english language??

[lozzer50]

What on earth has happened to the english language ?? whats this 'heart ' stuff all about as in i heart you?? its ridiculous and as for those muppets on towie have they no grasp on how to speak they shorten words so much they sound ridiculous. Is it so difficult to speak properly??

[boxtops]

Text messaging has a lot of to with it. The heart is a symbol for love, I love you, in other words. We all use abbreviations these days - most people can tell the difference between spoken and written conventions.

I don't watch TOWIE but we all speak differently, local dialects and terminology - what do you classify as "properly"?

[Zacs-Master]

How long has the word 'muppets' been part of the English language? Slightly hippocritical post IMO.

[boxtops]

Doh ^ Text messaging has a lot to do with it....

[TheOtherHalf]

I dont text, thats why I can never understand it. My sister sometimes speaks texts when she emails me. I can work some of it as many moons ago I did do speed writing but this latest thing just baffles me :>(

[jake-the-peg]

I know it's apalling

Next thing you know there will be words like "cool" and "OK" in general circulation!

Anyone would think that the English language was permitted to change!

Don't they realise that the copyright of English is shared between the BBC and the Telegraph?

Pah!

[jake-the-peg]

Good point Zac

- Missed the irony of someone complainig about "muppets" who can't speak proper English.

That's made my day!

[tiggerblue10]

Languages have been changing throughout history. The English we speak now isn't quite the same as in Elizabethan times. And it will continue changing.

[Zacs-Master]

Stood out like a sore thumb Jake.

[Sipowicz]

Apparently "text speak" has abbreviated OK to K!

[TheOtherHalf]

f u cn rd ts msg u r a gd n

This was the type of speedwriting I learnt as a new office girl at 15. I couldnt do shorthand, so learnt this instead. The message above perhaps isnt quite right as I cant remember it now, but it was very similar. So I suppose we had our own text way back then.

[Graham-W]

Some people are really carp at punctuation too. Apostrophes, full stops, commas and the like. What's it all coming to?

[commoner]

All languages evolve over the years.....I'd guess that people have been moaning about changes to their language since Adam first asked Eve for a bite of her cherry ;-).....I mean..what is "properly" for a cockney sparrow is virtually unintelligible (?) to a Yorkshire Tyke like me.....and vice versa.

[Tilly2]

That sounds a bit fishy, Graham.

[Tilly2]

Or, are you not allowed to write cr?p on here?

[Jumbo747]

Don't mention apostrophes - in a former life (in the classroom) whenever they were mentioned they appeared peppered everywhere!
And on market-stalls...............

[Mosaic]

It all went downhill after that flash so n so Caxton....

being serious though, I think even language lovers have to give up and let go on this one - it is evolution in action and will not be denied. LOL....

[boxtops]

I learned speedwriting to0 - shorthand was a mystery.

[Sqad]

It's quite clever really.....in texting one has only 160 characters until the next rate of charge is levied, so one has to improvise and unusual characters come to the fore.

The basic function of a language is to converse in a way that is understood by both parties, whatever the method. So often and we have it on AB, some people in an attempt to appear "clever" use words which tend to direct one to the nearest dictionary.

[sandyRoe]

Indubitably ^

[ladybirder]

Jumbo, you mean market stall's:-)