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Kyle Brown

Jan Rieman

English 1103-006

April 27, 2011

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Àhe Influence of the Internet and technology on Language and Writing

Àechnology is taking over our lives. Àhat sounds scary but it has been slowly

creeping into every aspect of our lives in the past decade or so. With all of the

information being crammed into our heads through the Internet on a daily basis it is

undoubtedly changing our outlook on the world around us, and the way we choose to

spend our free time. People are using the Internet as a newspaper, book, and
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televisionand even as a movie theater. Àhe Internet and technology have changed all of

these aspects of our lives but are they the way we write, our language and the way we all

communicate? When I set out to do my research I wanted to answer this very question. I

found many different opinions; some claimed that the English language is being

butchered by the Internet and technology while others claim thatthey are making writing

more complex than it has ever been. Àhere were also claims that they are changing the

way we communicate.Be it for the good or the bad, I believe that the Internet and

technology have forever changed language, the way we write, and the way we

communicate.

Naomi Baron, a professor of linguistics at American University, believes that

there are three main influences of the Internet on language. Àhe first influence Baron

describes is writing used as an expression of informal or spoken language. She argues,

³messages may be peppered with words like cuz (because) and ya (you)´ (177). I think

that in routine writing the use of these words would be egregious but in a text or instant

message the use of these words would be just fine. I agree with Baron that this kind of

writing is having an effect on language but when we are writing a text message it is not

meant to be formal, it is meant to be informal like a phone conversation. I have heard

many people admit that have let these instant messaging ³acronyms´slip into their writing

but had corrected themselves immediately. If one day these ³acronyms´ are accepted in

the English language we will know we are in big trouble.

Àhe next influence that Baron implies is thatwith the Internet becoming more

prevalent in our lives, we are starting to compound words more often. Baron suggests,

³Àhe Internet may nudge language toward more compounding, though not because of a
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frontier spirit. Increasingly, I find that students are genuinely confused about when to use

a compound´ (178). I have all too often found myself caught in this dilemma that Baron

describes. Àhere are words like ³a lot´ and ³News Paper´ that are often difficult for me to

remember if they are a compound or not. Àhis has come from the hours that I have spent

on the Internet. If you look up something on Google or type a web address in the search

bar they always are one word because websites do not have spaces in their names. I agree

with Baron that this compounding of words is changing our language.

Àhe final aspect of the Internet that Baron emphasizes has changed our language

is the ³spell check´ feature commonly found on word processing programs. Baron

emphasizes that since we have spell check to correct us, every time we make a mistake

we are missing out on a potential opportunity to improve our orthography (178). I have

always thought of spell check to be a savior but I acknowledge her argument that we miss

out on those precious opportunities to improve our writing skills. Àhis is a damaging

effect that the Internet and technology have had on writing. A whole new generation of

writers is going to use spell check and will probably not take the time to learn how to

spell certain words correctly. On the other hand, they may not even need to in the future

but if all the computers crashed all over the world they would be out of luck.

Another facet of writing that the Internet is changing is Academic or college

writing. Àhe Internet has undeniably changed college writers with the advent of

Facebook, Àwitter, MySpace, blogs and many other forms of social networking. Josh

Keller, a journalist for À  
 
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argues, ³the rise of online

media has helped raise a new generation of college students who write far more, and in

more diverse forms, than their predecessors did´ (742). Keller also implies that ³while
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many scholars see this new writing as engaging and connected to an audience, many

argue that online writing such as tweets and instant messaging encourage bad writing

habits and lack of a focused argument for academic writing´ (743). Àhroughout his article

Keller is arguing that out-of-class writing has a broader audience than in-class writing,

and accomplishes clear goals. I agree with these statements but I know that while social

networking has opened the door for students to become more opinionated and has made

them become more everyday writers, they are less focused forms of writing and

sometimes they can translate into the world of academic writing, which can be a

undesirable side effect.

Àhe Internet has affected language so much that it now is starting to affect the

way we communicate with each other. I have grown up during the age when the Internet

evolved into something bigger than it was ever expected to be. First there was email and

instant messaging, now we have evolved into social networking and Skype. Àhese have

all changed the way we communicate in that now we have so many different means of

communicating with each other. Skype Video chatting has grown in popularity over the

past few years and is becoming very popular. With social networking we can see what

everyone we know is doing at the exact moment they do it. You can link accounts to your

phone and get updates at any time. With this has come a loss of privacy but without a

doubt it has changed our language. David Crystal, a lecturer at Bangor University implies

that ³language being such a sensitive index of social change, it would be surprising

indeed if such a radically innovative phenomenon did not have a corresponding impact

on the way we communicate´ (237). Jenny Preece, the dean of the College of Information

studies at the University of Maryland, also suggests that ³with the advent of the telephone
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and television, the introduction of computers into the home is changing how people

interact socially´ (20). I agree with Crystal and Preece in that the Internet has had such an

impact on the way we connect to the world, that it in turn has altered the way we

communicate and interact socially with people around the world.

Àhe fact that people have acclimated language to fit new areas is proof in itself

that the Internet has changed language and writing. Crystal insists, ³What is truly

remarkable is that so many people have learned so quickly to adapt their language to

meet the demands of the new situations, and to exploit the potential of the new medium

so creatively to form new areas of expression. It has all happened within a few decades´

(242). I acknowledge the fact all of this has happened only in a matter of years. Àhe

Internet was created only a few decades ago and has only started to be used to its

potential in recent times. I have always thought that language has adapted through all

forms of technology but with the Internet we can use pictures, sounds, videos and all

forms of media to express ourselves and get what message we want out to the world if

they are willing to see it.

So are the Internet and technology changing language and the way we write and

the way we communicate? I believe that they are forever altering these aspects of our

lives. I have found in my research that many different arguments can be made. Some say

they are making our language worse and some say they are helping to make our language

more complex. One principle rings true throughout all of my research: the Internet and

technology are constantly changing our language, the way we write and the way we

communicate with each other.

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Baron, Naomi S.  "# 
$
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 . Oxford: Oxford

University Press, 2008. Print.

Crystal, David. #    . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press,

2001. Print.

Keller, Josh. ³Studies Explore Whether the Internet Makes Students Better Writers.´ À 

 
 
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 Chronicle.com, 15 June 2009. Web. 23 Mar.

2011.

Preece, Jenny. $
 

"& 

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 . New

York: John Wiley, 2000. Print.