Instant msg-ing messes with grammar? As if! lol!

**Iria** · Jul 31, 2006, 09:57 PM

Source: University of Toronto News
_________
With 80% of Canadian teenagers using instant messaging and adopting its unique linguistic shorthand, many teachers and parents are concerned about the medium’s potential to corrupt kids’ grammar. But instant messaging doesn’t deserve its bad reputation as a spoiler of syntax, suggests a new study from the University of Toronto.

TheBlackCat · Jul 31, 2006, 10:18 PM

So they checked how school impacts children chatting online, but not how chatting online impacts school. I think the latter is the primary concern for most people. And it does have an impact, it may not be a majority but online acronyms and syntax patterns do turn up far too much in (too much being at all) in school assignments, according to an english teacher I know.

Zelig · Jul 31, 2006, 10:27 PM

I have immaculate grammar, no English teacher would ever link my instant messaging use with a decline in writing quality. Of course, all my friends think I'm weird when I punctuate everything properly in IM sessions.

Shike · Jul 31, 2006, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zelig

I have immaculate grammar, no English teacher would ever link my instant messaging use with a decline in writing quality. Of course, all my friends think I'm weird when I punctuate everything properly in IM sessions.

I get the strangest responses when using a word like "quite" in Counter-Strike. Let alone writing a fully comprehensible sentence appears to be such an abnormality that no matter what I get at least one "WTF" response on a regular basis.

YAYitsAndrew · Jul 31, 2006, 10:53 PM

lol nubs

**dj_stick** · Aug 1, 2006, 03:48 AM

i think i was 14 or 15 when i gave up typing like a retard, really confused some people to see me type properly (minus caps + punctuation, but who needs that in IM

)

i still have a few words or acronyms that have managed to stay on my online vocab, but i see people typing sh*t like "sarp" and "wots doin"

it's like they've made slang from slang