OMG! It’s no LOL talk

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It is not uncommon for texts to read like the following these days. “I m goin 2 b l8 @wrk, dnt wait 4 me”. For most people who grew up in the non-tech age reading the above-mentioned text is no less than decoding a cryptic code. Blame it on the need for speed or paucity of space on the web, fact is text lingo is catching up more than ever. What’s more, the Holy Bible of English language, the Oxford English Dictionary has officially included words like ‘LOL’ defining it as “an interjection used chiefly in electronic communication to draw attention to a joke or humorous statement, or to express amusement”. Other entrants include OMG (Oh My God), FYI (For your information) and WAG (wives and girlfriends) usually used to describe spouses or partners of famous sports stars.
While it is popular with most youngsters, certain people are skeptical about the shift. The term “bastardisation” is often used to describe the shift by people who are not in favour of the emerging gen-next lingo who believe it is also reflective of a more carefree and lax attitude. “This is not evolution of the language but the degeneration of it. It is fine to use this language as long as it is restricted to social networking or texting. But to officially recognise it is murdering the language,” says 18-year-old Swati Iyer, an English literature student. More often than not out of habit, youngsters end up using the same language in official correspondence too. “What next? You address your boss saying, ‘sssp’?” she asks.“It is faster to use this lingo,” says 19-year- old Sarthak Mishra adding that it is space constraints that initiated the trend. “There is only a certain amount of words you can use while texting someone or updating your status on Twitter and Facebook. You have to alter your text to fit the space. Also considering the frequency with which one uses the phone, you can’t possibly be bothered to type out the entire word when everyone easily understands the text language,” he adds.
Rob Jones, a student of Indian literature from England says, “I would write an email like that if I thought it would be received in the right context. It also depends on who it is coming from. It is subjective to a large extent. For instance if comedians Frankie Boyle or Jimmy Carr made a racist or sexist joke its funny because he is being ironic etc. But if Bernard Manning or Jim Davidson make the same joke they would be booed at.” There are others who feel that modernisation is something one must embrace with open arms.
“It is imperative that we learn to accept changes in language. English as we know it today, isn’t what how it first emerged. Do we still use ‘thy’, ‘thou’, ‘cometh’ like Shakespeare did? The reason Sanskrit as a language did not spread is because it never evolved,” says Atish Murthy, a B.A. student.