I never thought it would come to this, never thought that slangs and colloquialism would actually be an accepted part of formal works of writing. But, alas, I was wrong; they're made their way into our writing, and, worse of all, they've made their way into great works of literature, Shakespeare's works being the most obvious and most discussed. However, it would appear that society has done one better, and implemented abbreviations into such works of literature as well. Although this may not be rock bottom, I truly believe that we can hardly sink any lower.
Scientists who have analysed our society would agree that society as a whole is becoming less and less intelligent and more and more impatient; I see people on a daily basis who are angered if somebody prevents them from walking up an escalator, or people who don't know the geography of their own country. However, instead of raising the bar and attempting to increase education and teach patience, we're simply dumbing things down and lowering ourselves to their level. I really despise the idea of converting such great works of literature such as Shakespeare into short lines of "textisms" just so those who are impatient or not as well educated. To deface literature as great as Shakespeare's should be a crime; to condense his works is to rob the reader of the beauty and elegance that is his work and to remove all the intricate details and witty puns that Shakespeare has woven into his tapestries.
Throughout my life there have been numerous events which people have claimed will be the end of the world as we know it, like Y2K, SARS, and the avian flu. However, all of these events either failed to become reality, or failed to bring the world even close to the brink of destruction. I do not believe that the world will end as a result of new strains or viruses or the failing of our technology. In fact, I didn't think the world would end at all. However, I am starting to have doubts; while I know for a fact that Earth will not be destroyed for a long time, I believe that civilization as we know it could very well be deteriorating. A well educated population is one of the keys to a strong and flourishing nation, and right now I'd would say that much of our population is anything but educated, globally as well as nationally. And despite this, we choose not to slow it down and stop it, but instead to speed it up. The Earth is like a fine china store, and we are putting its future in the hands on five year olds.
I agree with you. It is becoming more and more evident that our society is evolving into one that is much more lazy. The advances we have made in technology over the couple of years has been great; however, it is causing our society to become more and more lazy, looking for shortcuts. Before the elevator, people had to walk on stairs to go up, before the Email, people had to write and send mail and before the calculator, we have to regularily calculate numbers in our heads. It is true that we are making profound discoveries in science, yet an irony lies in the fact that these advances will create a more unintelligent, lazy society as a consequence.
ReplyDeleteHai dere, I agri wif u. :B
ReplyDeleteI also dislike the idea condensing great works such as Shakespeare into a few short lines of textisms. This idea befuddles me to no end. In class we discussed that it gives an alternative to those that do not like English or have difficulty understanding it. I agree that this is “dumbing” literature down. Literature is not supposed to be easy because it is embellished with intricate details, and that is what makes it beautiful. By simplifying text so much substance is lost. The way a message is expressed is just as important as getting the message across.
However, do not worry so much. Textism is not the end of the world! The transition to computer language will not happen overnight, and only the thought of it is scary. When this does happen though, the change will be gradual. Although language is an indication of the population’s intellect there are also many other factors that contribute to a strong nation.
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ReplyDeleteWe are living in a world where human equality is one of the most emphasized campaigns in society. The textism translation of Shakespeare's great works is another slightly indirect example of this. These translations were made available so that students who are not as intelligent with regards to literature as others are given the same oppurtunity to retain the material in a fully condensed state. On a different note, while this can be taken as an insult to the great writers of history, this is just another example out of many where mankind does not completely respect history. Religion is another example of this; most religion existing today has been stemmed off from thousands of years of history, yet many people have little to no respect for most or any of them. Unfortunate as I consider it, I do not despise people who feel this way because it is their human right to feel as they will, and it is not my place to argue that. The only difference between the two examples I have brought up is that in highschool, Shakespeare is mandatory and religion is not, and nobody is to blame for thinking what they will of the subject. The fact is not everybody likes and respects everything, especially with regards to history, if that was the case, then we'd all be killing all of our meals, pooping where we please, and communicating with grunts and interpretive dance.
ReplyDeleteWhile I offer unequivocal support for your belief that nonstandard computer language should never enter formal situations, I hope that you could soften your seemingly overbearing stance in opposition to usage of textisms. While predominantly malignant, there certainly remain some benign purposes to employment of computer language, even in the extreme case of its application to “great works of literature”. Interpreting literature is an arduous task of extracting meaning from a cacophony of literary elements, requiring an intricate series of connections within the mind, often substantially stimulated by processes in the subconscious realms of the brain. If textisms do provide assistance to the memorization of literary works in totality, – that is in the original words, not replacement symbols – their usage could be extremely helpful. Memory is in itself a subconscious exercise or reflection that allows for intrinsic comprehension through a slow digestion and filtering out of materials through our subconscious mind. Furthermore, your opinion that any forms of textism constitute the downgrading of the beauty in language neglects the question of the true identity of beauty. Beauty is not beauty in a pool of beautiness. Without a background ugliness which offers a reference point for contrast and comparison, emphasis to the beauty of Shakespeare will be thoroughly lacking. Instead, these marvels of elegance would quickly become unappreciated.
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