I'm no stickler for rules — at least, not most of them. I've always favored whimsy, irreverence, and originality over propriety, decorum, and tradition. I'm the mom who lets my kids run naked in the front yard, sneaks massive snack sacks into movie theaters under my shirt, and is proud to demonstrate my belching skills at the dinner table. As I type this, I'm staring at a recent moving-violation ticket for rolling through a stop sign (I'm sorry, but some rules just beg to be broken).
Why, then, do I find myself stiffly — stubbornly — adhering to fusty old spelling and grammar rules when I'm texting my tech-savvy 8th grader?
I can't fire off a "Heads up: I'm running a few minutes late," or bang out a "How did you do on today's geometry test?" without spelling out every word in its inconvenient entirety, and punctuating each trivial missive impeccably. Regardless of the rush I'm in — or my hair-tearing frustration over the diabolically obscured tilde and discriminatory lack of an em dash on my phone's treacherously tiny keypad — I'm incapable of embracing the medium's abbreviated style and typing "c u @home in 10".
Don't give up the ship, fellow stealth Sharpie wielder! You are NOT alone -- there have to be at least TWO of us...
It DOES drive me BANANAS too. Strnk'n wite r rlng ovr n THERE grvs! lmao srsly ttfn ikr?
David Ackerman
Mon, Oct , 11:10:26
"nite" is listed at dictionary.com as "an informal, simplified spelling of night" ... the invitation was informal, right?
Language is a dynamic, changing entity. We would really be screwed if we were still spelling as in the day of Chaucer. And with the ongoing move toward electronic media and tablets with their flexibility and dynamism, you ain't seen nothing yet.
mk
Mon, Oct , 11:11:30
As a Middle School English teacher, I applaud your diligence. I've been fighting this very thing for years, and I really worry about our future generation.
Liz
Mon, Oct , 15:48:50
Loved your article. You took the words out of my mouth so I'm going to have to post your piece on my blog (htto://thinkingoutsidetheblog.blogspot.com). With the new lazy texting lingo and rap lyrics, we are entering into a new age of illiteracy. Keep on texting!
Louis Lapides
Tue, Oct , 16:12:07
lol
Debi Kelly Van Cleave
Wed, Oct , 03:09:31
SO well said (written!)...The same thoughts go through my head when I'm taking a ridiculous amount of time to find the apostrophe to form a proper contraction and spelling out each word...
Nancy
Wed, Oct , 10:41:19
Thanks for the laugh today. I do complete and lengthy texts to my son and expect a complete response. I feel that the more texting that is done, the more I am losing my writing skills because I do find myself writing "LOL" or placing a smiley face :) in my correspondence at times. (Of course, I do correct these before sending them off) My biggest pet peeve right now is how people (children and adults) do not know how to use the correct spelling of the word, two, to, too. I so enjoy your postings and just wanted to say thank you.
Mary
Mon, Oct 17, 2011
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