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spamtams.
how i mix them 26 letters online Hi, I'm spamtams. This is my blog for my English Enriched class! I hope you like whatever (hopefully) lovely banter I post here. ENJOY. |
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Monday, October 11, 2010,9:00 AM
OH HAI THERE, FELLOW ENGLISH ENRICHED PEEPS
IF YOU'RE READING THIS... I GUESS I'M ON THE FRANCE-ITALY TRIP RIGHT NOW! :D (I hope this scheduled post does not fail .. if so, then .. oh well!) See you all in a couple weeks! :) P.S. Happy Thanksgiving to you all! What are you thankful for? I am thankful for having such a fun English class & being able to travel around Europe. :) 
Tuesday, October 5, 2010,11:07 PM
Efficacy (Y) over Beauty (N)
fRoM tHe fIrSt TiMe i WiTnEsSeD tHiS aTrOcItY, ThOsE wHo tYpEd LiKe ThIs rEaLlY aNnOyEd Me; ThEiR sTrAnGe HaBiT sEeMeD cOmPlEtElY tEdIoUs, UsElEsS aNd DiFfIcUlT tO rEaD. However, there were some common abbreviations used online which proved to be efficient, yet pleasant to the eye. As I morphed into a MSN Messenger user by the ripe age of eight, I had already indulged in said terminology with cool abbreviations such as "brb" (Be Right Back) and "lol" (Laugh out Loud). I even threw in the occasional asterisk (*) or tidle (~) (Did you bear previous knowledge that "~" was called a tidle? I had to look that up for this assignment. Fun fact of the day brought to you by yours truly, Jessica Tam.) to spice up my writing. As I grew older, my typing became more and more sophisticated; some may even choose to use the word "plain" to describe my current typing "style", with its correct spelling, grammar, capitalization and punctuation. The occasional smiley will suffice, but I tend to type in this proper way in most situations, whether I am on Facebook or Wordpress. :) Although, MSN Messenger is a different story. With my thoughts directly connected to the tips of my fingertips, I type whatever comes to mind, and this usually does not include starting the beginning of each sentence with a capital. Furthermore, writing in full sentences is completely out of the question. Oftentimes, I will type like this as I am thinking of the next thing to say and I use the enter bar to give myself ample time to think while I come up with my next thought! While this method proves to be inconvenient for the reader receiving my messages on the other side of the screen, I find that this is an easier way to convey my thoughts to others. When I read "classic" literature that is not from this century, such as the works of the Brontë sisters (Charlotte in particular) or Jane Austen, I find myself wishing that the common 21st century writer wrote with such poised parlance as did these fascinating women in their era. I myself write rather "flowery", using five words to describe something when I could replace them all with one simple sufficient word. Although this tactic may prove to be ineffective and a great waste of ink and paper, I find it more satisfying to read. Although it is an art to write clear, simple sentences, peppering my writing with fancy adjectives and their complex synonyms is rather self-satisfying. In response to textism, I feel that although our current formal language should be preserved, preventing a language's development is futile and should therefore be embraced! This is a natural development in language, as we have read in our History of English duotangs. Raids were often the cause of English's development, so this change should be treated as natural as the transition from Middle English to Modern English! Although raids are not the cause of our current language's development, rather, technology raiding our lives instead, the development in language is more beneficial than loss. Embrace change! One of my favourite quotes explains my precise sentiments on the depleting growth of the English language: "If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it." - Mary EnglebreitI imagine our language-loving ancestors would be rolling in their graves if they bore witness to the unsightly jumbled phrases we use for speaking and writing purposes today, "Where hath all the beauty in bountiful language gone from world!?", the dramatic ones would cry. In comparison to the English of the 1600s, our language has become far more technical, succinct and curt. This "condensed" language is more efficient in my point of view, but has lost much elegance it once possessed. What should be noted is that the casual stylistic writing of text messages and computer language should be held separate from more "formal" situations, such as resumes and informational articles. What is interesting is that the language observed online is rather sloppy and lazy in structure when compared to the essays we complete for English class. But in this case, our class is doing a writing assignment, which is online. Our English 11 Enriched Blog is a hybrid of these two very diverse writing styles! In this conflict between beauty and efficacy, efficiency has won over. I mourn for the aristocratic, refined English that once existed, but have heartily accepted that like life, language goes on.
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