Nowadays, students have become habituated to using internet slang because of the increased popularity of social networking sites and SMS.
Internet speak is firmly implanted in the regular usage of English language which is a cause of concern especially for academicians who fear that if the present trend continues, the students will become habituated to using erroneous English in regular usage.
American linguist Ann Curzan terms such kind of language as “electronic mediated conversation” or EMC.
Internet-speak has become divorced from its original meaning and is taking on new definition. Even though internet-speak has pervaded daily conversation, the influence of technology like SMS and social networking sites on English language is often overstated, said MKP (PG) College principal Kiran Sood.
She said, “The words we use in chatting on Facebook and SMS are also being used used by students in their examination paper. The students should change this tendency and use correct English.
Not only students but even teachers have erred in teaching by writing short forms on the blackboard. Writing in proper grammatical form on networking sites will be very helpful to the students for improving the language construction.
Using slang is in vogue not only in written conversation but also in verbal communication. The computer can also help in improving English language but users use short forms to save time and money,” she said.
She expressed concern that if the trend of using internet slang continues, the future generation of students may forget proper grammar. It is evident that the internet will continue influencing the way one communicates but what remains to be seen is whether the users will forget proper language and become habituated only to EMC.