I Don't Know what IDK means!

Actually, I do. I simply chose that title to be ironic. But it brings up an interesting point. We spend so much time texting, IMing, and posting to social media, that we seem to be getting further and further away from "real English." But what IS "real English?" The English language is really just a melting pot of a bunch of other languages that it has crossed paths with over time. Latin, French, Greek, and many other languages have had an effect on the English language. Even among English speakers, there are differences. Someone from Great Britain might say something differently than someone from the states, who might say something differently that someone from Australia! Even within a country, language varies. In the south of the United States, words are spoken that mean nothing to people from the northern part of the U.S!

But that brings us back around to my point. How does the texting language interface with the "normal" English most people speak in day to day conversations? We don't often hear someone say lol out loud. Or do we? Just recently, I have been noticing people saying lol, wtf, idk, omg, and other textual references out loud when talking to other people. I guess actually laughing at a joke takes too much effort, especially when you can just say, "lol man, that was, like, super rad."

But now for the punchline question. Is that a BAD thing? I am inclined to think not. Now to purists out there, that sounds like sacrilege, but think about it. English, what is considered "proper" English anyways, is really just bits and pieces of other languages that people stole over the years to help explain new things and create new meanings to a word. Why can't we do that with text abbreviations? At least those abbreviations are original, and not ripped off from another language like Latin! And lets be honest. the spelling for lol is just that. l, followed by an o, and then another l. I can just picture the spelling bees of the future.

Guy running the spelling bee. "please spell the word, 'ttyl."
Student in the bee. "uh, ttyl."
Guy running the spelling bee. "correct!"

Ah, a time when I might just be good at spelling!

Anyways, that's my opinion on that. I'll write soon,

- David -