Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills ...

Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by Shakara123(m): 3:11pm On Dec 29In our present society, there seem to be an increased awareness and crave for smart phones by all (infants, youths and adults alike).

These devices no doubt help in easy and fast communication but have we considered the effects they have on our written and spoken communication skills, especially our students??

Today, words are abbreviated in chat platforms to the extent that most students find it difficult to spell some words correctly, place punctuations appropriately, or even differentiate tenses. Examples; I don?t know becomes ?dunno?, okay becomes ?kk?, what is going on becomes ?sup?, don?t becomes ?dnt?, bother becomes ?boda? and the list goes on and on. It is at such moments that I praise some universities that ban the use of smart phones on campus.

Secondly, have we observed that some persons who are able to use these abbreviated words so much and type so fast with their phones during chats find it quite difficult to speak as effectively when physically present before their chat mates?

These are only my thoughts anyway. I will appreciate your comments as well.

Compliments.

3 Likes

Re: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by 2legit2qwt: 3:52pm On Dec 29Yes, we're definitely letting it affect the written aspect of the language. I once had the opportunity to review some applicants cover letter during a job application process and it's pathetic that simple errors such as replacing '4' with 'for' were common.

A lot of people on Nairaland would rather write in 'text' language than the actual language thereby making it difficult to read/understand. Once you start writing that way consistently, you get used to it and it becomes the norm for you.

I can understand the need for 'text' words based on the number of characters you're restricted to in SMS

I'd rather read a sentence constructed in broken/pidgin English than in 'text' language outside of actual mobile texting, it does my head in

11 Likes

This post has been hiddenRe: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by Clefcentfelix: 3:53pm On Dec 29

it depends on the individual

This post has been hiddenRe: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by Chuckeey (m): 3:54pm On Dec 29

really affecting us badly

1 Like

This post has been hiddenThis post has been hiddenRe: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by vanstanzy(m): 3:56pm On Dec 29Re: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by Cori_corde(f): 3:56pm On Dec 29

Exactly. I don't remember reading a text with the words written in full. Eveybody talks lyk dis noe. What is this nonsense?

Re: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by messiah(m): 3:56pm On Dec 29

"you're" becomes "your"

Re: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by Sunymoore(m): 3:58pm On Dec 29

Quite tru cox i rembrd whn i was wrtng englsh dis yea, instd of schools i wrote .skulls. Its truli quite unfotunt. But as frm nw, i will tri as much as i can to wrte a complt wrd even in a forum o chat rum.

6 Likes

Re: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by kunletiwoo(m): 3:58pm On Dec 29

Clefcentfelix: it depends on the individual

seconded! Re: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by afam4eva(m): 4:00pm On Dec 29

God punish spoken English. How about spoken Igbo and Yoruba. Why's no one worried about them?

7 Likes

Re: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by egift(m): 4:01pm On Dec 29I will not say badly. If the user is lazy it will help him more. But if the person really cares for the quality of spoken and written words, phones and PCs could be really helpful.

For me the use of computer makes me spell words correctly, even the ones I can not easily put together (I just keep right-clicking till it suggest the right spelling).

1 Like

Re: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by SamConquer(m): 4:02pm On Dec 29

MTCHEWWWW MU.MU TOPIC AGAIN

Re: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by Yomieluv(m): 4:02pm On Dec 29

I dnt knw of som1 else,but its not affectin me at all,dats y I wrote dis in gud english

1 Like

Re: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by caesaraba(m): 4:04pm On Dec 29It does. But I wouldn't say smartphones only. I'd say social media and all its shorthand has really reduced the quality of written English we see (among youths) these days.

E.g, A lot of people now replace the letter 's' with 'x' when they spell words.

There are many more examples but the crux of the matter is that social media has really affected the quality of written English among youths. Go through the comments on NL and see for yourself.

1 Like

Re: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by Goldenheart(m): 4:05pm On Dec 29

place reserved.

