Text Messages: Boon or Bane?
Are you holding a "self-phone"/cell phone on your hand at this moment? If you so, then you are one of the four billion people in the world who has a cell phone.
In this "high tech" age, everyone thinks that the cell phone sends instantaneous short messages faster than a speed of a sound.
The rapid invention of technology results to speedy growth of the English vocabulary. It is the known facts that "miscall" and "low-bat" are already in the vocabulary of the millions of Filipinos.
There is an advantage in using the cell phone. It facilitates easy and fast means of communication. However, it negatively affects one's English language learning skills. The cell phone users tend to "murder" the English Language. There are many pieces of evidence of the English Language murdered like the following: the spelling of the words, the tenses of the verb, the proper use of numbers, the punctuation marks ands even the use of capitalization.
SPELLING. On the issue of spelling, many words are misspelled just to send more messages with low cost. SM is the key word that used -S- meaning short M stands for messages. Thus, to transmit a short message, brevity, conciseness and cost are some of the factors that guide the actions of the senders.
Try to analyze this funny example" "C u b4 9, 2mrw AM." This is a concise message, composed of 11 letter and numbers. "See you before nine o'clock tomorrow morning -- is a contract long sentence in a written communication for a short text message. How many misspelled words used to sacrifice for brevity? C or see; b4 for before 2mrw or tomorrow. The sender misses the opportunity to spell correctly the words being shorten because of conciseness and cost.
Due to brevity and cheaper cost, there are many cases of miscommunication disagreement and misunderstanding between the sender and the receiver.
It seems that text messaging is close to phonic using sound and homonyms frequently. Thus, tends to "murder" spelling and correct grammar usage.
TENSES. Another thing that greatly affects text messaging is the tense of the verb. Usually senders do not mind the correct use of the tenses. For example the use of "ed" to show past tense is disregarded. Omitting the necessary letters for the sake of brevity and cost, apparently is not worth it.
NUMBER. Short text messaging also affects numbers. To say "twenty pupil" can also be understood as twenty pupils. What an outrageous offense to the English Language.
PUNCTUATION AND CAPITALIZATION. The beauty of English Language shown in classical literature and beautiful poems is diminishing because of short text messaging. The English Language is dying slowly from the hands of the "high-tech" short text messaging. Are you the one of the culprits?
Can we just let those things happen? What do you think are measures that the teachers or educators should do in order to help this situation?
So what do you think: Text messaging: Boon or Bane?
(Ms. Minviluz S. Fayo, MA Ed. teaches at Bakhaw Elementary School in Mandurriao district)