How Technology Is Changing Our Language

Whether you openly admit it, or have just subconsciously noticed it, technology has, and continues to change our language, and language patterns in so many ways. It really is a fascinating phenomenon to see unfold, because language is so telling of our culture, and general way of life. If you’re not quite sure what technology has contributed to language, take a look at these pretty concrete examples. These are just a few things that technology has made its mark on the way we write, think and speak.

1. The use of acronyms– When was the last time you used LOL, OMG, and BRB? It was probably when you were texting or chatting with someone, right? Well, these 3 words are examples of acronyms. Acronyms, a few years ago, was only something that the military pretty much used. However, with the advent of text, as well as limited character spacing, there had to be a way to express things in a shorter many. Thus, the use of acronyms, in normal, daily life were born.
2. Technology has created a slew of new words that did not even exist before. If you asked someone to Google something 50 years ago, you might have been met with a blank stare. The same if you say “Did you see her tweet?” These days though, we know that to Google means to look up in the Google search engine, and to tweet means a 140-character status on Twitter, a social media site.
3. Shorthand speaking (or texting)– Limited characters for texting have not only made way for acronyms, but for a creative way to shorthand as well. For “you are”, texters often use “U R”. “See you” is transformed to “ C U”, and great is even “gr8” at times. These are just a few creative ways on how text attempts to simplify language.

So, are you guilty of doing any of these things? Do you constantly use creative shorthand, or acronyms when you text? Have you used the words “tweet” and “google” in your recent conversations? If you have, then technology has even affected your language! While these are the most common ways that technology seems to be changing language, they are not the only ones. Do you know of any examples of your own? We’d love to hear about it!