TED Talk - "Texting"

First, I think it's worth noting how many times I snickered, giggled, and outright laughed while listening to this audio. The best part about TED talks is the speakers' sparing use of humor, which tends to creep up on listeners when they least expect it; there is something to be said for intelligent people's wit. Clever vipers, the smart ones are!

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Many things resonated with me as I listened to this short speech, which discussed the emergence of texting as a possible new language for societies worldwide (with language italicized to emphasize my surprise at the validity of this argument). John McWhorter's most noteworthy point was the one in which he proposed that habitual texters (which, by the way, is a word that Chrome doesn't recognize - yet!) are bilingual. Loosely quoted, John claims that their ability to speak and text extends their linguistic repertoire far beyond those of others, like the elderly. I found this interesting, and I actually agree with it. Looking around, it's rather shocking to realize just how many people either don't know how to text, or don't understand the concept at all. My grandfather often complains about his thick blunt fingers as he tries hopelessly to mash the buttons on his iPhone. But a lot of elderly people around me have no idea how to work a cell phone, even! I believe that because of our adaptability and growing minds, my age group (McWhorter uses 16-year-olds as his primary example) is superior and generally more advanced; we can compose works of colloquial genius on the tiniest of screens - of course, that may change as we reach my grandfather's age.

I like how John opened his talk with a few words on the history of language, both spoken and written. I found his comparison between speaking like one writes and writing as one speaks very insightful. My own hands cannot write with quite so much carelessness as my tongue can form sounds, and conversely, I don't talk terribly formally unless I make a conscious effort to do so. Such is why I text using proper grammar and punctuation. 

A part of the talk that genuinely made me laugh was the one where McWhorter delved into the acronym LOL, discussing how its meaning has diverted from the original "laughing out loud" to a... Oh, how would I put this... a scoff, maybe? Many people who use it aren't really bursting out laughing; rather, they might be blowing a little more air out of their nose than usual, if that. LOL has integrated itself into our language as a sort of useless word, and I myself have identified many situations where it could easily be omitted. I fear that one day my generation will scold its children for saying LOL out loud, as our parents reprimand us for abusing the word like. But on the other hand, I feel like LOL is a way for people to reach out to one another; when used in conversation (texting or *shudders* speaking), it lets the other person know that you enjoy their company and want to keep talking.