David Wertheimer's entry on Digital Web Magazine is an eye opening essay. His essay is a light hearted and entertaining parody on how online grammar is rapidly deteriorating. "Proper sentence structure may look and work all right, since mainstream publications still use capital letters, subject-verb agreement, and full-length words on a regular basis. But outside these rigid environments, the necessity of all that hoo-hah is already starting to decay.". Wertheimer speaks about how all informal writing on the internet including im's and emails have become simplified by using u instead of you as an example. It is all about making communication as simple and short as possible. the short cuts used in im's and emails work because of the 4 or 5 years they have been in use. People all across the world have been exposed to these short cuts and they are actually encouraged because of how much time and effort they save. New users of online communication devices are being introduced to this new type of speaking and are becoming more and more accepting of it which is helping it spread further and faster than before.
I think that this essay is a great way to humorously inform readers of such a phenomenon as this "Im-Speak". Although I don't completely agree with this essay. From my experiences my peers have began to move away from this short cut type writing on the internet and in text messaging. I believe that we have realized how childish and confusing the shorthand is. I know that in my group of friends if you say something like "g2g" or "ttyl" online or in a text message you get made fun of for it, no one really types like that anymore. We have begun to write complete and proper sentences most of the time even in short text messages.
I truly enjoyed haw the author made light of the situation and kept me entertained throughout the whole essay. I must say that my overall favorite part is the ending when he is speaking about the "cure". Some examples of cures include ditch periods and kill capital letters.
I think that this essay is a great way to humorously inform readers of such a phenomenon as this "Im-Speak". Although I don't completely agree with this essay. From my experiences my peers have began to move away from this short cut type writing on the internet and in text messaging. I believe that we have realized how childish and confusing the shorthand is. I know that in my group of friends if you say something like "g2g" or "ttyl" online or in a text message you get made fun of for it, no one really types like that anymore. We have begun to write complete and proper sentences most of the time even in short text messages.
I truly enjoyed haw the author made light of the situation and kept me entertained throughout the whole essay. I must say that my overall favorite part is the ending when he is speaking about the "cure". Some examples of cures include ditch periods and kill capital letters.
Hi Aaron!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your blog, especially your image choice! It is true; much of the IM-speak Wertheimer describes is already obsolete. I think its funny that we used to text things like "ttyl" and now we laugh at how silly it sounds/looks.
Just a quick stylistic comment - make sure you always proofread your writing, even the shorter, informal pieces. It does not hurt your blog grade, but sentence fragments and no capitalization can lower a formal essay grade.
Nice job!
~ Maria