Why are Americans Destroying their Language?

Question

I am not a native speaker of the english language but i have been studying it for almost 20 years now. I have an MA in Applied Translation Studies and I had this question I want to ask to any American who would like to answer:
Why are you destroying your language? I have been browsing through Yahoo Answers these past weeks and I saw things I cannot understand....
I see people stating questions using chat speak. I see people that cannot write common words properly... I see misused syntax and grammar... Is this intentional? Or is it mainly a trend followed by younger Americans that simply do not receive proper education?
I know that most Yahoo users are American so i assume that most of the errors I see are made by them...
Maybe i am wrong...
But it makes me dissapointed to see things like:
imho / btw / idk / whats going onn? / i nd 2 spk 2 u / c u l8r /
I can understand the usefulness of chat speak...
But i really hope you dont kill your language in the long run...

Answer 1

It's found just in younger Americans. (And Canadians) This is because most of our (their) time is spent chatting on such things like MSN, My Space, AOL, etc. For whatever reason, these teens feel that they do not need to employ proper grammar when talking to their friends. Hence, expressions such as imho and btw have been invented.

I do understand how imho can save time as "in my humble opinion" is quite a bit longer than the abbreviation.

However, what I do NOT understand is the use of 'u' and 'r' and the like. Really, it takes a second to type out 'you'. It takes a fraction of a second to type of 'u'. Are people who use this type of chatspeak really so busy that they cannot spare a fraction of a second? Really, if you have no time to type out full words, you should not even be on MSN or MySpace.

I am like you. I hope that such a habit does not ruin the English language - as it is really a beautiful language. Chatspeak has spread even into the classrooms where some teachers have received essays with 'u' in them - teenagers are so used to typing 'u' instead of 'you' that they now do it unintentionally!

That is truly sad. I'm a teenager but I still type out words on MSN. I like to be understood. I can't be bothered to read 'wht did u do 2day'

Besides, it really takes longer to type out the short form of words than the actual word itself. It is like lying - your brain first thinks of the proper word (the truth) and then it has to think of the way to make it shorter (the lie).

Answer 2

It is not only Americans who do this. I have a hard time understanding what Australians try to type. And what about British people? Or people from India? It is NOT only a trend in the U. S. A.
And it is NOT only happening in English. Spanish is going through the same stupid trend, for instance.
I HOPE it is intentional. But... I sadly see that the "intentionality" is starting to become a normal thing. "We are not in a classroom". Yeah... they are allowed to be stupid outside a classroom. That's fine!
I am not a native English speaker either...

Answer 3

I apologize for answering this question though being a non American.
What a beautiful variety of answers already delivered. The most intriguing is that ALL of them are somehow right. Furthermore, it is not the case with Americans only, almost all the nations in the world TEND to impoverish and simplify the language, which most probably the price of Globalization, less education and amazing life speed...

Answer 4

Ahh.. yes, I do agree with you. It's mostly ignorant people doing this (not just teens, I've seen older people follow this stupid "trend" too). It usually dies off once they get involved with groups that are more about specific things rather than gossip and very general, "free-for-all" chats. I'm mostly involved with online gaming and online art groups, and typing that way is really looked down upon and people are really teased for doing it if they join our groups and type that way. So people usually get out of the habit, which is good. I doubt Americans will destroy their language, because there are always people dedicated to preserving it, as well. And don't blame all teenagers! Some of us do like to write in a way that's not too bad. =)

The butchered writing really hurts to look at, though.. I swear to the gods that a little piece of my soul dies every time i see someone type like that.

Answer 5

It's not a destruction of our language nor is it pure laziness like some people have previously stated. It's rarely used among the older community and more commonly used amongst younger kids. When in a quick conversation online it's simply easier to say ttyl than spelling out Talk To You Later. Why spend extra time spelling something that can be said much quicker? It's not like americans walk around saying "TTYL". It's only used online.

Answer 6

Maybe there are some Americans who write that way. But remember that American English is the most beautiful and most tuneful language in the world. That's why all songs are only sung in American English. Have you already noticed that also British singers switch into American English when they record a song?? That's normal because British English is just non tuneful. I adore American English. It's simply the most beautiful language in the world!!!Italian and Latin American Spanish are also very very nice. I speak five languages fluently (German, American English, Latin American Spanish, Italian and Polish). But my favorites are English, Italian and Spanish although German and Polish are my mother tongues.

Answer 7

Definitely part laziness on the chat speak. It may also stem from the speed at which we communicate in things such as instant messaging and chat rooms. I think that may abbreviations may also have developed from things where you have a limited number of characters you can use. For instance, we are all limited to the characters when posting a question.

As for the misspellings and such though, from working with thousands of young people, I think it may be a way of intentionally, but harmlessly, trying to annoy adults. There may be some ignorance involved, but even my intellectually gifted twelve year old uses intentional misspellings. It drives me crazy and she knows that it does. I refuse to communicate with her if she doesn't use proper spelling and grammar to the best of her ability.

So, I think it is definitely a combination of laziness, ignorance, and rebellion.

Answer 8

The opinion is unanimous. No English speaking country speaks English correctly. Ask them! But if you really, really want to hear fractured English, take a stroll in south Brooklyn, New York on a Saturday Afternoon. What the resident people there speak is English. Brooklynese English. OMG, you've never heard anything like it. But, they're happy, understand each other, and understand non-Brooklynese. Just like the Brits in Trafalgar Sq. They're happy, understand each other, and understand non-british English. Of course, we don't understand them, but that's our problem. (Maybeeze ef wez zwaz boon en bowuklen, we wood undstan dem bedda). Have a great day.

Answer 9

Yes, I am wondering that, too! Most are just too lazy to type out the real form, so they rely on *Internet* slang. You shouldn't do that now, because it makes people NOT want to learn English.

Answer 10

Actually I would disagree and say that this is a sign of a healthy language. A language that allows for such colliquialisms while maintaining comprehension is a great thing.