Agnieszka gave lecture titled “Texting – literacy problem or language (r)evolution?” at the Queen Mary Pre-Sessional English Programme on 10 August 2010. The relevant abstract can be found below:
Texting – literacy problem or language (r)evolution?
The growing popularity of texting (sending SMS-messages) has been accompanied by excitement about the emergence of a new form of communication on the one hand, and growing fears about the potentially destructive influence of texting on young people’s literacy on the other. Both views have been widely represented in the popular press. John Humphrys, who has been described as a language purist, warns that texters are “vandals who are doing to our language what Genghis Khan did to his neighbours eight hundred years ago.” On the other side of the battlefield, David Crystal assures that talk about the revolutionary character of texting is much exaggerated. During this lecture arguments on both sides will be discussed.
Do texters misuse language through poor grammar and appalling spelling or do they display enormous levels of creativity through numerous linguistic innovations? Are our codes understandable for others? Do we use textese at all? How much can actually be said in 160 characters? Are text-messages for code-breakers or poets? These are some of the questions to be answered during the lecture.
This discussion and student group work will lead to a conclusion as to whether texting poses a threat to our literacy levels or marks language evolution in the age of brevity and speed that we live in.
