Speaking English

I love the English language. In fact, I love listening to any language as I’m fascinating by the different sounds and gestures that people use when speaking. What I’m sad about though is the way our language appears to be evolving.

Now I know language doesn’t remain static. Every language evolves whether we like it or not - if that weren’t the case we’d still all be speaking in the same way Shakespeare did, or even Anglo-Saxon, but I really don’t like what’s happening to it these days.

This is copied from something a 15 year old friend of the family wrote recently:

“I had da best tym todaii it woz wiked. Just gt in nd am 2 tyred 2 fink. C ya 2mrw.”

I’m really not sure whether that’s txt spk or just a case of bad spelling, grammar and everything else rolled together.

This isn’t an isolated incident either. Go on any social networking site and take a look at how young people write these days. Not all of them - some youngsters write beautifully - but far too many.

Is it because they’re not being taught proper language skills in school? Is it because of txt spk influences? Is it just sheer laziness (can’t be bothered to learn)?

I really hope this isn’t a sign of how people will be speaking/writing in the future because that, to me, just isn’t beautiful.

Sharon J xx

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