Txt Msging and English Literacy among Pre-teens, Adolescents, Young Adults Jennifer C. Chang California State University, Dominguez Hills

Introduction Text messaging was originally designed for commercial use, to alert people when they had received a voic -Crystal (2008) Text messages are usually 160 characters, and sent through mobile phones instantly -Tagliamonte & Denis (2007) -Tagliamonte & Denis (2007)

3 Sociolinguistic Maxims -Thurlow (2003) (1) brevity and speed abbreviation of words minimal use of punctuation, spaces, capitalization minimal use of punctuation, spaces, capitalization try2rite essays (2) paralinguistic restitution punctuation, capitalization DARN, what???, oh... (3) phonological approximation wot, bin, goin wot, bin, goin

Introduction Research shows text messaging positively affects the English literacy of students: far more complex sentence structure far more complex sentence structure wider vocabulary wider vocabulary more accurate use of capital letters, punctuation, and spelling.(Massey, 2005) more accurate use of capital letters, punctuation, and spelling.(Massey, 2005) “Those children who were the best at using ‘textisms’ were also found to be the better spellers and writers” “Those children who were the best at using ‘textisms’ were also found to be the better spellers and writers” (Plester, 2006) (Plester, 2006)

Past Studies Massey (2005) – Archival Data 25 years of archival data 25 years of archival data Exam papers/exams were analyzed from 16 yr olds Exam papers/exams were analyzed from 16 yr olds “ “The quality of many features of writing by school leavers has improved over the past decade” Plester (2006) – Correlational Study 35 subjects, 11 year olds 35 subjects, 11 year olds Those who texted more, scored higher on standard spelling tests/school tests Those who texted more, scored higher on standard spelling tests/school tests Subjects asked to translate textisms into standard English, vice versa Subjects asked to translate textisms into standard English, vice versa “Those who texted frequently were also identified as strong readers and writers” “Those who texted frequently were also identified as strong readers and writers”

What People are Saying “It’s really a new language and a new grammar” “Messaging by cell phone is the biggest revolution in communications since the advent of ” “Text messaging might one day be as popular as talking” “There is no evidence to link text messaging among children to a poorer ability in standard English”

What People are Saying “The changes we see taking place today in the language will be a prelude to the dying use of good English” “The changes we see taking place today in the language will be a prelude to the dying use of good English” “The English language is being beaten up” “The English language is being beaten up” “Fears are growing that today’s teenagers are becoming ‘Generation Grunt’ [having] lost the ability to talk or express itself” “Fears are growing that today’s teenagers are becoming ‘Generation Grunt’ [having] lost the ability to talk or express itself” “thin and unimaginative… mask[ing] dyslexia, poor spelling and mental laziness… it is penmanship for illiterates” “thin and unimaginative… mask[ing] dyslexia, poor spelling and mental laziness… it is penmanship for illiterates”

Hypothesis Text messaging positively affects the English literacy of pre-teens, adolescents, and young adults.

Variables

GWE/EPT Rubric

Examples of Expressive Writing 6 - Dear X, I recently purchased a book from one of your stores and was disturbed by the poor quality of service and lack of customer service skills from your employees. I expected your employees to be helpful and courteous but found them to possess neither qualities. When asked if they could suggest a gift for a friend, I receive no suggestions whatsoever. Not only did I have to search for a gift myself, when I was strapped for time, I thought I almost had to scan the item and leave payment myself because no one was manning the register at the front. It was a good 10 minutes before a sales associate asked me if I needed any help! I am disappointed to have had this experience since it was my first time shopping in this particular store, when I normally patron your competitor's locations. I do not want any apology letter nor any gift certificates. I simply want you to be aware of the treatment your customers are undoubtedly receiving at this location and hope that you will correct this so patrons will receive excellent service in the future. Unfortunately, I will not be one of those patrons. Sincerely, X

Examples of Expressive Writing 3- dear the manger of snickers, i bought one of your bars and i it had a toenail in it i was mad and i nearly choked on it i would like you to fire the person how sold me this and i would like to fill out a complant form and how your coustermer services suck because i had to ask for you and one of the people on the phone could of answered my question 1- your video game sucks i want my money back

Variables

Variables Acronyms LOL, TTYL, BTDT Lowercase i i am sam, sam i am No apostrophes thats my sisters car Shortened Words C U l8r

Variables Smilies :) :( :| Physical Reactions *hug*, *cries* All Capitals PSYCHOLOGY RULES!

Methods Online survey for year olds Online survey for year olds 678 subjects, years of age 678 subjects, years of age

Gender and Age Women and older subjects had higher ratings in the formal writing sample. Through an Analysis of Covariance, we covaried out both age and gender

Results ACRONYMS NO APOSTROPHES SHORTENED WORDS MORE USE OF THESE TYPES OF TEXTISMS WAS RELATED TO LOWER WRITING SCORES (p<.05)

Conclusion The use of some textisms does negatively impact the writing ability of pre-teens, adolescents, and young adults.

Conclusion Yes:acronyms LOL, TTYL shortened words C U l8r no apostrophes thats my sisters No:smilies :) :( :| lowercase i i am sam all capitals YAY! physical reactions *laughs*

Comparison Our findings do not support the two studies in England. Massey(2005) - archival data from English exams/papers Plester(2006)- correlational study Text more, score higher on standard spelling tests/school tests Text more, score higher on standard spelling tests/school tests Our study was based on formal writing samples

Limitations Online anonymous survey Non-random sampling Focused on formal writing sample Results limited to age group

Acknowledgements Dr. Larry Rosen Jennifer Dixon Dr. L. Mark Carrier Dr. Nancy Cheever Sandra Benitez

Txt commndmnts Langwij 1.u shall luv ur mobil fone with all ur hart 2 u & ur fone shall neva b apart 3 u shall nt lust aftr ur neibrs fone nor thiev 4 u shall b all times 2 tXt & 2 recv 5 u shall use LOL & othr acronyms in conversatns 6 u shall be zappy with ur ast*r*sks & exc!matns!! 7 u shall abbrevi8 & rite words like theyr sed 8 u shall nt speak 2 sum1 face2face if u cn msg em insted 9 u shall nt shout with capitls XEPT IN DIRE EMERGNCY + 10 u shall nt consult a ninglish dictnry -Silver(2006)

Thank u