In response to FuBai, there is a vast difference between "modernization" of a language and "basterization" brought on by lack of education. When one types in phoentics and misspells words that should have been learned in 1st and 2nd grade. Others must wonder if the person speaking ever attended elementary school in any form or function.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and i suppose you are the arbiter of what is modernisationa nd basterdisation? You only go to show the conservative nature of those who have a fixed view of the Engilsh language

 

 

 

Yes actually. There is a correct form of english. And in everything there is a correct and perfect form. Do not try to rationalize incorrectness by saying it is the norm. Do not try to say that all things are relative: All things are absolute. The Laws of the Universe do not equivocate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For a practical example, observe the National Academy in France-it actively and continually fights degradation of language.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

i'm sorry but that is the most patently inaccurate thing ever. The world is not black and white, duties do conflict, deontology fails, and EVERYTHING is realtive

Deontology? Dunno what that is :lol:. Not everything is relative. Notice in the theory of relativity. Things seem relative, but the important things (I.E., causality), all frames of reference MUST agree. The world is black and white. There is always a best course of action. If everything was relative, things would lose their meaning. Take care, and beware, so that you don't lose sight of the absolute while seeing the mundane. :wink:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By suggesting that things would lose thier meaning, you presuppose an exisiting current meaning. I would dissagree on this point, in that there is no meaning (not a belief you have to share). Defining good without relation to evil is impossible, defining up with no refernce to down is impossible. There is never a best course of action because all courses lead no where - there is a relativly good course of action, and that is debateable, in relation to other courses of action which may have been, from a given perspective, worse. Scientific theory supposes a shared basic fact on which all frames of reference must agree, yet, as the philosopher DesCartes said, "I think, therefore I am", later refined to "there are thoughts" by Bertrand-Russel. This is perhaps the only absolute, in realtion to a certain definition of thoughts.

We do not define what is good and evil.

We do not define what is good and evil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

precisley - it is a relative opinion - not an absolute.

 

We do not define what is good and evil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

precisley - it is a relative opinion - not an absolute.

 

 

 

Precisely to the contrary. It is determined by higher authority than we or anyone here has, and thus we find it is, by definition, absolute.

 

 

We do not define what is good and evil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

precisley - it is a relative opinion - not an absolute.

 

 

 

Precisely to the contrary. It is determined by higher authority than we or anyone here has, and thus we find it is, by definition, absolute.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

there is no higher authority, and yet again you presupose that there is different grades of authority - in relation to what? There is no authority higher than anyone elses - there may be those more able to implement thier authority. My authority is no greater than an ant's - yet i have greater power to force my authority upon the ant

I had a professor who said a language that doesn't evolve is a dead language from a dead culture. The invention of new words is vital to the progression of society.

I had a professor who said a language that doesn't evolve is a dead language from a dead culture. The invention of new words is vital to the progression of society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

my feelings exactly.

 

I had a professor who said a language that doesn't evolve is a dead language from a dead culture. The invention of new words is vital to the progression of society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

my feelings exactly.

 

 

 

although this is true, abbreviations do not qualify as new words.

I couldn't agree more. If you're too lazy to type the "h" in "what," why should I bother taking the time and energy to answer your question?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't care if people use typical Internet acronyms, but reading "dat" or "sum1" just gets on my nerves. I know my spelling and grammar isn't up to par, but I at least put forth the effort and do my best to make sure my message is clear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sending the right emotions over text is confusing enough without any other distortions. (I know everyone here has been misunderstood over the Internet at least once...)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One thing people have been bringing up (in the first few pages at least) is the fact that not everyone on RuneScape speaks the language natively. I think I speak for most of us when I say they're not the people this article was about. They at least try to communicate properly, whether or not they can do so. It's pretty easy to identify them too; usually they make weird grammar mistakes such as "I know You" or don't order words in their sentences properly. People who are just lazy or trying to be "cool" type "omg liek dat iz sooo kool u shud try!!!1."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To those saying shorthand isn't a habit: I've recieved numerous hand-written notes/letters which use "lol" and "u." I usually comment on it, and the reply I recieve most often is "I know, I know, it's a habit."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To those wondering what "l33t speak" is:

 

 

 

