All the time online I see alot of grammer mistakes and lil emo crap like "lol" "kk" "XD" and whatever. Punctuation is missused and there is quite the bombardment of misspellings. At first this would bother me alot but now I find myself following suit...
Anyway, do you think this will get worse before it gets better? Or will it never get better? Will everyone you meet on the street simply say "Meh" and slang become the new proper way to communicate?
2007-07-14 04:05:07 · 13 answers · asked by Sleepyriggles 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
meh?
2007-07-14 04:08:21 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
"Alot" is two words; just thought I should mention that. I'm a linguistics minor going into my 3rd year of college, so I think I might have a bit more insight on this than many other people would. Bear with me here; I'm not totally crazy but there is a decent explanation for all this webspeak.
Language changes over time; it's called descriptive grammar. English (and nearly every other comparable language) is not static, otherwise we'd still be speaking and writing the way the Shakespeare did. For example, Elizabethan English allowed for double-negation, and we certainly don't use that in most dialects of "modern" English.
The language isn't even exactly the same across the different groups of people who speak and write it. Someone born and raised in Dublin writes and speaks differently than someone born and raised in Toronto, who writes and speaks differently than someone born and raised in New Orleans.
Now, does this mean everyone can run all over swapping "its" and "it's" or throwing semicolons wherever they want to or saying things like "lolzorz" all the time? No way! Language change is gradual, and the writing system always lags severely behind the spoken word. Plus, there will always be things that don't "fit" with the system and won't ever become part of mass usage. A good way to think of the progress of language change is to think about the words that are added to the dictionary every year. A few words that have been invented or created become so widely used that they are accepted into the language, and the same thing happens over time with grammatical and spelling changes.
Lastly, as a linguist and a grammarian, I believe webspeak is not really anything to worry about. Based on my own usage of this style, I would say it is basically an invented form of shorthand, the main purpose of which is to make written conversations over the internet flow more like spoken conversations. I don't see it making the cut as the preferred style of anyone's doctoral thesis in the near (or distant) future.
P.S. Don't be a prescriptive grammarian! They're a real drag!
2007-07-14 04:31:18 · answer #2 · answered by Cat Loves Her Sabres 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Don't worry too much about it, London is very cosmo as you probably already know. British dialogue is very regional so people living 20miles apart can have totally different meanings for words thats part of the fun. Doubt people will expect you you to know what they are on about at first, but you will soon pick it up, be yourself and pick and choose what phrases/words suit you is the best way, we understand American since our tv is virtually all US stuff. Imagine Huge Grant trying to copy a New Yorker or a Texan, sound strange you bet. Hope you have a good time and remember to travel around a bit if you get a chance the change in accent may give you a shock but its all good.
2016-05-17 10:45:12 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I vaguely remember that Meh (and Feh) have it's origins in Yiddish and is pre internet and thus not net slang per se.
The rest are just simple abbreviations when on the internet and ways to express emotion on an emotionless system. No, I think english is safe.
2007-07-14 04:17:13 · answer #4 · answered by bobble242 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There will always be slang and there will always be correct english written in books....in university they have to write using correct english....
the queen of england speaks the originial ...then prince wills and harry started to speak a bit of slang and they don't complete their words with the letter "T" ...lol
2007-07-14 04:10:20 · answer #5 · answered by fashion daahling ! 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm oh so sorry you feel that way.
People use abbriviations (lol,rofl,ttyl,etc.) to shorten what they have to type.
Just faster and easier.
By the way in school or on papers I never do that.
2007-07-14 04:08:46 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i say lol irl. why does it have to get better, obviously if I'm going to laugh I'm not going to say lol im going to say hahaha when something really is funny. i wish people would quit complaining, theres better things to complain about.
2007-07-14 04:10:04 · answer #7 · answered by FAT 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
lol XD
well its just more conveniant 2 write lyk dis becuz it doesnt take as long 2 write words lol
~(o^/_\^o)~
kk?
^_^
XD
Meh...
2007-07-14 04:12:50 · answer #8 · answered by моя звезда 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
lol
no but really, i get bothered by people that use poor spelling and acronyms. its quite obnoxious. i've been trying to get myself to use that shift key a little more, but i'm not gonna slave over that.
2007-07-14 04:08:06 · answer #9 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No, it is very much alive my friend. It is unfortunate for those who can not speak it properly.
2007-07-14 04:14:58 · answer #10 · answered by jamoca 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
chat rooms & forums are one thing... when you hit the real world you will have to use proper grammar
2007-07-14 04:08:37 · answer #11 · answered by Little Tiger 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