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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Dumbing Down the Language |
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| Intellectual |
| 03/29/04 at 15:27:07 |
| Assalamu Alaykum. I wanted to make a comment about a complaint that I have. Do any of you realize how excessive use of these discussion boards and other modes of e-communication is dumbing down the Enlgish language? Some of you may be thinking why I am complaining over something that seems trivial. However, in my view, it is not trivial. As Muslims, we should try to reach high levels of professionalism and maturity in the way we carry ourselves. However, if you cosely examine the IMs and e-mails that we send out, we seem to be like little children. No one capitalizes, places proper punctuation, spells right, and does everything that is in correct accordance with the rules of grammar. As a member of an MSA, I think it is rather odd and wierd when I am working on people on a project, and they send me e-mails that are totally un-professional. It has gotten so bad that I even know some Muslims who LITERALLY SAY "BRB" when they have to leave for somewhere for a short while. I am not advocating avoiding these discussion boards and IMs, for they serve some good purpose. But start growing up! Okay, I'm done. Assalamu Alaykum. |
| Re: Dumbing Down the Language |
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| Mossy |
| 03/29/04 at 16:04:39 |
| Enlgish? ;) I think the sad fact of the matter is that most people do not even know the basics. [url=http://www.bartleby.com/141/]My recommendation[/url] |
| Re: Dumbing Down the Language |
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| Sparrow |
| 03/29/04 at 16:31:13 |
| Hi Intellectual: Your post reminds me of something that recently happened to me. Let me begin by saying that at work I am universally pleasant with my co-workers. I avoid politics, am friendly with all, and do the work. I started a new job a few months ago, and I noticed after a while that this one woman was ignoring me when I said "good morning" or "hi" when I passed her in the hall. Now I have very little face to face contact with this woman; mostly it is emails and my aforementioned "hi's," so at first I thought I was imagining things. But no. So, about two weeks ago I stopped by her desk and asked her if I had done something to offend her. She was all innocence at first but when told her that it is quite obvious that she is not a fan of good old Sparrow, and that I would rather deal with some offense I might have caused head-on, she explained what was bothering her. Apparently, she has come to the conclusion that I am a snob of the highest order. Hmmm. This from a woman who honestly does not know the first thing about me. I doubt she even knows my last name. At any rate, it seems what bothers her the most about me is the way I speak. Apparently using proper English makes me a snob. ( I'm a writer, for crying out loud!). I was totally flabbergasted and not a little annoyed. I explained to her that I speak the way I do because that is the way I was taught to speak by my parents and teachers. I don't affect a manner of speaking to impress others, neither do I intend to start using slang and mispronouncing words to make her more comfortable. I also pointed out to her that if I judged people by the poor grammar I hear (and see in my editing) on a daily basis, I *would* be a snob of the highest order, yet because I speak in a manner that was not in keeping with her view of the world, she felt entirely justified in judging me. I don't think she understood the point I was trying to make, that her behavior and judgement of me was just another form of snobbery. At any rate, she now says "hello" when she sees me, but still, the whole thing left me a little depressed. Why is it wrong to speak properly, dress nicely, act politely? ??? Sigh. Sparrow |
| Re: Dumbing Down the Language |
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| jannah |
| 03/29/04 at 16:52:23 |
| lol, imho u r 2 funni.. j/k ok i'll stop... :) [wlm] i think that we should embrace different mediums. u can't expect perfect grammar and writing when ur typing online to communicate within seconds and minutes. online it's all about getting the message across. we can criticize dialects, idioms, acronymns and slang, but sometimes they have a value all their own. as the world changes in technology, isn't it possible that our language and communication style changes too? |
| Re: Dumbing Down the Language |
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| Sparrow |
| 03/29/04 at 16:58:20 |
| Jannah, I totally agree...language is fluid and ever-changing, which is the beauty of it. I love e-speak, the abbreviations, that sort of thing, because to me it's like a new "language." What I use in my writing entirely depends on the audience; sometimes I am formal, sometimes I use "natural" speech. I just want my way of speaking to be embraced and cuddled too, gosh darn it. >:( :D |
| Re: Dumbing Down the Language |
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| Maliha |
| 03/29/04 at 19:03:00 |
| [slm] Intellectual good topic Mashaallah:) I think us oldies are a little less affected (although we still are) by the different media out there. Has anyone noticed teens today and how bad their writing has become??! I have a little sis, who emails me frequently and reading her message is akin to deciphering alien blips from outer space :o The funniest thing is, she actually does love writing, has an appreciation for poetry, words etc. Yet recently when she wrote a letter for her english class she misspelled all the words that couldn't be picked up by the spell checker..."allowed" became "aloud" and so and on :-/ it was hilarious. I read somewhere too, that writing abilities have gone way down for the new generation. Little kids don't really read anymore, short attention spans, and e-slang is leaving english teachers frustrated trying to patiently decode essays with words like imho, lol, i c...etc. no kidding :) oh well, i am sure i break every grammatical rule in my posts...am not one for detail...yet still I feel bad for the younger ones :P What if in another generation or two language evolves such that e-slang and all becomes a perfectly good medium to communicate in? that would be interesting huh? ;) [wlm] |
| Re: Dumbing Down the Language |
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| Trustworthy |
| 03/29/04 at 23:15:50 |
| [slm] Hmmmm....Sis, it's alright. Is grammer really that significant in here or between freinds? What if English is their second language? it's not dumbing down, it's called casual conversation and those who choose to be proper, can do so or is it can be so. however, no big deal. There are times when you want to be professional and then there are places where you just want to RRREEEELLLAAAXXXX!!!! (sigh) Medina is a place where I can relaaaaaaxxxx. Please don't take this as a personal attack, it really isn't. Just wanted to let you know that I will be relaxed at home. Jazakh... :-* Ma-assalama.... |
| Re: Dumbing Down the Language |
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| rkhan |
| 03/30/04 at 00:54:28 |
| [slm] Hmm...I hv a hawk's eye for detail..comes from wading thru pages and pages of articles during a short stint as features editor for a newspaper...sometimes I'm itching to pick up the red pencil and go on a rampage :)...yet I loooooooooooove all the cyberspeak even if I don't cotton on immediately.... It's fast and fun...and my guess is that actually facilitates reading ....I dont know of many ppl who'd be willing to plough through a long post just for the pleasure of reading....there's got to be something that lights up the way... |
| Re: Dumbing Down the Language |
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| Intellectual |
| 03/31/04 at 15:10:05 |
| Assalamu Alaykum. For those of you who see no real problem with making shorthand notations, abbreviating words, typing wierd terms like "brb" and "lol," I respect your opinion, but I beg to differ. I admit that I use such phrases, too. However, I recently began to think that doing all of this is really dumbing down language. Some of you have mentioned that typing with shorthand notation is quicker. But then what happens what everyone gets used to that "quicker" mode? Another onslaught of ever shorter shorthand notations? I once read an article that I think is relevant to this topic. I forgot the name of the article as well as its author. But I do remember the pain point, and that is that this culture is obsessed with "McDonaldization." What is McDonaldization? You know that if you walk into a McDonald's, you get everything so quickly and fast. Then you either run off to work, or you sit down in the diner area and eat. However, even the diner area is structured in such a way so that you leave those hard seats quickly so that the next wave of customers can come in and take your place. So, McDonaldization is the speeding up of everything that we use, from computers to cars, and so on and so forth. We should try and be laid back a litte. Take some time out and type a nice and orderly essay or reply on this post. Anyway, I could go on forever, but I will stop here. Assalamu Alaykum. |
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