The name Leet itself is derived from the word elite. Elite has been used in the past to designate a group of users as belonging to a higher social echelon than other users. Originally, "elite" had been reduced to one syllable, "'leet." The origins of the use of "elite" itself is popularly considered to stem from the classic game Elite for BBC Master/Micro and contemporary machines, where Elite was the highest status in a series of combat rankings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was commonly used as a hacker "marking," claiming the hacker is higher than the victim. Now it's used by pretty much everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To those that say shorthand is useful in text messaging: I'd like to introduce you to the T9 Predictive Text. Texting is slow because you need to press a button multiple times to get the letter you want. With T9, you just press each button once. As you type, the different possible words appear on the screen with the most commonly used one put first. For example, to type "and" you would press 263, rather than pressing 2 once, 6 twice, and 3 once. If it's not the word you want, you just hit the down arrow and it'll move to the next. (I haven't had to use that feature yet.) If it finds you're using a word other than the default more often, it'll switch the order. Most modern cellphones have a similar function, although depending on the make and model it might not be called T9.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had a professor who said a language that doesn't evolve is a dead language from a dead culture. The invention of new words is vital to the progression of society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm sorry, but "ppl" isn't a word as it has no vowel, and words (if you can call them that) like "dat" or "sum1" are a degression if anything. Certain acrynoms/shorthand spellings I don't doubt will eventually be put in a dictionary (such as "lol"), but others are just lazy and meaningless.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I mean the same goes for speech, would you judge someone because they speak in slang when with friends? they can easily switch to formal english or whatever for adults, bosses and such like

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a matter of fact, yes, I do. Why? I see them as stupid. Now, I don't mean stupid in the form of unintelligent, but rather they're clueless. Saying "yo diz iz sick dude" makes you sound like you have no grasp of the real world, and frankly, makes me want to completely ignore you. People don't use slang because they lack intelligence; they use it because they think it makes them look "cool."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On a side note, does anyone else here find it strange how many dyslexic people have suddenly appeared? I'm starting to believe there are a few people who are telling untruths in here... :roll:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I find the posts saying "I can speak however I want" defiant and pointless. Honestly, the main reason people are defending jumbled shorthand is to be rebellious. PLEASE, show some maturity...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, I think it's time to bring my unorganized ramble to a close after this one last comment: I'm not against chatspeak. I don't mind the odd "lol" or "gtg." I don't care about typos or the odd spelling mistake. (Heck, most people here can easily find a "few" in my post.) What I am against is the use of chatspeak strictly because you think it's cool or you just want to be defiant. Yes, you've shown us you can type "wot do u think" and there's nothing anyone can do about it. Now please, start showing you're an intelligent and respectable human being, which I know you are. Please...

People save time by typing in abbreviations and without correcting

 

 

 

mistakes so they can spend more time playing runescape, rather than

 

 

 

talking about it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Go write a book, 'plx'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ex-Merchant\Dueler-In-Training

 

 

 

Siao Mage

A few nights ago, I was watching the news. A weird report came on saying that using typing shortcuts could damage your speach and writing abilities. They said that this included text messages. Then I thought of Runescape. More then half of the Runescape community say things like "I thot this cuz..." The report then said that the brain assumes that this is the right way to spell or write this. In other words, typing like this frys your brain

I could imagine kids in school having more problems as a matter of fact.

What a wonderful article! Good to see something like this from the younger population!

im prabably going to be falmed about this but i dont care, i do use shortcuts when typing, its easier, why should i be insulted for doing that? its my choice if i wanna type in short, you cannot take it away from me, if you can read it good if not then learn to spell try again, that was not such a great article, you just have a point of view

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

z0mg l34rn 2 sp3ll n00bz0rz...

great article gave me quite a few laughs and i see what you mean when i first started playing i thought that most people were in the first grade and couldn't spell right. But i have since adapted to it. I still think "way to go" though :!: :) :twisted: :wink:

i have to dissagree with you on that i do agree in principle because it is frustrating when you cant decipher what other people are saying and i genrally type properly myself but should i be cast into the inferno of hell just because i say "g2g" instead of "i am sorry dear fellow but im afraid i will have to me poping off for a while" i can understand you dissagreeing with people saying "brb" instead of "be right back" but you must under stand that if you need to say that to about 10 people on your freinds list it isnt just 8 more keys to press it is 80 more keys to press. it is all well and good to type well and i always type in proper english on forums but in game people proberly respect you more if you type "g2g soon come 2 fally 2 trade" rather than have to wait 10 mins for you to type "got to go soon come to falador to trade" i must admit it is not realy a excuse for bad spelling but abreviations such as "g2g" "brb" "cu" are absolutly fine

