Things like this, and more obviously the increasingly terrible "grammar" (I use the term very loosely) used in instant messageing make me worry for the future. Now, I know and openly admit that I can't spell at all, nor am I very good at grammar, so this affects me more than others. I'm like a bad spelling and grammar sponge. Think of our kids, and the next generation, growing up surrounded by all sorts of errors and misuse. Oh the terror.
In other news, that A List Apart site is a really good read. I stumble across it looking for css and javascript (blech) solutions everyonce in a while, and always stumble away feeling more knowledgeable.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
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Feh. IM abbreviations or word approximations are actually kinda the OPPOSITE of that. They're meant to clarify or shorten so we can more efficiently (or even more amusingly) communicate ideas. As far as I could tell the A List Apart article was complaining about Corporate Speak. Which is the total opposite of acronymism, right? Adding a bunch of vague and useless words. Not misspelling ... or whatever ^_^
My point in all that was, about that you don't have to worry so much.
Not really the opposite. I'm worried about USING PROPER ENGLISH in general, including terrible grammar, and spelling. With these abbreviations, a lot of the time the case & number doesn't match. Talking to english teacher friends of mine, this stuff does make its way into their students writing and it's awful. So, my worry is: whether it says nothing with a lot of words or with too few, people's ability to write well goes down the tube.
If one were to bemoan the state of Modern English usage, it be only fitting to include a tract on the death throws of the subjunctive mood and the loss of the second person familiar pronouns, as pedantry loves company.
A propos, we all know what William Safire said about using "so" as a coordinating conjunction. ;)
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