What is the function of written language?

The spread of technologies like the internet and cell phones has changed the way entire generations communicate. Speed is of the essence and convenience is the name of the game. Long gone it seems are the days of writing a letter to a friend and waiting patiently near the mailbox for days for a response. First came email. Daily emails to your mother about your day at school were simple and effective. Then came cell phones and along with them, text messaging. The convenience of sending minute to minute updates about events of the day to your parents 3000 miles away was easier than cooking Top Ramen. In the early days texting was a bit cumbersome. Typing out entire words took time and so in the spirit of ever increasing speed, more efficient and compact forms of common words and phrases began to appear. Now-a-days we have improved technology like predictive "swype" texting and even voice-to-text inputs. But the "text speak" remains. Many debates and studies have been performed to try and understand the impact this form of communication may have on traditional written language. From elementary teachers to college professors, complaints about laziness and improper grammar seem to indicate the decline of the English language. But is this really the case? There is plenty of evidence that says no. Yet the debate continues. There is no denying that the way in which the majority of younger people communicate today has been affected but the evidence to support its effect on written English is not there. English has evolved many times over in its existence, however text speak is not the next evolution of written English outside its context of text communication.In a study published in Linguistics and Translation, a group of researchers found “there is also marked evidence in the findings of the present study that spelling is not generally affected at this level because of the students’ being conscious of the context in which they are writing (Aziz, Shamim, and et al 6)." This states that people understand the time and place for text-speak and recognize not to use it in place of standardized written English. They also point out that abbreviations common to text-speak are only used after students have learned proper spellings of words. Their study found that there were many punctuation errors in the students’ writing, however in many cases it was not that they didn’t use punctuation but that they used it incorrectly. For example, using a comma when a semi-colon was required. This would indicate an issue with a student’s understanding of the uses of punctuation in general, which is not a result of text messaging. "Moreover, the evidences of one punctuation mark used in place of another indicate one more thing i.e., the errors related to punctuation are not the result of the habit of frequent texting alone. There can be other factors like carelessness or lack of knowledge on the part of students and the lack of training, feedback or emphasis on the part of educators or the system (Aziz, Shamim, and et al 7)." Educators should look to correcting this through curriculum and emphasis, not blaming it on cell phones.

So there is evidence that text speak has not ruined the English language. However the fear is still out there. But I’m curious, what if the abbreviations and terminology did start making it into the academic and professional world? Another result of the spread of previously mentioned technologies is that written language has become more prevalent and important. So maybe we need to examine the concept of what written language is exactly, and how can we use it? How do we go about improving an existing process or tool? We make it more efficient. We make it faster, smaller, more streamlined, cheaper, more convenient. That is the culture we live in. Does anyone remember what it was like trying to download a single MP3 on a 56k modem? Now we get upset if we can’t stream a movie in high-definition from our wirelessly connected tablet PC. Faster. Stronger. Better?