After attending the excellent "Teen Speak" workshop this week I have a gnawing uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach. No, the cheese cubes were fine...it was the idea from the slide show - I believe it was a comment from the Library of Congress librarian, James H. Billington - that once only adults are speaking a language correctly, that language is dead. This truly frightening concept is reinforced almost daily every time I speak to a person under the age of 25. And (get ready to bite your fist) these are *college educated* young adults. How did accumulating a basic vocabulary escape them? Words I assume are common vernacular: "nepotism," "marsupial," or "inordinately" were actually questioned by younger staff members here at our branch. And forget even spelling these words, much less knowing the meaning of them. Spell check dumbs down another victim! While studies show that teens are communicating more, the quality of communication is suffering. Maybe it's not important. At the risk of sounding like a scared old person shaking her fist from the front porch, I'm worried about texting and the limited vocabulary of young people. Nevermind writing a coherent, grammatically correct sentence. Can they communicate their thoughts to other human beings making the most of whatever language they speak? I realize that texting, by virtue of its format, is basically shorthand. But when it's the only way a person can write, then it becomes a problem. Yes, I've texted. I think it's a terrific form of communication, especially if you don't really want to spend a lot of time talking. Most text messages are short, with no elaboration. Fine. What's troubling is when frequent texters disregard traditional language in favor of "blurbs." Also bothersome is the addictive aspect of teen texting. How many parents have howled when their kids bring their cell phones to the dinner table and ignore the rest of the family so they can tell Justin what game they just "pwned"? My advice to parents: learn the lingo. Just as it's a good idea to know your kids' friends, it's important to understand their language even if it sounds like Klingon to you. For me, texting will always be just a way to get in touch with my son or for use in emergencies. Beyond that, texting falls into the category of annoying and downright obnoxious. During Hurricane Ike, when a downed power line caused the tree next door to burst into flames, not gonna lie, texting came in handy. But I am a MOM first. And for us, safety is more important than what is merely annoying. I am 100% in favor of banning the use of cell phones while driving -- and not just for teens but for everyone who thinks they're more coordinated than they actually are. And that includes YOU. The statistics - over 13,000 accidents and almost 130 deaths, all related to cell phone usage while driving- speak volumes. The NYT article punctuated my point and maybe the U.S. Librarian of Congress's as well. It's ok to "adopt a second language" but before you do, shouldn't you get a good grasp of your primary language first?
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Potluck #57 UR N ID E 8
After attending the excellent "Teen Speak" workshop this week I have a gnawing uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach. No, the cheese cubes were fine...it was the idea from the slide show - I believe it was a comment from the Library of Congress librarian, James H. Billington - that once only adults are speaking a language correctly, that language is dead. This truly frightening concept is reinforced almost daily every time I speak to a person under the age of 25. And (get ready to bite your fist) these are *college educated* young adults. How did accumulating a basic vocabulary escape them? Words I assume are common vernacular: "nepotism," "marsupial," or "inordinately" were actually questioned by younger staff members here at our branch. And forget even spelling these words, much less knowing the meaning of them. Spell check dumbs down another victim! While studies show that teens are communicating more, the quality of communication is suffering. Maybe it's not important. At the risk of sounding like a scared old person shaking her fist from the front porch, I'm worried about texting and the limited vocabulary of young people. Nevermind writing a coherent, grammatically correct sentence. Can they communicate their thoughts to other human beings making the most of whatever language they speak? I realize that texting, by virtue of its format, is basically shorthand. But when it's the only way a person can write, then it becomes a problem. Yes, I've texted. I think it's a terrific form of communication, especially if you don't really want to spend a lot of time talking. Most text messages are short, with no elaboration. Fine. What's troubling is when frequent texters disregard traditional language in favor of "blurbs." Also bothersome is the addictive aspect of teen texting. How many parents have howled when their kids bring their cell phones to the dinner table and ignore the rest of the family so they can tell Justin what game they just "pwned"? My advice to parents: learn the lingo. Just as it's a good idea to know your kids' friends, it's important to understand their language even if it sounds like Klingon to you. For me, texting will always be just a way to get in touch with my son or for use in emergencies. Beyond that, texting falls into the category of annoying and downright obnoxious. During Hurricane Ike, when a downed power line caused the tree next door to burst into flames, not gonna lie, texting came in handy. But I am a MOM first. And for us, safety is more important than what is merely annoying. I am 100% in favor of banning the use of cell phones while driving -- and not just for teens but for everyone who thinks they're more coordinated than they actually are. And that includes YOU. The statistics - over 13,000 accidents and almost 130 deaths, all related to cell phone usage while driving- speak volumes. The NYT article punctuated my point and maybe the U.S. Librarian of Congress's as well. It's ok to "adopt a second language" but before you do, shouldn't you get a good grasp of your primary language first?
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