Pardon?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The only reason why it would take a noticeably longer amount of time to type this out properly is the fact that people are too used to typing lazily. If you put some effort into typing properly to begin with, you'd type fast enough to make using needless abbreviations redundant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frankly, I use acronyms. I'm not ashamed to admit to using acronyms. Things like "brb" are fine when I REALLY only have the time to hit four keys. They're necessary because the action they're describing is something that may sometimes actually be urgent and/or important. What ISN'T fine are things like "lyk dis is awesome...........ma fwendz n i did dis.........." or "zammy ownz u noob".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The latter is one of the examples that frustrates me in RS. "Zammy", "Sara", "Scimmy". To be honest, they sound bloody stupid. They don't save you much time, either, and frankly, they're against the spirit of the game. The first two are GODS, for crying out loud, even if they are fictional (as in, as opposed to real-world faiths, my own agnostic opinions aside). You'd think they deserve at least SOME respect for their names. I mean, you don't go and call Allah "Al".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frankly, I'm surprised this is still going after a week or so.

I agree to an extent. Though it is nicer looking, and people judge you online by how you type, I find typing full words can be a drag. Please address all complaints to my teen ego, as I am a simple fifteen year old. But I can type well. I'm doing it now, am I not? Besides, I go to MAST Academy, so I have to learn to type properly, since half of the time I'm writing reports and book reviews and, you'll never believe, Chemistry Trading Cards!! :lol: So basically I'm just saying that I type shorthand on Runescape because it's a lot easier, and all the other people are doing it as well, but i type properly when a scholarship depends on it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for your time Tip.it community. :wink:

English is the leading language aint it

[Amin edit: Suspicious link removed. Do NOT post this again!]

"Zammy", "Sara", "Scimmy". To be honest, they sound bloody stupid. They don't save you much time, either, and frankly, they're against the spirit of the game. The first two are GODS, for crying out loud, even if they are fictional (as in, as opposed to real-world faiths, my own agnostic opinions aside). You'd think they deserve at least SOME respect for their names. I mean, you don't go and call Allah "Al".

 

 

 

You have a very good point there, and I must admit I never thought of it that way with the gods. I also admit that I often say scimmy, well when talking about scimitars that is - but I dont do that too often ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frankly, I'm surprised this is still going after a week or so.

 

 

 

I am not. It was a very well written article on a subject that a lot of people have opinions about, one way or the other.

Yes, Oddfaery did a fantastic job on his article.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the topic of typing "scimmy", my friend actually says that phoenetically, which makes me want to hang myself. When I asked what the root ward of "scimmy" is, naturally he says "skim-a-tar" :roll: shoot me now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of the text I see spewing off peoples keyboards has become so egregious, I feel compelled to initiate physical violence. That's the extent to which I cannot stand these language slaughtering imbeciles.

I always get made fun of when I use punctuation in the game. People ask me, "Why are you using periods and commas?" I always reply, "Because that is how English is spoken."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Indeed. Lack of punctuation in various Internet chats drives me nuts sometimes, especially when it results in run-on sentences and the like. Sometimes I think teaching diction in the schools wouldn't be a bad idea, because then people might understand that pauses of varying lengths dictate the punctuation. When someone rationalizes that they ramble when they speak, I think, "Do you really speak without taking a breath at certain points?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I speak Spanish as a second language, and I see a lot of punctuation lacking in texts (e-mail and the like) from all over Latin America, and I understand they often handwrite this way, too. I often have great difficulty following what they are saying as I try to figure out where one sentence stops and another begins. Granted, my punctuation in Spanish lapses in IM chats as I try to keep up with more of a stream of thought, but trying to understand Spanish without punctuation is very difficult for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They do use a bit of chatspeak once in a blue moon, too-- I have seen 'k' replace 'qu' in words much like someone else in this thread was saying is done with chatspeak in French, which always threw me off. From my experience, it hasn't been bad at all, but then I haven't been in a variety of Spanish-speaking chatboards and such.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then again, I'm older than the majority of the players on Runescape and learned to type quickly while playing MUDs which are the text based predecessors of the currently popular MMORPGs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ah, an old-school MUDer. I remember those-- they're still around if you know where to look. (Last one I played had a Circle code that was rewritten to look more like a SillyMUD, if you catch that.) I also remember learning to type fast, too, and how sometimes people mysteriously started typing better after I'd played for a while.

Hats off to Zonorhc.

I agree that Spanish chat shortcuts can be very annoying, especially to the English speaker that does not know Spanish very well. the main Spanish short-cut that messed me up when I first started chatting in Spanish on Runescape was their use of "Q" instead of "que" and "pq" instead of "porque" very annoying >.