As mobile devices and digital artifacts become increasingly part of our every-day-life, quite a lot of things are about to change. It’s not only the possibility to look up everything within a few minutes that changes our way of learning; it’s also the way we read.
Journalists will have to adapt to our new reading habits if they want to be read in the future. They have already noticed this fact and ask openly Should we be writing for mobile devices and people with no time to read? As content curators and producers we should all consider writing in a different way, as the presentation La curation de contenu: de nouvelles pratiques de lecture underlines. The Telegraph, in contrast, discovers Mobile phone ‚text-speak‘ boosts children’s language skills.
Teachers, in fact, face a new way of writing – SMS-language is a special way of writing, like a new register, that doesn’t fit in every context. Students will have to learn that it’s not polite to use minuscules in German when writing an e-mail to their professor or to their boss. Emoticons should not be used in an abusive way to express their feelings. Abbreviations can lead to misunderstanding: it’s not sure everybody is able to understand the new and cryptic way of writing. Do you need an example? What about I h8 txtmsgs: How texting is wrecking our language? A fantastic overview is given in a blog post named How to Text in English. Even the Southern Times, the newspaper for Southern Africa asks The Text Generation – Has the SMS killed the English language? Try out this short test: Know your internet-speak?
La même chose vaut pour la langue française – c’est ce que les deux articles Unlocking French language: text a’grieve’iations et Quand Petite Poucette écrit nous montrent.
Auch vor der deutschen Sprache macht die SMS-Sprache nicht Halt, wie Fasse Dich kurz: wie SMS und E-Mail die Ausdrucksweise beeinflussen oder der Artikel SMS-Studie: Anglizismen sind keine Gefahr für die deutsche Sprache zeigen. Eine Auflösung für die deutsche Sprache liefert SMS-Kürzel – Das steckt hinter den Akronymen.
Anche la lingua italiana vede ausbreiten Il linguaggio degli SMS in Italia come dimostra l’articolo sul sito di Zanichelli che elenca tantissimi esempi di questo nuovo linguaggio. La tesi di laurea Il linguaggio degli SMS: il caso dell’italiano e del francese ci fa vedere come viene utilizzato. Un altro articolo con buoni esempi nelle diverse lingue europee: IL LINGUAGGIO DEGLI SMS.
There are several articles concerning reading and writing in a digital era – especially in the context of touchscreen writing skills. Martin Ebner therefore asks Ist der Touchscreen der Füller von morgen? [a presentation in German] and Edudemic detects the 5 Myhts About Writing With Mobile Devices.
Here are cited just some of the most interesting articles found on the web:
- How cell phones are affecting writing standards
- Language of Texting
- The case for teaching texting
- Edu.txt: Mediating Education
- Study: Text Messaging May Harm Grammar Skills
- Does Texting Impact Students Language?
- Texting Generation More Likely To Read Books and Use the Library Than Older Americans
- Slang Words for Texting and their reallife meaning
- OMG! Survey, like, says digital-savvy students are good at writing!
- Teachers Say Tech Helps Student Writing, But Encourages Shortcuts
- Social Media Makes for Better Student Writing, Not Worse, Teachers Say
- The Internet Is Making Writing Worse
- Handwriting: A Skill For A Digital Age
- What Does Your Handwriting Say About You?
- Troy Hicks: A Conversation About Digital Writing
- Are Texting and Tweeting Making Our Students Bad Writers?
- Cory Doctorow: Writing in the Age of Distraction
- 17 Tech Terms Connected Educators Must Know
- 7 Resources for Developing Typing Skills
- Why All Students Should Write: A Neurological Explanation For Literacy
- Learning how to write effective sentences for the web
- Nous twitterons
- All the Text Message Acronyms You Ever Wanted to Know
- The Ancient Roots of Punctuation