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Text Messaging: The bane of Grammar teachers everywhere

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  • Text Messaging: The bane of Grammar teachers everywhere

    From CNN.com:

    EDIT: Forgot the link



    Text message essay baffles British teacher
    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.


    Just how stupid does one have to be to honestly believe such "writing" is accetable in school? Is there a rating system with which one might gauge someone's level of "dumbness?"

    Our civilization, in decline...
    The cake is NOT a lie. It's so delicious and moist.

    The Weighted Companion Cube is cheating on you, that slut.

  • #2
    I think that they should drop the kid down a few grades. Clearly the girl needs to be sent back to 1st grade in order to relearn how to write if that is the limit of her abilities.
    I make no bones about my moral support for [terrorist] organizations. - chegitz guevara
    For those who aspire to live in a high cost, high tax, big government place, our nation and the world offers plenty of options. Vermont, Canada and Venezuela all offer you the opportunity to live in the socialist, big government paradise you long for. –Senator Rubio

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    • #3
      If she lived here, this news story could make her a ton of money by suing the school/teacher for violating FOIP.
      "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
      Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

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      • #4
        FOIP = Freedom of Ignorant People, perhaps?
        The cake is NOT a lie. It's so delicious and moist.

        The Weighted Companion Cube is cheating on you, that slut.

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        • #5
          Freedom of Information and Privacy act
          "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
          Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

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          • #6
            I think that is close enough.
            I make no bones about my moral support for [terrorist] organizations. - chegitz guevara
            For those who aspire to live in a high cost, high tax, big government place, our nation and the world offers plenty of options. Vermont, Canada and Venezuela all offer you the opportunity to live in the socialist, big government paradise you long for. –Senator Rubio

            Comment


            • #7
              I like mine better...
              The cake is NOT a lie. It's so delicious and moist.

              The Weighted Companion Cube is cheating on you, that slut.

              Comment


              • #8
                our civilization is not in decline

                well, not because of this anyway

                plenty of kids can write like that

                but very few do in school assignments

                these are the stupid ones

                i hadnt heard of the FOIP before

                but children who write like that

                should just be given a bad grade

                and left at that

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                • #9
                  y is ths a prblm 4 u? i cnt ndrstnd.....


                  etc etc

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                  • #10
                    Well I didn't have a clue what she was writing about. I have an objection to all this stupid shorthand stuff...just take a bit of effort and write the words in that language that we all know and love called ENGLISH!

                    Speaking of Erith:

                    "It's not twinned with anywhere, but it does have a suicide pact with Dagenham" - Linda Smith

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                    • #11
                      About time this arcanely medieval system called English orthography is reformed to fit the modern age.

                      Poor silly humans. A temporarily stable pattern of matter and energy stumbles upon self-cognizance for a moment, and suddenly it thinks the whole universe was created for its benefit. -- mbelleroff

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                      • #12
                        Most people can understand the shorthand language.
                        Then again, most people are smart enough to realise it shouldn't be used in school assignments.
                        I'm building a wagon! On some other part of the internets, obviously (but not that other site).

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                        • #13
                          there's a difference 'tween those only a few years younger than the generation that began the im craze (the break now i would wager is roughly between over 17 and 17 and below). those below 17 tend to overuse the abbreviations... sometimes i have trouble reading my own brother's ims to me.

                          those above 17 tend to still use classic english, albeit often throw in a few abbreviations. but not the shorthand like that.

                          as for the girl, she's just a fvckwit. give her a bad grade, tell her she's stupid, and send her down a few levels.
                          B♭3

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                          • #14
                            Some of it is just obnoxious ("look at me, I can spell skater as "sk8er" even though that saves no time whatsoever!") (Not that I'm making a jab at any particular person in the entertainment industry.) But capitalization isn't really necessary. I don't mind it, but I don't think it serves much of a useful purpose.
                            "You're the biggest user of hindsight that I've ever known. Your favorite team, in any sport, is the one that just won. If you were a woman, you'd likely be a slut." - Slowwhand, to Imran

                            Eschewing silly games since December 4, 2005

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                            • #15
                              You would think now wouldn't you?
                              Welcome to earth, my name is Tia and I'll be your tour guide for this trip.
                              Succulent and Bejeweled Mother Goddess, who is always moisturised yet never greasy, always patient yet never suffers fools~Starchild
                              Dragons? Yup- big flying lizards with an attitude. ~ Laz
                              You are forgiven because you are FABULOUS ~ Imran

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