Re: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by Shaw007(m): 4:05pm On Dec 29I thinK it actuaLLy depends On the individuaL. . .if ur(you're) someone who cannot pLace a distinctIOn on ur(your) "chat/texting" Life and the normaL,formaL Life u'LL(you will) reaLLY find it hard

and one other thing is the consciousness,most fOLks when writing tend to forget they are not messaging their friends or updating some status But writing a note ,an exam,or maybe an application. . .most ppl(people) can actually write normally,but when this behaviour starts to eat deep,i'm afraid the person is Lost

and of course on occasions,he intentionally tries to break that jinx

yes,it definitelY affects the writing aspect,but i dnt(don't) think it affects anyone speaking. . .at Least to my knowledge

1 Like

Re: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by Koolking(m): 4:06pm On Dec 29

It irritates me, in fact, I don't even waste my resource (time) reading short-worded comments and documents. What stops people from typing words the way they were taught, even when they have enough space to accommodate what they have to pass across to their listeners/readers. Personally, I see people who form such habits as unintelligent, docile and boring. It has nothing to do with Smart phones.

1 Like

Re: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by ebucha: 4:06pm On Dec 29

Queens English does not improve the economy of a nation, ask the Chinese prime minister (fastest growin economy), Germans or maybe Japanese. The English currency and Economy overtook ours years back cos they made us slave to their language. Gramma good oh,but e no go giv us light,water and road. SEEK FOR DEVELOPMENTAL KNOWLEDGE!!

1 Like

Re: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by ebucha: 4:09pm On Dec 29

Chuckeey :
really affecting us badly

how? Ok, it increased the price of fuel and damaged our roads.Re: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by Troll: 4:10pm On Dec 29@OP Is English My Language Or Are You A Learner!?

...Typing From My Nokia 3310 With GPS, 3G, WIFI & Bluetooth

1 Like

Re: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by Blackteeth(m): 4:10pm On Dec 29

I dont know. But ever since I started texting and chatting, I always write in full like its official. My friends I chat with always ask me why I write in full letters and I tell them its because I dont want to get used to those shorthand styles. Maybe its paying off for me.

5 Likes

Re: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by Sunymoore(m): 4:12pm On Dec 29

For those of u who have nt see the text under ''dis has affect us badly'' because its hidden, the text is
Re: Are Smartphones Affecting Our
Written And Spoken English Skills?
by Clefcentfelix: 3:55pm
first to comment. placeholladele:
reserved
u're high on rice n stew.
(Quote) (Report) (Like)
Re: Are Smartphones Affecting Our
Written And Spoken English Skills?
by Clefcentfelix: 3:55pm
holladele: first to comment. place
reserved
first?

Re: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by Richfella(m): 4:12pm On Dec 29

Some posts here, written in text-speak, make me want to hit my head on the wall. Yikes!

1 Like

Re: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by A-ZeD(m): 4:13pm On Dec 29

You don't blame smart phones for the laziness of humans. No smart phone/phone comes with "text speak".

1 Like

Re: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by A-ZeD(m): 4:16pm On Dec 29

Richfella: Some posts here, written in text-speak, make me want to hit my head on the wall. Yikes!

Its truly annoying when adults resort to writing "text speak" on a public forum. I can tolerate bad grammar but "text speak" just makes me write you off as un intelligent and not worth responding to.

1 Like

Re: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by Prodigee(m): 4:18pm On Dec 29

@OP: Welcome to the jet age...no time for time.

1 Like

Re: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by omodapson(m): 4:19pm On Dec 29

I would have to support this assertion. We now have a new form of written language, (no language is exempted) which is destructive to the way we communicate. Before long, abnormalities may become the norm and we may not have answers to right the wrong.

Re: Are Smartphones Affecting Our Written And Spoken English Skills? by bara pistis(m): 4:23pm On Dec 29

the thing they affect person die....
me don go back to school lol, as i don forget the spelling of most common words

Source: http://www.nairaland.com/1145632/smartphones-affecting-written-spoken-english

petrino fired george zimmerman charged big sean sherri shepherd sherri shepherd arkansas razorbacks trisomy 18