Number of Posts: 20
Posts 11 - 20
La letra, con ‘smartphone’, entra
(The letter enters with smartphone (pun with "la letra con sangre entra"))
Newspaper | El País
Date | 27.10.2014
Language | Spanish
Country | Spain
Topic Tags | grammar, research/study, social media, spelling, texting, threat, youth
Summary | Spelling and grammar are having a hard time in today's society; there seems to be too much lenience with regards to writing rules, which may be due to an incorrect use of new technologies. People should know when it is appropriate to use a specific register. It is okay to write a text message with abbreviations as long as users are able to change register and adapt their writing in an exam for example. A professor in Valladolid claims that handwriting as opposed to digital writing can be the solution to spelling and grammar mistakes. Social media and the way we write on those networks have a major impact on our writing skills. A study showed that the mistakes young people make in their writing assignments come from our habit to constantly write quickly and be spontaneous on social media. Those mistakes are mostly due to a lack of attention. The study also showed a positive aspect: with social media, we write more.
Image Description | Photograph of a group of four young people using their smartphone.
Image Tags | female(s), hand(s), male(s), smartphone
No imprta q este scrito asi
(It doesnt matter how its written)
Newspaper | El País
Date | 19.3.2014
Language | Spanish
Country | Spain
Topic Tags | abbreviations, language threat, spelling, texting, youth
Summary | A study in France demonstrated that text message characteristics have no impact on spelling skills. If you child texts using a lot of emoticons to replace words, or mispells certain words, it doesn't mean he or she is going to make more spelling mistakes in a writing assignment. He or she might even master spelling rules better than someone who doesn't text. Young people play with language and know when it is appropriate or not to use text message characteristics. However, some people disagree and think that texting can have a negative impact on spelling skills, the Spanish language, and calligraphy.
Image Description | Photograph of a group of young girls sitting and using their smartphones, and photograph of someone (hands) texting.
Image Tags | emojis, female(s), hand(s), smartphone, text
Want your texts to appear sincere? DON’T use punctuation: Researchers say full stops make messages appear less trustworthy
Newspaper | Mail Online
Date | 8.12.2015
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | language threat, punctuation, research/study, spelling, texting
Summary | A study revealed that text messages that end with a period are considered as less sincere. In text messages, people use punctuation and emoticons to convey emotions and social cues. Also, the language of text messages has a serious impact on the English language. New words (e.g. LOL) have been added to the dictionary, people don't use hyphens anymore due to laziness, deep thoughts and ideas are summed up in 140 characters, and our smartphones correct our spelling so we don't have to learn how to spell words.
Image Description | Photograph of a woman using her phone.
Image Tags | female(s), smartphone
Studenten können nicht mehr richtig schreiben
(Students cannot write properly anymore)
Newspaper | 20 Minuten
Date | 21.1.2015
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | language threat, school, spelling, texting, youth
Summary | Students' writing skills are poorer than in previous years. It may be due to the fact that elementary schools no longer correct every spelling mistake in first and second grade but rather value content over form. Another reason that can explain students' lower writing skills is new media use. Most of young people's writing and reading is done through new media nowadays, and informal writing is prevalent in those digital spheres. The increasing informalization of language on social media is seen as a threat to our language.
Image Description | Photograph taken from behind of an elementary classroom with children.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), school
Rédigez des mails pour être lu
(Write emails to be read)
Newspaper | 24 heures
Date | 27.11.2014
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | email, spelling, texting
Summary | Emails are very important, especially in a professional setting. Thus, it is important to follow certain rules. For example, abbreviations and spelling mistakes should not be permitted. Moreover, emails should be clear, precise, and to the point. People should leave emoticons for personal messages.
Image Description | Photograph of the author of the article.
Image Tags | male(s)
“Deutschkurs 20.16”
(German class 20.16)
Newspaper | Appenzeller Zeitung
Date | 8.4.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | grammar, spelling, texting, youth
Summary | A list of nine texting grammar rules or tips for adults is compiled to enable them to blend in with teenagers in digital communication media. These rules include alternative spellings, elisions of words as well as usage of anglicisms.
Image Description | Photograph in black and white of Silvia Fritsche, author of the article.
Image Tags | female(s)
Il faut archiver nos vies pour que l’histoire vivante ne s’arrête pas
(We need to archive our lives so that history does not stop)
Newspaper | La Tribune de Genève
Date | 26.3.2014
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | language threat, research/study, school, spelling, texting, youth
Summary | Some people claim that writing with abbreviations is harmful for standard language. Others claim that it does not; some studies demonstrate that students can perfectly write abbreviations and their "standard" equivalent. Moreover, a study showed that students who are skilled in text message language have also better spelling skills in general. Writing is part of our culture; we write more and more. Thus, our practices resemble our forefathers’. The only difference is that nowadays it is more difficult to save and record our texts, whereas in the past people used to keep their letters and messages.
Image Description | Photograph of Benjamin Chaix, the author of the opinion piece.
Image Tags | male(s)
"La génération du baby-boom prend l’avenir en otage"
("The baby boom generation is taking the future hostage")
Newspaper | Le Matin Dimanche
Date | 13.4.2014
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | language threat, spelling, texting, youth
Summary | Interview with Patrick Nussbaum, one of the authors of the book “C’était mieux avant” (“It was better in the past”). Nussbaum doesn’t like the way the baby boomer generation cultivates nostalgia and thinks that current and future generations will have a terrible destiny. Unlike what older people claim, younger people are not that scared about their future. In his book, he also talks about spelling, claiming that writing is constantly changing. New technologies offer new ways of expression, but do not kill language. Also, young people use new technologies for sociability and solidarity, which are two important values.
Image Description | Photograph of the interviewee: Patrick Nussbaum.
Image Tags | male(s)
Tout fout le camp, même l’orthographe!
(It’s all falling apart, even spelling)
Newspaper | La Tribune de Genève
Date | 28.5.2014
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | language threat, spelling, texting, youth
Summary | The author states that she is having a hard time deciphering the new language of text messages. Young people don’t know how to write anymore. She references an essay “C’était mieux avant” (“It was better in the past”) that explains the phenomenon against the backdrop of nostalgia. The essay criticizes the idea that everything was better before. The author also claims that new technologies (Facebook, text messages, WhatsApp etc.) are in part responsible for reinventing language.
Image Description | N/A
La bataille de l'orthographe
(The spelling battle)
Newspaper | PME Magazine
Date | 30.9.2015
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | language threat, marketing, spelling, texting
Summary | Spelling mistakes are everywhere around us. One of the reasons that can explain the invasion of spelling mistakes is the global usage of new technologies: now people write more. The phenomenon touches every social and professional classes. This leads to problems in the work space; people write their emails or resumes with a lot of mistakes. As a result, some companies now offer spelling classes to their employees in France and in Switzerland.
Image Description | N/A
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