We are living in the most technologically advanced period the world has ever known, and it is going to get better. The World Wide Web, e-mails, text messages, and instant messages, for example, have all done their part in bridging the communication gap between us. No matter where we happen to live in the world, we have, in many ways, become next-door neighbors: In a matter of seconds, depending upon the speed of our computer, we can travel the globe and get anything desired, all with the click of a mouse.
Communicating today is almost effortless, and even the telephone has been impacted to such a degree that it has become a virtual office. With so many ways to communicate, I wonder how concerned we are about how we say what we say?
What I mean is this: How much time do we spend on thinking about or composing our messages before we send them around the corner or around the world? Yes, I know: The new technology has developed a language of its own, but even so, do we make sure that we are using the language in a way that best conveys our thoughts? And when our messages, (text, twittered, instant or e-mailed) are received, do they express our intentions in the best way possible?
Let’s take a look at three of the more popular ways to communicate today to answer these questions.
Telephone: Does the receiver of your call know exactly what to do as a result of your message, assuming he or she is not available to answer the phone? Do you pace your speech or talk slowly enough for him or her to write your number, if your message asks for a return call?
E-Mail: Do you check your messages to find and correct errors in spelling and grammar before you hit send?
Text Message: Do you, considering the limited number of characters with which you have to work, choose the best combinations that most accurately convey your ideas in the clearest way possible?
Communicating has been taken to an unusually sophisticated level as a result of our modern technology, but we must still be concerned about how we correspond with each other, since we, too, are improving and experiencing personal growth, right along with technology.
ABOUT THE WRITER: Barbara J. Henry is a published author (Journaling: Twenty Plus Reasons Why You Should Start Now), personal development expert, and avid reader of books on self-growth, self-help, and spirituality—which are the subjects of her blog. Because she has journaled every single day since June of 1995, she describes herself as “the journaling lady.” Visit her website; go to the Titles/Products Page and download a free copy of her very effective tip sheet “9 Write Ways to Solve Problems.”
Showing posts with label texting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label texting. Show all posts
Jun 24, 2009
Jun 3, 2009
TRULY SPEAKING: Dictionary 2.0
Have you heard the word? Rumor has it that the Information Age is dumbing down society: Text messages, Twitter tweets, and Facebook statuses are corrupting the pristine language we've known, loved, and used for so long. But is it true?
Last month, esteemed writers Patricia T. O'Conner and Stewart Kellerman released their new book, Origins of the Specious. It's about the "myths and misconceptions of the English language"—including the idea that grammatical rules cannot be broken. There's even an argument for ending a sentence with a preposition. ("What!?" screams the editor in me. "What else will they think of??" Oops.)
BTW, welcome to your bonus word for this week: specious, meaning "superficially plausible, but actually wrong; misleading in appearance or misleadingly attractive." And if you think my use of "BTW" as an abbreviation for "by the way" is a fine example of devolution, (bonus word #2: the opposite of Darwin's evolve), remember that ASAP was once the more time-consuming "as soon as possible."
Kellerman and O'Conner say that, like anything else on Planet Earth, language changes and grows. What gains popularity in usage defines the rules of definition. Talk about open sourcing!
(c) KiKi Productions, Inc. 2009
Last month, esteemed writers Patricia T. O'Conner and Stewart Kellerman released their new book, Origins of the Specious. It's about the "myths and misconceptions of the English language"—including the idea that grammatical rules cannot be broken. There's even an argument for ending a sentence with a preposition. ("What!?" screams the editor in me. "What else will they think of??" Oops.)
BTW, welcome to your bonus word for this week: specious, meaning "superficially plausible, but actually wrong; misleading in appearance or misleadingly attractive." And if you think my use of "BTW" as an abbreviation for "by the way" is a fine example of devolution, (bonus word #2: the opposite of Darwin's evolve), remember that ASAP was once the more time-consuming "as soon as possible."
Kellerman and O'Conner say that, like anything else on Planet Earth, language changes and grows. What gains popularity in usage defines the rules of definition. Talk about open sourcing!
(c) KiKi Productions, Inc. 2009
Apr 17, 2009
The Evolution of Etymology: How Human Language Changes & Grows
We’ve all heard the universal lament: Cell phones and e-mail accounts are downgrading language. Abbreviations and emoticons are blamed for dropping literacy rates and for lingual confusion virtually all over the world, as teens and tweens spend, according to one British study, about 31 hours per week online texting, surfing, and chatting—versus 3 hours each week studying via the internet. Contrary to popular belief, however, the reverse may be the real truth: Newsweek Magazine reported in an article last August that “texting may give literacy a boost,” because exposure to language equals exposure to language—period.
The fact is, language—no matter which you speak or in what part of the world—changes. Pick up any book written in any decade of the 20th Century, fiction or non-fiction, and you’re sure to find yourself amused at some point by the notable differences in conversational tones. The English language, spoken by more than 20 percent of the world, has morphed from Middle English and “Olde Englishe” (as it was then written), and beyond that, from the Romance languages of Latin and Greek. Etymologically, English has been internationally influenced at each turn as the world population shifts, grows, and eternally relocates.
It should come as no surprise then that language continues to transform as the various countries of the world meet up online. Merriam-Webster’s “open dictionary” takes a firm hold on the helm of this exploration, inviting internet users to add their own words (or “slanguage” as one anonymous contributor put it) to an ever-growing list.
Wikipedia, the open source e-encyclopedia, also has its own open content dictionary, or Wiktionary. It integrates multiple languages into one dictionary source for any speaker-user around the globe.
It’s also not unexpected to note the several books and e-books on the subject of linguistic adaptation. The hand-held reading device Amazon Kindle, having released over 265,000 titles to date—currently priced at around $10—has at least 57, alone, about the ever-changing English language.
What’s your personal contribution to the word world? If you consciously create, unconsciously co-create, or even simply help proliferate the language you speak, hear, read, write, type or text (imagine: “text” is now a verb!), you are a part of the ever-evolving human existence. Welcome to growth! And talk about progressive!
(c) KiKi Productions, Inc. 2009
The fact is, language—no matter which you speak or in what part of the world—changes. Pick up any book written in any decade of the 20th Century, fiction or non-fiction, and you’re sure to find yourself amused at some point by the notable differences in conversational tones. The English language, spoken by more than 20 percent of the world, has morphed from Middle English and “Olde Englishe” (as it was then written), and beyond that, from the Romance languages of Latin and Greek. Etymologically, English has been internationally influenced at each turn as the world population shifts, grows, and eternally relocates.
It should come as no surprise then that language continues to transform as the various countries of the world meet up online. Merriam-Webster’s “open dictionary” takes a firm hold on the helm of this exploration, inviting internet users to add their own words (or “slanguage” as one anonymous contributor put it) to an ever-growing list.
Wikipedia, the open source e-encyclopedia, also has its own open content dictionary, or Wiktionary. It integrates multiple languages into one dictionary source for any speaker-user around the globe.
It’s also not unexpected to note the several books and e-books on the subject of linguistic adaptation. The hand-held reading device Amazon Kindle, having released over 265,000 titles to date—currently priced at around $10—has at least 57, alone, about the ever-changing English language.
What’s your personal contribution to the word world? If you consciously create, unconsciously co-create, or even simply help proliferate the language you speak, hear, read, write, type or text (imagine: “text” is now a verb!), you are a part of the ever-evolving human existence. Welcome to growth! And talk about progressive!
(c) KiKi Productions, Inc. 2009
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