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We live in a fast-paced society that is growing ever faster. While people figure out how to use the new technology on the market, even newer technology is coming on the scene. Mostly, it is younger people who are creating ways to communicate even faster.
Think about it. We have fast cars, fast foods, fast entertainment (just download it these days) and many more fast things. Text messaging does not require a face-to-face or verbal-to-verbal meeting, is convenient, and a fast way to communicate and move on.
A field that is akin to texting is stenography. Stenographers may be slowly losing ground to technology, but not grammar, and mechanics in English, and we think text messaging is in the same category. Nowadays, stenographers mainly work for governmental entities (state, county and city), education and the medical field.
But what is it that stenographers actually do? They take dictation, and, to get all of what is said, they have to do it in shorthand. Then they have to transcribe their notes to a word processor. Sometimes, they take the passages directly from an audiotape. You ought to see some of those scribbles they call shorthand.
“Dictation may include letters, legal documents, technical or statistical data, and other materials. Stenographers are responsible for correct format, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling,” according to http://www.calmis.cahwnet.gov/file/occguide/STENOGRA.HTM.
We’re not saying that text messaging is stenography, but it is similar in that it is a type of shorthand. The reason for shorthand is to get all that is said without missing a word, so the method has to be a fast process to keep up with speech. But the reason for unusual texting – changing words so they are shorter, or sacrificing punctuation and spelling – is to get the message out fast. You could say that one is formal shorthand, and the other is informal shorthand.
Certainly, some text messengers won’t be able to differentiate between formal writing and texting. This may be because they never learned formal English and the proper way to communicate. But most people know the difference and will not be affected by the fast method of communicating. To get the better jobs in life, one has to know how to use correct English, a formula for success.
No, text messaging won’t hurt correct or formal English, just as jargon from numerous job fields and dialects haven’t. Text messaging, simply, is jargonized language specific to our burgeoning technical field.