In the past, communicating through written language was a slow process and it could take weeks for a letter to reach a destination. Because of this, written communication often consisted of very long paragraphs that were written in formal English. But those times are no longer. These days a written text message can be instantly sent to anyone in the world, making written language be able to feel like a conversation. So why would you want to stick with the inefficient, emotionless ways of the past, when its possible to send information fast and creatively. This is why it is better to text in non-formal English. It’s more efficient, easier to type, less boring and It feels like a real conversation.
The first reason why it is better to text using non-formal English is that it makes texting feel like a real conversation. When speaking to friends and family, people don’t use perfect grammar or say big words for no reason. They use shortened words, slang and other types of non-formal English. This is because this is how they speak naturally and it’s the easiest and best way to communicate ideas with emotion and personality. An example of this is being able to use para-linguistic. If you were laughing, a person could do this by using a laughing emoji or writing out “haha”. Even though these aren’t formal English expressions, they communicate that someone has either found something funny, or you are laughing. If someone were to text you saying “that statement was humorous” or “I am currently laughing”, it would feel very weird and disingenuous. Since texting now a possible option, why would someone use awkward and outdated formal English in their written language? It is uninteresting and it is not how people have real-life conversations.
Another reason why it is better to use non-formal English when text messaging is speed. When people use to write letters, they would take their time because it would be a long time before the person they were sending it to would receive it. But these days, text messages can be sent almost instantly, so if someone is waiting for a text, there is no reason to spend extra time perfecting grammar and spelling. If there are errors or non-formal English, the reader will still be able to understand what you are saying. An efficient way people make their typing quicker is by using abbreviations. Abbreviations are words or phrases that have been shortened into a couple of letters. An example of this is saying “wyd” instead of typing out “what are you doing?”. By saying “wyd”, the reader knows they are asking “what are you doing”, but it is much easier and quicker to type. Another way to make typing quicker is by using omissions. This means they leave out words that are unneeded and can be inferred. An example of omission would be saying “what doing” instead of “what are you doing?”. By leaving out half of the words in the sentence, the missing words can be inferred and it still makes sense. With these ways of making texting quicker, there is no reason to waste time and stick to formal English.
My third reason that proves that it is better to use non-formal English when texting is that punctuation is pointless and unnecessary. It often adds no information to the message and just wastes time. The main example of this is someone not ending sentences with a full stop. When formal English is being written, a full stop is used to show a sentence is ended. If this is the purpose, there is no reason to use them when they can just be inferred by the end of the text. A lot of punctuation just wastes time and sentences can make sense without it.
Writing formal English has a lot of rules and can be a difficult process. Non-formal English, on the other hand, doesn’t have any rules and is much easier to type and get information across. A reason for this is being able to have errors and the text can still make sense. When texting, a person can miss punctuation, misspell words or forget words and it still makes sense. Also, with autocorrect, a person doesn’t have to focus on spelling because the phone can often understand what you were trying to say and correct it. Another thing that makes non-formal English easier to type is that you can text naturally, rather than having to correct yourself. This means a writer can use words and phrases they say when speaking, and not have to worry about if it’s formal enough. This not only makes the process faster but also more honest and natural.
When people speak, a lot of communication comes from the tone of their speech and also body language, rather than the actual words. While formal English writing only shows words and is very difficult to convey emotion, Non-formal English texting has many ways to show emotion. An example of this is emojis. When someone uses emojis, they show their emotion or facial expression, which is often unknown or anonymous in formal English.
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