Imzy
  • Discover communities
  • Log In
  • Sign up
  • Home
  • Discover communities
  • Log In
  • Sign up
  • About
  • Learn More
  • Contact
  • Community Policy
  • FAQ
  • Sitemap
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy
  • Available on the App Store
  • Available on Google Play
Copyright © 2017 Saurus, Inc. All rights reserved.
Ask Imzy

Ask Imzy

Ask Imzy everything, anonymous or not!

263 members
Posted byTemmiein/ask_imzy-Jan 07 at 11:00 AMΔ

Daily Ask: Do you care about use of language in texting?

  • Daily Ask

Edit: corrected by @jae, thanks!

Comments18
  • jaeJan 07 at 11:17 AM

    As a linguist, the inaccurate use of the word 'grammar' to refer to all language usage is actually a much bigger pet peeve for me than any kind of language usage. ;)

    Other than that, while I do have my language-related pet peeves, I try to keep them to myself because it's kind of annoying to be That Person. (And none of them have to do with actual grammar anyway.)

    • TemmieJan 07 at 11:24 AM

      Haha, sorry about that. I'm a bit dumb when it comes to that :P How would you call it instead?

      • jaeJan 07 at 11:26 AMΔ

        It depends on what you mean! :) Here's something I wrote up about this elsewhere:

        1. 'Grammar' is not just another word for 'language use'. 'Grammar' is essentially a layman's shorthand for two parts of language: what linguists call 'morphology' (the internal structure of words, often having to do with things like prefixes and suffixes) and 'syntax' (the internal structure of sentences, usually having to do with word order).

        2. All languages have grammar, whether they happen to possess a writing system or not. This means that if the part of language you're talking about is limited exclusively to the writing system, it cannot and will not ever be a part of that language's grammar.

        Therefore...if you mean spelling, say 'spelling'. If you mean punctuation, say 'punctuation'. If you mean either morphology or syntax, say 'grammar'.

        I'd also add that if you mean all of the above, "language use" should do nicely! Thanks for asking. :)

      • Whiskey_NeatJan 07 at 11:30 AM

        Quick, @Temmie, blow jae's mind by saying, "Oh, yes, I meant grammar."

      • jaeJan 07 at 11:31 AM

        AHAHAHA. That would serve me right! ;)

      • TemmieJan 07 at 11:33 AM

        Well, I mean, I also meant grammar... I, for example, sometimes, out of laziness, stop using correct grammar in texting (though I correct it very soon after out of shame).

        Though I really meant everything, so I guess grammar isn't the word to use here. :)

      • TemmieJan 07 at 11:35 AM

        Oh, I mean all of the above (though grammar definitely was part of it)! Thanks, I'll correct it right now to language use.

      • Whiskey_NeatJan 07 at 11:35 AM

        If you dangle a participle in front of me, I will cut a bitch. 😋

        Nice information, @jae. It had me scrambling for definitions. Thanks for sharing.

        The important part for me is that we are communicating. As long as I understand my companion's writing, I can forgive a lack of punctuation or a few typos.

      • jaeJan 07 at 11:35 AM

        Yeah, then 'language use' is what you mean. That encompasses grammar, spelling and punctuation (plus other stuff)! :)

      • jaeJan 07 at 11:36 AM

        Aw, I tried to write it so that the complicated words were explained! Can you suggest edits to make the parts clearer that you needed to scramble for definitions for?

      • Whiskey_NeatJan 07 at 11:38 AM

        I did the scrambling before your longer post and I was fact checking more than anything. You did a marvelous and very accurate job of explaining it, you cheeky linguist. Don't change a thing.

      • jaeJan 07 at 11:40 AM

        smooch

        I ask because this is a text I use often with non-linguists, so I want it to be clear! I have debated whether 'prefix' and 'suffix' are too jargony, though, so I wondered if that was the issue. (I haven't been able to think of a way of providing examples of what I mean without using those words, but I'm sure there is one.)

      • Whiskey_NeatJan 07 at 11:44 AM

        I might not be the best person to ask. My vocabulary is above average and I was tasked with diagramming complex sentences so often in school that I still sometimes see sentences broken down and mapped. :)

        Prefix and suffix seem like words we learn fairly young though, no?

      • jaeJan 07 at 11:45 AM

        I hope so! :) Thanks anyway.

  • KittxnJan 07 at 2:11 PM

    The closer you are to formal language use when you text me, the easier it is for me to understand you and respond.

    the moar u stray frm formal language use, the moar i struggle 2 read ur message and the less i feel like talking or smth.

    I guess I care. I like for things to be easy. They don't have to be perfect, though.

  • bluedepthJan 07 at 2:55 PM

    My personal rule of thumb is "Did your message successfully make it?" If yes, then we're fine. I far prefer written language to spoken language. There is way less noise when it's written out. I wish technical support reps for companies like Cisco were just chat based. Many times their English is incomprehensible.

  • JayNullJan 08 at 10:20 AM

    I use autocorrect and write with the words I would use in real life

  • ReidarJan 08 at 11:47 AM

    Absolutely.

Ask Imzy

Ask Imzy

Ask Imzy everything, anonymous or not!

263 members
  • About
  • Sitemap
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright © 2017 Saurus, Inc. All rights reserved.