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Texting helps teens' grammar
| quote: | CAROLINE ALPHONSO
EDUCATION REPORTER
Worried about your teenagers ruining their grasp of the English language by using instant messaging? Rest easy: New research shows it actually gives them a strong command of grammar.
University of Toronto researchers have found that teenagers are not losing what they learn in English class, but rather demonstrating a mastery of formal and informal language when chatting on-line with friends.
"What these kids are doing is showing us that they have a really good command of the English language, so much so that I was really blown away by how fluidly they operate," said Sali Tagliamonte, a professor of linguistics at the University of Toronto.
"[Parents] might as well worry about who those kids are talking to, not how they are saying what they are saying."
The research is being presented tomorrow at the annual meeting of the Linguistics Association of Canada and the United States.
Instant messaging, the modern version of passing notes, mimics a real-time conversation much better than e-mail.
The program sends alerts when friends log on to their computers, and users can chat on-line. In many ways, it has replaced the hours that teenagers once spent on the telephone.
Prof. Tagliamonte, along with undergraduate student Derek Denis, interviewed and studied the conversation logs of 71 Toronto teenagers, comparing their use of language both in speech and while using instant messaging.
They found that while teens use acronyms, such as "lol" (laughing out loud), they also combine formal language in their messaging. For example, they are more likely to use the word "said" in an instant message rather than "be like."
The study found instant messaging language does mirror patterns in speech, but that teens are using a combination of formal and informal language in their on-line conversations.
They use similar language to chat on-line as they would in person, but they are also throwing in some of the formal language taught in English class.
Prof. Tagliamonte said parents and teachers don't need to be concerned that this new medium is corrupting young people's grammar.
"In fact, we're going to argue that they have demonstrated fluid mastery of the full spectrum of resources that they have available to them," she said.
The research shows teenagers using instant messaging are "really vibrant and creative" in their language abilities, Mr. Denis added.
"I don't think parents have to worry, because they're really showing that they are creative and that they have a mastery of the language. They are not using ruinous language," he said.
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