| I HATE TV2'S NEW ABBREVIATIONS!! |
| Written by Christopher Mills |
| Friday, 19 June 2009 14:39 |
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The addition of text messaging capability to the GSM mobile technology released in the early 1990's, was just an afterthought. In 2004, it was estimated that 500 billion text messages were sent worldwide. It was not expected to become as large as it has. With text messaging's limited capacity, a sub-set of the English language was born: text speak. A language that is almost indecipherable to anyone over 30. Given this considerable usage and secret youth-oriented language, one would begin to think it is a clever marketing strategy; and would be an invaluable tool in capturing that ever-elusive, teenage audience. Well, apparently somebody at TVNZ thought this would be a good idea to show on television and subsequently, implemented it into their broadcast. During show promotions, producers had replaced words such as 'tonight', and 'tomorrow' with abbreviations like 'ton' and 'tmw'. Needless to say, the television audience of New Zealand was not impressed, with TVNZ receiving many emails and letters regarding the promotions. It has been a topic of discussion online also, the Facebook group 'I Hate TV2's New Abbreviations!!' has almost 20,000 members. It would seem that there is a line of tolerance in regard to the slow decay of the English language. It is socially acceptable to abbreviate words in the context of a text message, given that there is definite limited capacity for text. But it is not a facility where all conversations could take place, for example, describing the inner workings of a Large Hadron Collider would not be something to explain via text message. Television, it would seem, is not the place for youth-oriented text language, despite the multitude of youth-oriented shows and copious amounts of programming that could only be described as 'brain-numbing', the audience (and 'share-holders') have drawn a line at abbreviated text in promotions. Clearly a victim of her own programming, TVNZ spokesperson Megan Richards declared: "We have learned in that period that vowels are extremely important to New Zealanders." The decay of the English language must be further along than originally anticipated, as some people no longer consider the letter 'O' a vowel. The acceptance of text-speak in school exams, is another related hot topic. Should a student still get the mark if they have used text-speak, instead of standard English? It is a valid question, given the limited time available to write in exams. If the answer is correct and the student shows understanding of the concept, despite missing a few letters... Should they be penalised? There are some cases where it should not be acceptable, such as an English exam. A subject where the general aim is to teach students about the techniques and correct usage of the English language, rather than the modern, mutilated version. English is the second most used language in the world. Given its wide usage, many would assume that steps are taken to preserve it somehow. But it would seem that other than just speaking, and 'writing', not much is really being done. In contrast to this, France is a country that is immensely proud of their native tongue. L'Académie Française is a facility in France that was established in 1635. It's purpose is to maintain the purity of the French language. If new words come into the social milieu that have an English origin, it is their job to find or create a French equivalent. Although it's slightly less interesting this way, we can be thankful we don't use English as it was in the time of William Shakespeare. In a world where everyone now seems to speak or write in 140 characters or less, abbreviating can sometimes help to get your point across. However, there is a line between lazy and efficient. But please, please, please, never ever pronounce the word 'ask' as 'aks'. |
