There's nothing wrong with slang in itself - it's a natural development of any language, after all. It's just that people forget what the actual purpose of slang is. Slang is intended to be used within groups of people who mutually accept and understand it. For those within such a group, it's a way of reinforcing their bond to each other. For those outside that kind of group, though, it's an alienating use of language.
What I object to is text-speak on a public forum. For those of us used to reading standard English (and let's face it, that's most of us), text-speak is unfamiliar and takes much longer to read. This means that people on the forum who use it will tend to have their posts ignored by most users, who can't be bothered to decode their utterances.
This means that some users are depriving themselves of having their opinions heard, simply because they can't bring themselves to write in standard English. If you want your ideas to be understood by as many people as possible, there's only one option: use the most expressive language known to humanity - English.
There's nothing wrong with slang in itself - it's a natural development of any language, after all. It's just that people forget what the actual purpose of slang is. Slang is intended to be used within groups of people who mutually accept and understand it. For those within such a group, it's a way of reinforcing their bond to each other. For those outside that kind of group, though, it's an alienating use of language
This means that some users are depriving themselves of having their opinions heard, simply because they can't bring themselves to write in standard English. If you want your ideas to be understood by as many people as possible, there's only one option: use the most expressive language known to humanity - English.
Peace
I've noticed that also...it's like there are two different forums going on here....I just can't read it..so have to roll over those posts.
salam alaikum
as long as the slang isn't too copmlicated!! especially internet slang... it took me long long time to find out that 'atm' meant 'at the moment'
But when writing I prefer proper English because to be honest I can't read or understand anything when people write everything in slang. I'm sure a lot of members feel this way.
One or two words is fine, I'm cool with that, but just not the whole post.
if somebody speaks using slang i dont really mind as i use slang myself sometimes when i speak
but when you are typing something, please try to make sure its readable and understandable. if you use slang or abbreviations for some words, its fine. but if u "slangify" (i dont think thats really a word) every word you type, then it makes it hard to understand.
its ok in a chatroom but not on a discussion forum sorry mate
slang or txt speak?
because everyone uses slang, they just don't realise it.
I think theres a case for arguing 'mate' is slang. It's only in colloquial speech that you would call a good friend 'mate'. It's quite common though so I think it might be classed as standard English these days.
either one is annoying to see on a forum......its just irritating if its done too often......the text speak is probably worse though.....because then you have to struggle to read it.
that's not slang........thats having major spelling mistakes......even though its probably on purpose......it is a bit annoying.
True...but some people regard it as slang and that's probably why ALOT of people voted against it...I just used it as an example to distinguish the two...or did i just confuse you
True...but some people regard it as slang and that's probably why ALOT of people voted against it...I just used it as an example to distinguish the two...or did i just confuse you
i didn't get confused.........i know what slang is and it doesn't sound right when its read..........if somebody speaks slang its usually not so bad because almost everyone speaks slang even if they don't realize it.
Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.
When you create an account, we remember exactly what you've read, so you always come right back where you left off. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and share your thoughts. Sign Up
Jaa-Ro-Nee-Mo!!!
kay:
Hide
Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks