Last night while watching the horrible news from New Orleans I saw a piece on some college students trapped in their dorm rooms and their parents were trying to get them out of N.O.
Now please note that these kids were not in any iminent danger and not hurt at all, but they were sending text messages on their cell phones to their parents to try and get out of N.O., which is perfectly understandable under the circumstances.
Here is where it gets frustrating…the news reporter shows a picture of the screens of the parent’s cell phone with a message from one of these kids telling of how the Miss. River had come pouring over the dikes in N.O., and the text message began with “Da riva did come over the wall”.
Wow, and this kid actually made it through High School and into College with skills (or lack of) like that. This really frustrates me to no end. [banghead]
I think it’s a form of language the kids use nowadays when text messaging, a different form of short hand. I was thinking the same thing when I would see my daughter instant messaging or text messaging, it’s just an abbriveated(sp) way of sending the message quicker.
Now you may have a point there! I remember a news show about the younger generation using a more inpersonal method of communication, maybe that was what they meant? Hmm. I stand corrected on my assumptions of the “Dumbing of America”
And possibly cheaper. Where I work we have Nextels. From time to time everybody in our shop would get these text message ads on our phones. I didn’t give it much thought. Then I saw the bill and we were getting charged more for those text messages then for outgoing phone calls !!! Text messaging got canceled the next day.
Actually, if you think about it, text messaging might be the better mode here than real-time talking. Think about it. You have time to formulate your answer (not that that will improve the grammar or anything), and if Dad has to ask Mom a question before he texts back to Junior, he doesn’t have to say - “hang on a minute while I ask your Mom.” Depending on the calling plan they have, it might be cheaper, too. A lot of times you’ll find outrageous daytime fees on “free nights and weekends” plans. With text messaging, you only pay for the messages you send/receive, not for the dead air in between.
Perhaps he was merely studying Twain-esque literature, which relies heavily on dialects associated with different locales, ethnic groups, upbringing, etc., and felt the need to express his disdain for the situation with a more colorful expression than was possible with his own dialect.
Of course, I may also have some ocean front property up for sale in Arizona, too. I decided to sell before it gets hit by a typhoon. Anybody interested? [:p]
If the cell will do text, I would imagine it could still do voice, unless text is handled in a different way as for bandwidth, I think I remember reading that the text can ride as a sub-carrier on the signal, and with all the damage and concern, I am sure voice lines were maxed out. Also in a situation like that, usually all 911, or public safety operations get a priority on communications. At least Nextel is setup that way.
Folks, the message I saw last night on the news had nothing at all to do with a “special” text messaging language. I have a 23 year old son who uses this “cypher” language for his messages and I have never seen anything like what I saw last night. I believe these kids are ones who should never gotten into or out of High School with their lack of language skills, let alone College!
Is there a song with that line in it? Maybe it was a spoof on a song that they know? I can’t believe that colege students would spell that poorly unless they were in a panic or were not really that hard done-by.
The Director of Biomedical Communications at Northwestern University Medical School surveys Americans about scientific knowledge. 20% of adult Americans believe the Sun revolves around the Earth. 90% don’t know what radiation is. Two thirds don’t know DNA is the key to heredity. He calls the lower half of high school graduates an embarrassment.
This country seems to have written off public education.
Working as a supervisor in a manufacturing facility, I can thoroughly relate to the “Dumbing of America” The kids we get in the 18 to 25 year old range simply astonish me. They have no math skills without a calculator, limited spelling and writing skills, CANNOT multitask, cannot work without direct supervision and have no motivation. Granted, there are exceptions to every rule, but we often go thru 40 to find 1 good employee. I has greatly improved my disciplinarian and firing skills. Or should I say “sharpened”?