*sigh*, um, again

From today's Star-Ledger. Did we mention that if we were to teach somewhere in the higher education system and if one of our students were to have written "u" recently on a homework assignment, three times, well, nevermind.

(Side note: we think we just heard a weak ass car crash nearby. Like a mini-squeal of the tires and the a, well, oof, was the sound the car made. Random).

Anyway, back to why we think the world is ending sooner than later...

BY CHANDRA M. HAYSLETT
Star-Ledger Staff
Tia Burnett couldn't believe what she was seeing when students started turning in work that looked more like an instant message conversation than an English assignment.

Some of her students at Orange High School in Essex County started sneaking abbreviations -- "u" for "you," "2" for "to" and "4" for "for" -- into their papers and other class assignments.

Burnett quickly put a stop to it.

"I would remind students not to use abbreviations in writing. This is casual e-mail language," said Burnett, who is in her first year as supervisor of language arts for grades 7-12. "Teachers need to constantly drive home the need to be specific about the difference between informal and formal writing."

Teachers, administrators and businesspeople say abbreviations commonly used in e-mails, instant messaging and mobile phone text messages are creeping into assignments and formal writing, and some believe it's hurting the way students think.

Tom Moran, English supervisor at East Brunswick High School in Middlesex County said the speed of electronic communication has "infected" some students' writing.

"E-mails are usually composed at lightning speeds, without any concern about editing, clarity or word choice," Moran said. "This is fine, since most e-mails are not meant to stand alone as polished pieces of prose. The problem arises when students begin thinking at that speed without pausing to consider what, exactly, they are saying."

The volume of electronic communication is growing at a startling pace. During the first six months of this year, 64.8 billion text messages were sent, nearly double the first half of 2005.

Amanda Lenhart, senior research specialist at the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which explores the Internet's impact, said 74 percent of teenagers have instant messaged.

The effects vary, scholars say. In Canada, two university professors concluded there is no adverse effect on syntax or the formation of sentences.

In the study, University of Toronto linguistics professors Derek Denis and Sali Tagliamonte found that although students may be text messaging, most messages don't contain abbreviated words.

"In our corpus of over a million words, all the IM forms accounted for only about 2 percent," Denis said, noting they studied 70 teens during 2004 and 2005. "Though these teens are using more informal language than in their speech, they are also using more formal variables as well.

"This tells us that teens are using English vibrantly, creatively and are able to use it correctly."

That may be the case for Canadian teens, but Rutgers University lecturer Alex Lewis says he must teach freshmen basic writing mechanics and grammar in his expository writing course.

"These kids spend an enormous amount of time writing, but their formal understanding of writing is limited," Lewis said. Because so much writing is e-mailing and IM-ing, Lewis said, that informal style follows into the classroom.

Bob Killian, CEO of the Chicago-based advertising firm Killian and Co., said he has received so many résumés from college graduates who can't write, he will publish a book of the 200 worst samples.

"I have dozens of cover letters that illustrate any number of problems with spelling and grammar," Killian said. "IM-ing is just the latest fad in the wrinkle of things that can go wrong. You should be shocked and amazed, but you aren't anymore."

George Martin, supervisor of English at Plainfield High School, said students are using IM words in the Union County school and teachers have been letting students know when the abbreviations are acceptable or not.

"If it's informal writing and it's brainstorming, we don't have a problem with it. But if it's writing for HSPA (High School Proficiency Assessment) or the SAT prep, then it's not appropriate," Martin said.

Naomi Baron, professor of linguistics at American University in Washington, D.C., who has researched the language of IM-ing and texting, said getting students to realize their audience is key.

"If you simply teach there are ways to use writing, students will get it," Baron said. "I get students who write 'BTW' for 'by the way,' but it only happens once."

Baron pointed out that some IM and texting abbreviations have histories that predate the computer revolution -- "w/" for 'with,' for instance -- and are likely to remain a part of language.

"I would not be surprised to see some of these abbreviations around several decades from now," Baron said. "Similarly, an abbreviation such as 'LOL' (laugh out loud) or 'BTW' (by the way) might stick, while others, such as 'OMG' (oh my God) or 'IMHO' (in my humble opinion) might pass -- through the luck of the draw."