’re doing this is to protect their own interests.  Yet where roles the roles for the present are being protected, nothing seems to be being done to create new positions.  This generation - who I would like to call “The Mannerless” - have created a world where opportunities are at an all-time low, yet I constantly see articles about how misguided and ill equipped my generation is for the world we graduate into.  

A while back I saw a BBC interview with Sir Stuart Rose where he said that recent graduates don’t have the necessary skills for the working world.  The way he said this rubbish it looked like he thought we were to blame, if it was true that is.  Are we really to blame? That’s rhetorical by the way - no, we’re not.  Our syllabuses are decided by “The Mannerless,” we are taught by “The Mannerless” awarded our grades by “The Mannerless” and then criticized and denied jobs by….”The Mannerless.” 

All the time I have been driving, which I appreciate isn’t a massive amount of time – 5 years – 99% of people who pull out in front of me, don’t offer a thank you wave, never let me out, drive up my arse, overtake at ridiculous points of the road and just generally behave like utter prats are one of (you guessed it) “The Mannerless.”  Ever held open a door only then to be ignored by the people passing through? “The Mannerless.”  Ever worked in a shop and helped a customer only to be offered absolutely no appreciation for your help? “The Mannerless.” Ever applied for a job only to never receive any form of response? “The Mannerless.”

My point is this, if we live in a world where opportunities are limited and often decided by muppets, what chance do we have? My answer - Facebook.

Well actually, social networking in general is where we can find success.  I don’t know a single person around my age not on Facebook, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t use Youtube at some point and more and more people are starting to realize the powers of Twitter.  Our ability to network effectively online is what sets us apart from the average member of “The Mannerless.” Social media offers us a platform to make a name for ourselves.  Industries are beginning to realize how massively important social networking could be to them and are actively seeking people who ‘know about it.’  Essentially our text-talk, picture sharing, status updating, socializing obsessed members of society, most of whom part of “The Forgotten Generation” are beginning to be required.  Often criticized and accused as pointless by the small minded idiots out there who can’t get their sweaty little palms or bigoted naïve minds around social networking, we’re starting to bite back, one well worded status update at a time.  With effective advertising being more and more needed, companies whose eyes are open wide enough to see past their current blinkered “mannerless” employees are starting to reap the rewards.

Ultimately it seems that we, “The Forgotten Generation” may be able to get past the prejudice thrown our way consistently by the utter clowns who came before us by merely being ourselves and doing what we do best – networking.   It is apparent that as a consumer demographic, we are still targeted by advertisers and that slowly but surely people are beginning to realize that we are more useful to today’s business world than people like that Rose prick (sorry for the pun) would suggest.  So people, keep adding those photos, updating your statuses, poking each other and soon we’ll be in a position to treat those around us a hell of a lot better than we have been.