A.N. Murrell
Safe Behind the IP
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A.N. Murrell Every morning I sit down in front of my computer, check my email and respond. When I do so, I use proper spelling, grammar and sentence structure. That carries over to my habitual stop at FaceTheJury, where I frequent the forums. My posts there are also properly capitalized, punctuated, and double-checked for spelling errors before submitted. I appear to be in the minority. The relaxed atmosphere and the ability to hide behind an Internet persona are conducive to appalling laziness by both children and adults. It's baffling to see people substituting "u" for "you", "r" for "are", "2" for "to," and so on. Even worse are the careless spelling mistakes--not typos, mind you, but outright misspellings--by people who've had at least a rudimentary education. Spelling is not quantum physics or nuclear science, it's what you learn as you learn to read. What is it about this medium that allows people to abandon simple elementary education and feel OK about it? It's caught on so much that teachers in school actually allow students to use Internet lingo in formal academic papers. Some even encourage it, saying that it's just the evolution of the English language. Better, I think, would be to say that it's a bastardization of the English language. Allowing a sentence such as "U r teh kewliez!" is encouraging students to be lazy not only in their writing, but in their speech as well. What's going to happen when this generation graduates high school and goes out seeking employment? Can you imagine what résumés will look like if it's taught that Internet slang is perfectly acceptable "IRL"? Will essays sent to colleges and universities contain phrases like "I r teh smratist studnt n mi skool!"? When I've questioned those who dismiss their English education when signing on, the habit has been defended with claims of less effort, more friendly, easier to type, etcetera. Wouldn't it actually take more effort to consciously type slang than what you've been taught for years? I love the Internet. It's an incredibly useful tool that has revolutionized the way we live. However, Internet slang is a negative side-effect that I hope will soon be forgotten in favor of English, as a language, not as something to reform in favor of laziness. ------- A.N. Murrell is a Testy Copy Editors outside Web administrator. |
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