The analysis of using SMS language

Spheres of use SMS reductions

Despite of using SMS in a number of some European companies, according to all available information in business sphere, SMS language didn’t get accustomed. Experts consider, that SMS language is a way of informal dialogue which does not promote a successful establishment of business contacts (it would be not correct to use it, for example, for official invitations).

Nevertheless, popularity of SMS-slang is so great, that it began to make a serious influence on the modern English language. Even more there is a substitution of alive language by language of abbreviations and symbols. There are translations on SMS language of Shakespeare works, which are called to draw attention of the British students and schoolchildren to help them to understand better the classical literature and more effectively to prepare for examinations [9.]

The pros and cons

Thus, mobile communication and original SMS language get into the most different areas of our life, influencing on culture as a whole. It is possible to consider some aspects of this influence positive, and other aspects cause alarm in the public.

Opinions of people were divided: experts of education, scientists-philologists, sociologists, psychologists, even doctors enter polemic.

Popularity of SMS language causes fear among linguists considering, that the slang is widely used among schoolchildren whose language culture is not finally generated. “Pupils write the same way as they think” (Goldenkov, 1999). From the linguistic point of view SMS language is full of reductions, punctuation, grammar, and capitalization are largely ignored.

Welsh journalist and television reporter John Humphrys has criticized textese as " wrecking our language". The author cites ambiguous examples such as " lol" which may mean " laughing out loud" or " lots of love", depending on the context in which it is used. Humphrys describes emoticons and textese as " irritating" and essentially lazy behaviors, and surmises that " sloppy" habits gained while using textese will result in students' growing ignorance of proper grammar and punctuation.[5]

David Crystal has countered the claims that SMS has a deleterious effect on language with numerous scholarly studies. Despite scholarly research to the contrary, the popular notion that text messaging is damaging to the linguistic development of young people and to the English language itself persists.[6]

Hence, present young generation practicing a new way of self-expression through SMS language, in the future become illiterate experts.

Teachers are anxious by the developed position and insist on eradication of text messages in favour of preservation of classical language.

The experts concerned on the future of literary English language, consider, that similar experiments can render destructive influence, both on formation of the young person, and on educational process as a whole.

According to researches of the American psychologists studying for a long time " SMS-psychology", there is a formation of conditional " SMS-dependence" which starts to appear if the person who sends more than five messages for one day. In experts opinion, it means fear of contacts “eyes - in eyes” and attempt of flight from a reality [3].

At the same time there is the other point of view on that problem. The group of scientists in Britain accepts this phenomenon, believing that “the new kind of language has already settled, and they include the list of reductions in the new Oxford dictionary [12].

The most suitable way of solving that problem was found in Scotland. At Glasgow University there is an experiment – texting courses.

With help of scientists the program and rules of telephone slang is developed. In the future they plan to draw up the standard of a writing to make messages more universal and clear for all [13].

Moreover the online dictionary of acronyms, confirms, that reductions is one of productive ways of word-formation in the modern English language. The dictionary exists for 10 years and is the greatest and the most authoritative web site.

The broad audience of users comes on this site in searches of interpretation of the reductions used in different spheres. Monthly about 1 million visitors from 180 countries receive the competent information on more than 3 million inquiries about acronyms and abbreviations.

Acronym Finder contains over 550000 terms, and their quantity increases, on the average, 200 new units a day. Students and teachers, government officials, pharmacists, translators and any person who had problems with decoding abbreviations use the dictionary [14].

There is one more opinion of psychologists on that kind of hobby. They consider it as a new way of the self-expression, convenient means for realization of needs in the world of new technologies.

From the linguistic and psychological point of view SMS texts is the phenomenon more likely positive.

The person writing SMS message solves a little bit important problems, besides simple transfer of the maintenance [3].