03-04-2003, 01:24 AM
Just wanted to share this article from CNN.com. I don't know if it's true or not though.
What's funny is that I'm a TA in college and last semester I had a student who would regularly email me questions regarding class assignments. The emails looked very similar to what's in the article. It would take me a few minutes just to figure out what each sentence was supposed to be.
I don't know what's worse. This short-hand or l33t 5p34k. And Elric doesn't get to vote ;)
Monday, March 3, 2003 Posted: 10:17 AM EST (1517 GMT)
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LONDON, England (Reuters) -- An English essay written by a British teenager in text messaging short-hand has reignited concern among teachers that literacy standards are under threat.
The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported Monday that the 13-year-old's teacher could not decipher what the youngster had written.
"I could not believe what I was seeing. The page was riddled with hieroglyphics, many of which I simply could not translate," the teacher told the newspaper.
The girl's essay began: "My smmr hols wr CWOT. B4, we used 2go2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 :- kids FTF. ILNY, it's a gr8 plc."
Which in translation from text messaging shorthand would read: "My summer holidays were a complete waste of time. Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend and their three screaming kids face to face. I love New York. It's a great place."
Judith Gillespie, of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, told the newspaper a decline in grammar and written English was partly linked to the text messaging craze.
"Pupils think orally and write phonetically," she said.
What's funny is that I'm a TA in college and last semester I had a student who would regularly email me questions regarding class assignments. The emails looked very similar to what's in the article. It would take me a few minutes just to figure out what each sentence was supposed to be.
I don't know what's worse. This short-hand or l33t 5p34k. And Elric doesn't get to vote ;)
Monday, March 3, 2003 Posted: 10:17 AM EST (1517 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LONDON, England (Reuters) -- An English essay written by a British teenager in text messaging short-hand has reignited concern among teachers that literacy standards are under threat.
The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported Monday that the 13-year-old's teacher could not decipher what the youngster had written.
"I could not believe what I was seeing. The page was riddled with hieroglyphics, many of which I simply could not translate," the teacher told the newspaper.
The girl's essay began: "My smmr hols wr CWOT. B4, we used 2go2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 :- kids FTF. ILNY, it's a gr8 plc."
Which in translation from text messaging shorthand would read: "My summer holidays were a complete waste of time. Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend and their three screaming kids face to face. I love New York. It's a great place."
Judith Gillespie, of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, told the newspaper a decline in grammar and written English was partly linked to the text messaging craze.
"Pupils think orally and write phonetically," she said.