i can has gramur lessinz? (Assignment #2)
Our culture certainly is experiencing a trying time when it comes to modern technology and the English language. With all the texting, instant messaging, and informal emailing, the grammar of an entire nation seems to be falling apart at the seams.
It appears that communication being as convenient as it is today, we have lost a lot of the formality in our speech. A lot of people use technology to more quickly confer their points rather than more accurately, and thus have invented their own shorthand, devoid of capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and other important grammatical elements.
Although technology has given us the opportunity to be lazier with our spelling, wording, and grammar, it has also provided us a perfect construct to make us more avid readers and writers. Many average people read blogs. Many others read the morning news from a glowing screen rather than in a paper held above their morning coffee. This is a new era, and it is not that we care any less about grammar because of all the shortcuts available. Many waitresses, engineers, and writers use shorthand and abbreviations when noting things quickly. We have simply developed a comprehensive, interactive language of shorthand for easier conversations.
I believe that technology is making the majority smarter. We now have incredibly easy access to websites like Wikipedia and Google, which are very popular and contain a lot of valuable information (as well as other things). Children are able to access many informational sites from very young ages, play interactive learning games, and even intellectually and socially mature faster because of the unrestircted content available.
One explanation for the lack of grammar is the incredibly personal feeling you get from the internet and from modern communication. A majority of people use the internet to stay in contact with friends and family far away rather than to write articles, publish stories, or discuss important matters publicly.
Our generation has twisted the internet into one giant social site in which we are simultaneously all anonymous contributors and everyone knows everyone. Because of the commonality of human experience, we all understand similar things and can relate. Because it is hard to prove you are credible on the internet, you can be anyone you wish with any opinion. It almost seems like one worldwide living room during the holidays; everyone is shouting out their own ideas louder than the person next to them, people are discussing philosophy, religion, and politics with plain everyday speech. No one is trying to speak politely or correctly because they are too busy thinking about the turkey and stuffing on the table, or the presents under their tree.
Although the contemporary use of grammar in social settings has diminished, i believe that a majority of us are still able to use it correctly. I understand that it is not being taught to our children in schools at young ages as it needs to be, but in what subject area do we not have this problem? Students everywhere are being handicapped by the No Child Left Behind act, which inhibits those who should be able to move ahead and promotes those who should be held back. Students are behind the curve in every subject area, lacking knowledge of state capitals, spelling, grammar, reading, presidents, elements, geography, and more. I think that despite being held back, our generation is adapting accordingly by creating their own language and grammar system because without proper instruction, all they have to go in is what they experience on a day-to-day basis in the comfort of their own homes, and that, my friends, is the information superhighway.
Allow me to refer you to an entry from the past about grammar that coincides with this topic:
(Caution: It was not written for scholarly purposes and thus has some NSFW language.)
http://fasteronfire525.livejournal.com/119011.html
It appears that communication being as convenient as it is today, we have lost a lot of the formality in our speech. A lot of people use technology to more quickly confer their points rather than more accurately, and thus have invented their own shorthand, devoid of capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and other important grammatical elements.
Although technology has given us the opportunity to be lazier with our spelling, wording, and grammar, it has also provided us a perfect construct to make us more avid readers and writers. Many average people read blogs. Many others read the morning news from a glowing screen rather than in a paper held above their morning coffee. This is a new era, and it is not that we care any less about grammar because of all the shortcuts available. Many waitresses, engineers, and writers use shorthand and abbreviations when noting things quickly. We have simply developed a comprehensive, interactive language of shorthand for easier conversations.
I believe that technology is making the majority smarter. We now have incredibly easy access to websites like Wikipedia and Google, which are very popular and contain a lot of valuable information (as well as other things). Children are able to access many informational sites from very young ages, play interactive learning games, and even intellectually and socially mature faster because of the unrestircted content available.
One explanation for the lack of grammar is the incredibly personal feeling you get from the internet and from modern communication. A majority of people use the internet to stay in contact with friends and family far away rather than to write articles, publish stories, or discuss important matters publicly.
Our generation has twisted the internet into one giant social site in which we are simultaneously all anonymous contributors and everyone knows everyone. Because of the commonality of human experience, we all understand similar things and can relate. Because it is hard to prove you are credible on the internet, you can be anyone you wish with any opinion. It almost seems like one worldwide living room during the holidays; everyone is shouting out their own ideas louder than the person next to them, people are discussing philosophy, religion, and politics with plain everyday speech. No one is trying to speak politely or correctly because they are too busy thinking about the turkey and stuffing on the table, or the presents under their tree.
Although the contemporary use of grammar in social settings has diminished, i believe that a majority of us are still able to use it correctly. I understand that it is not being taught to our children in schools at young ages as it needs to be, but in what subject area do we not have this problem? Students everywhere are being handicapped by the No Child Left Behind act, which inhibits those who should be able to move ahead and promotes those who should be held back. Students are behind the curve in every subject area, lacking knowledge of state capitals, spelling, grammar, reading, presidents, elements, geography, and more. I think that despite being held back, our generation is adapting accordingly by creating their own language and grammar system because without proper instruction, all they have to go in is what they experience on a day-to-day basis in the comfort of their own homes, and that, my friends, is the information superhighway.
Allow me to refer you to an entry from the past about grammar that coincides with this topic:
(Caution: It was not written for scholarly purposes and thus has some NSFW language.)
http://fasteronfire525.livejournal.com/119011.html