First of all... Nonjon, what the fucking hell were you smoking to come up with that metaphor and were can I find some? That was without a doubt the most bizarre and visually disturbing metaphor for linguistic shift I have ever read.

On topic, slightly, I have to wonder about the content of the books themselves. Ignoring for a minute that they are full of baboon assbugs, do they taste good and are they nutritious? Is there an actual story of some literary value cloaked within the language of twelve year old retards?

I only ask this because some books that I and other members of my family treasure are similarly written in blatantly improper english. Ok it's not baboon assbugs but maybe they were written in lemur neck lice. Specifically I'm thinking of old folk tales and such. For example;
"Yessum, una da smaat lettle chillun." (Yes sir, that's a smart little kid.)

Most folk are going to look at a book written like that and think "wow, what a horribly illiterate person". I'm going to think "this was meant to be read aloud/heard". Such deliberate butcherings, used today, add a lot of flavor and punch to a story. I read books of Anansi stories like that aloud and it lets me feel who the storyteller was, where they were from, and some history beyond just the tale itself. For instance if it's Brer Rabbit the storyteller was from Georgia, Buh Rabbit is from South Carolina, Brudda Rab comes from Jamaica, and so on. Even though they're all telling the same story of Brother Rabbit and the Tar Baby, and murdering the english language, we can extract more than just a story from the words.

Likewise in fifty years will we look back at this completely bastardised piece of literature and say "it gives an insightful look into teens at the turn of he millenium"? Will netspeak become one of those pidgins or creoles that actually add flavor to a story? I know we'll never look forward to Shakespeare in netspeak, but there is a slim (SLIM) chance we'll see it used more and more when telling stories about the net-connected teens and their childhood drama.

 

Last week, my English class had to go down to the school library to look for a book. So, I'm going through the shelves of decade old books and I come across a new one. I pull it out, and there is ttyl.

I proceed to laugh. Loudly. Then go ask my English teacher if I can use this book. After all, it's in our school library, I should be able to use it. He says no. So much for chatspeak enlightenment.

The people I know don't use chatspeak in everyday conversations. Maybe a lol or two has slipped out but that's all. No, they use it when writing notes to each other or when IMing. For which I yell at them and tell them to at least spell things right and use punctuation. (Course, when I'm thinking of what I'm going to say next and there's a comma in the sentence, I think "comma space" so...)

The downfall of society is already here. Each generation gets progressively dumber and lazier. Until everyone realizes it and does something about it, we're screwed.

 

I certainly Hope not. Oh please Dear lord don't let them think that my generation actually worte like this on a regular basis.

Edit:
Miss Selarne: To paraphrase Socrates:
These Stupid Stupid kids are going to be the downfall of society
(Real quote was somthing like 'Every Generation laments the start of a new generation for in each we see our own shortcomings' or somthing like that.)

 

It's actually funny you should say that, because it sounds like how they view Robert Burns.

He was considered un couth in his day, but now he is a national hero. I hate the dumbing down of language, wether English or any other tongue.

Even Shakespeare's language is now virtually unrecognizable, by today's standards at least. I just hope that whilst the language is being twisted, that the meat and bones of the story is still somewhat worth reading.

Even if the language changes, as long as people's mind's are still challenged by new idea's it matters little.

Litha

 

The thing is, there is a distinct difference between writing a character, let's say a uneducated Southerner at the turn of the century, and just being a lazy douche.

From what I understand of this, I hesitate to call it, novel, is that the characters within don't even bother to use proper spelling when the conversation calls for it. I mean, tossing a 'lol' around isn't bad, but ending every single conversation with 'ttyl' and never capitalizing 'I' is just plain stupid.

I'm in university right now, working on a teaching degree. The first rule I'm going to lay down when I enter a class is none of this 'net-speak' bullshit. None. No second chances, no re-submissions. Automatic fail for even the slightest mistake. It may seem harsh, but frankly, it's the only way to nip this crap in the bud.

 

The sooner you realize that people as a whole are a stupid, arrogant race, the better off you'll be.

Ever the cynic, I am...