I do not believe the loss of language among teens today can be completely blamed on the electronic age. Texting, facebook chat, MSN, and other quick ways to communicate are not the real cause behind our loss of language. The computer will send whatever the operator so chooses to type. It is entirely up to the person to decide what he or she spells and sends. It is the simple fact that the younger generation has become lazier in our doing. Why should we have to type, "Sorry I have to go to dinner, my parents are calling me." when we could type, "Srry g2g, rents call." It is the simple fact that in less keystrokes we can communicate the same message. We do not want to waste a moment of time with our thumbs to put in those extra few characters. Some say, "Why not? It doesn't take any more extra time." But the fact is that if you are having several conversations with multiple people, as often occurs in this modern age, that the time saved with each character eventually adds up. Message by message the writer gains more time. In the course of a week the time saved could amount to an entire conversation. It is like saving pennies, by themselves they are worth nothing, but accumulated they can become worthwhile to keep.
In "1984" the new language, "Newspeak" is set to replace the English language entirely by 2050. I believe there are 2 purposes for this action. The dictatorship government wishes to remove peoples opinions. By removing language the society will no longer posses a way to express themselves and emotions. Every word becomes a generalization of the true meaning or feeling the person intended. The second reason is the simple fact that it can save time. Everybody can speak the same language in a simpler form. Less time spent learning the language means everyone understands sooner, which means that productivity increases. You could explain to a six year old exactly what you want because the child would already have a fully developed vocabulary. It is not a loss of language so much as a refinement of the current one.
Our current age group feels we can communicate with each other by a system with less work. It is easier and less time consuming. We don't have to waste time meeting face to face, or dialing a phone. With a few keystrokes from anywhere we can communicate. I believe that the we are not losing our language skills, but simply improving, refining, and advancing our current language. We are still required to retain the full value of the language. Job interviews, descriptions, books, newspapers, any sort of proper conversation, still has to contain correct grammatical English. I may text fast when trying to send a quick blurb of my current location or what I'm doing, but I also text in depth messages, compliments, and stories or explanations. It depends on your perspective if our generation is losing our language. From an older generations perspective, they say we can't speak worth shit, or should learn how to talk. From a young generations perspective, we are making the language easier to use and much more effective. I am in the middle of these arguements. I believe there is an extent to which the English language can be shortened and made easier. However, there is a fine line in the sand where it becomes too much. Also, we should always retain a full knowledge of the language, because there are moments when proper usuage of language is a must. I wouldn't want to go up to someone and end up blubbering like an idiot with, "Oh y'know," and, "like dude I g2g, peeps ring." So if we can combine these two scenarios, then in my opinion we would have acheived a balance between everyday life, and a business environment. The simple language and the complex one. We aren't losing language, we are advancing it.
