Where I come from, nothing was stressed on more than the importance of having good values. I have my parents to thank for complying with the Indian Government’s plan of ensuring higher literacy rates among children, by inculcating in me a high level of respect for the proper usage of language. However, in spite of our endless efforts, it has been brought to attention that the current ‘Bluetooth generation’ is working to bring us several steps back.
I was in Dubai a few days back and everywhere I went, the only thing I could hear people talk about was the unstoppable escalation of the price of oil and how it would result in an inevitable World War 3, and also what to do in order to protect our children. Oh, there was the occasional odd case of praise being showered on Shane Warne and how brilliantly he captained a bunch of aliens. I was shocked at their comments, not about Shane Warne, but at the concern shown on protecting our children. I have a question for any parent reading this? Have you seen your child lately?
Still puzzled? You should be. The question should be, ‘Are our children worthy enough of protection?’ You are ignorant of the agony felt by someone who enters into a conversation with your child online. This applies to the child only if he/she is part of the 87% of the world’s internet savvy teenage population that has corrupted the English language with their net bred lingo. This example should put us on the same page.
“f9 mn chk dat nd lemme knw l8r k”
This is something typed on Messenger by what I would call a prominent member of the Social Networking conspiracy. This mix of diverse letters and symbols stands for: “Fine man. Check that and let me know later, ok?” The one single perpetrator in this jargon arguably is ‘Laugh Out Loud’ or popularly ...‘lol’. I feel myself seething with rage when I hear people use this phrase instead of the once infectious ‘Ha Ha Ha’. There are some who have made this phrase an integral part of their spoken vocabulary too.
Before anyone can start defending themselves by saying that they use this kind of slang only because it saves time and helps them speed the entire communication process, I would like to clarify that these are the very same people who spend 4 hours on the computer daily, indulged in unproductive activities like site surfing, chatting, video watching, or social networking. What’s worst is that this writing form doesn’t limit its effects to the pc, it starts to adversely affect their actual writing as well. I’ve seen this happen personally, in my own class. There are numerous friends of mine who have deteriorated from being sons of proud parents who were thrilled to have children score high marks in creative writing; to being proud owners of the label ‘dumba**’.
Remember the good old days when we used to write letters to one another? Each letter was not just a document of information...it was a carrier of feelings, of memories, and most importantly, of love. One used to sit down and carefully list all that they had to say, taking pains to see that not even a single minute detail was missed. A complete update on the surrounding environment and its recent happenings was given, with the letter itself spanning a number of pages. Finally, there was the excitement of receiving a reply from someone that you cared about. Imagine the kind of joy you would have given them with your letter! It pains me to see that this kind of inter personal relationship doesn’t exist among us anymore. The reason I think of social networking and chatting as a bane is because of what it has done to our language, and how it has completely made writing a physical letter obsolete and its consideration almost impossible. The finest technology has been made a reality at such a heavy cost. With a nimiety of forms of communication today, who wants to make an effort with a pen?
There was a movie released in 2006 called Idiocracy, starring Luke Wilson. The film was about society 500 years from now, and how the Intelligence Quotient of the human race had reached a negligible level. Others who saw this film found the concept hilarious but I was wondering whether to laugh at the idiocy of the characters onscreen, or cry at the realisation that this is actually what will happen to us if we continue to live the same aimless life that we do. I see our future everywhere- in the degenerates I have in my class, in the mass of Neanderthals I am pressed up against in the trains, and in almost every single person I make contact with. It is my request to everyone to linguistically refine themselves and contribute significantly to making this world a better place to live in.
I would advise people not to try and convince me that there is still hope left for the ‘in crowd’. I’ll probably just say ‘Lol’.
I was in Dubai a few days back and everywhere I went, the only thing I could hear people talk about was the unstoppable escalation of the price of oil and how it would result in an inevitable World War 3, and also what to do in order to protect our children. Oh, there was the occasional odd case of praise being showered on Shane Warne and how brilliantly he captained a bunch of aliens. I was shocked at their comments, not about Shane Warne, but at the concern shown on protecting our children. I have a question for any parent reading this? Have you seen your child lately?
Still puzzled? You should be. The question should be, ‘Are our children worthy enough of protection?’ You are ignorant of the agony felt by someone who enters into a conversation with your child online. This applies to the child only if he/she is part of the 87% of the world’s internet savvy teenage population that has corrupted the English language with their net bred lingo. This example should put us on the same page.
“f9 mn chk dat nd lemme knw l8r k”
This is something typed on Messenger by what I would call a prominent member of the Social Networking conspiracy. This mix of diverse letters and symbols stands for: “Fine man. Check that and let me know later, ok?” The one single perpetrator in this jargon arguably is ‘Laugh Out Loud’ or popularly ...‘lol’. I feel myself seething with rage when I hear people use this phrase instead of the once infectious ‘Ha Ha Ha’. There are some who have made this phrase an integral part of their spoken vocabulary too.
Before anyone can start defending themselves by saying that they use this kind of slang only because it saves time and helps them speed the entire communication process, I would like to clarify that these are the very same people who spend 4 hours on the computer daily, indulged in unproductive activities like site surfing, chatting, video watching, or social networking. What’s worst is that this writing form doesn’t limit its effects to the pc, it starts to adversely affect their actual writing as well. I’ve seen this happen personally, in my own class. There are numerous friends of mine who have deteriorated from being sons of proud parents who were thrilled to have children score high marks in creative writing; to being proud owners of the label ‘dumba**’.
Remember the good old days when we used to write letters to one another? Each letter was not just a document of information...it was a carrier of feelings, of memories, and most importantly, of love. One used to sit down and carefully list all that they had to say, taking pains to see that not even a single minute detail was missed. A complete update on the surrounding environment and its recent happenings was given, with the letter itself spanning a number of pages. Finally, there was the excitement of receiving a reply from someone that you cared about. Imagine the kind of joy you would have given them with your letter! It pains me to see that this kind of inter personal relationship doesn’t exist among us anymore. The reason I think of social networking and chatting as a bane is because of what it has done to our language, and how it has completely made writing a physical letter obsolete and its consideration almost impossible. The finest technology has been made a reality at such a heavy cost. With a nimiety of forms of communication today, who wants to make an effort with a pen?
There was a movie released in 2006 called Idiocracy, starring Luke Wilson. The film was about society 500 years from now, and how the Intelligence Quotient of the human race had reached a negligible level. Others who saw this film found the concept hilarious but I was wondering whether to laugh at the idiocy of the characters onscreen, or cry at the realisation that this is actually what will happen to us if we continue to live the same aimless life that we do. I see our future everywhere- in the degenerates I have in my class, in the mass of Neanderthals I am pressed up against in the trains, and in almost every single person I make contact with. It is my request to everyone to linguistically refine themselves and contribute significantly to making this world a better place to live in.
I would advise people not to try and convince me that there is still hope left for the ‘in crowd’. I’ll probably just say ‘Lol’.
1 comment:
I so knew this would come from you someday...but so seriously I didn't expect...I thought you would love to quote some people who use 'uv' instead of 'of' and other such language. ;)
Now please promote your blog for the sake of moral awakening! Well done!
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