Txtng: The Gr8 Db8 | 
 enlarge | Author: David Crystal
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  43 reviews
Sales Rank: 47309
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.4 x 1.1
ISBN: 0199544905
Dewey Decimal Number: 004.692
EAN: 9780199544905
ASIN: 0199544905
Publication Date: September 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new book delivered from the UK in 10-14 days.
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Product Description
Text messaging has spread like wildfire, especially among young people, who appear to spend most of their time texting, and are unwilling to write much else. Indeed the phenomena is so widespread that many parents, teachers, and media pundits have been outspoken in their criticism of it. Does texting spell the end of western civilization?
In this humorous, level-headed and insightful book, David Crystal argues that the panic over texting is misplaced. Crystal, a world renowned linguist and prolific author on the uses and abuses of English, here looks at every aspect of the phenomenon of text-messaging and considers its effects on literacy, language, and society. He explains how texting began, how it works, who uses it, and how much it is used, and he shows how to interpret the mixture of pictograms, logograms, abbreviations, symbols, and wordplay typically used in texting. He looks at its manifestations in different languages, and explores the ways similar devices have been used in different eras. He finds that the texting system of conveying sounds and concepts goes back a long way--to the very origins of writing. And far from hindering children's literacy, texting turns out to help it.
Illustrated with original art by Ed MacLachlan, the popular cartoonist whose work has appeared in Punch, Private Eye, New Statesman, and many other publications, Txting: The Gr8 Db8 is entertaining and instructive--reassuring for worried parents and teachers, illuminating for teenagers, and fascinating for everyone interested in what's currently happening to language and communication.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 38 more reviews...
A well supported argument in favor of texting November 26, 2008
The more technologically advanced our society becomes, the dumber we get. That's always been my view, anyway. The generation that came of age by the time the Internet was as common as television had already been showing signs of diminished language skills. The ramblings and slang that pass for lyrics in rap music are indicative of that. Texting is simply another shovel of dirt to bury a coffin that's nailed shut and has already been lowered into the ground.
Right?
Wrong.
Or so says David Crystal, the author of "txtng: the gr8 db8." Crystal, an honorary professor of linguistics at the University of Wales, contends that "the popular beliefs about texting are wrong, or at least debatable." In fact, he believes that texting "helps rather than hinders literacy," and offers some convincing arguments, backed by testimony from teachers. Crystal observes that the linguistic adaptations involved in texting are "being introduced by youngsters, on their own, spontaneously, rapidly, and without professional tuition." If anything, such innovative use of the English language speaks well of the young people who use text messaging more than any other demographic.
But don't all those annoying and often confusing abbreviations that characterize texting find their way into school assignments? None of the teachers that Crystal talked to have ever encountered school work marred by texting, and the bright kids know the difference between correct English and text language, and express shock at those who don't.
As the subtitle makes clear, Crystal's positive view of texting is open to debate, but the author makes a strong case that texting is not a threat to literacy or our children's ability to communicate in correct English.
Brian W. Fairbanks
 A very interesting and useful book on the phenomenon of texting November 24, 2008
Not just a dictionary of texting abbreviations - though there are lists of abbreviations (in multiple languages) at the back of the book - this book is a fascinating, in-depth analysis of the phenomenon of texting, drawing comparisons with the use of abbreviations and acronyms dating back many centuries. I learned that (rather surprisingly) a large proportion of texts don't use abbreviations; that there are texting poetry competitions; and that young people who text a lot are well aware that there is a difference between the texting argot and standard English (or Welsh, or German, or whatever language they use), and that the widely circulated story of a school paper submitted in texting abbreviations is most likely a hoax.
Like standard language, texting can be rich, complex, and precise, or simple, dumb and vague. Most likely there are some texters who don't know how to communicate in standard language, using correct spelling and grammar - but at the other end of the spectrum, there are those who use the limited scope of a text message in a highly sophisticated and intelligent manner. Whether you want to know what texting is all about, or just look up something you saw on your kid's cell phone, this is a very interesting and useful book to have.
 Not Bad, But Could B Better November 20, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Txtng is an informative book that really explains the history of abbreviations and anacronyms. David Crystal points out a lot of such abbreviations that we tend to take for granted. However, I disagree with some of his opinions that texting is really not a problem. He doesn't go into any detail about how obsessive people can get when it comes to texting. It can actually be an addiction, but whether or not that's related to some formats of texting is unknown. Again, the book is mostly a critique on language and how it is affected by texting, but to think that texting is not problematic is a bit naive. There are social implications for texting, such as time spent doing it, ability to relate to others personally, and spelling and grammar. David Crystal sees texting as whimsical and creative, but he must acknowledge the social and emotional implications as well.
book doesnt lack research November 20, 2008
The book is well written. Could be dry for the less academic audience.
For the rest, is brilliant.
Crystal has done for linguistics what Sagan did for astronomy. A must
read, I would say.
I DO NOT THINK THE BOOK LACKS RESEARCH. True, the topic is quite new
and there is a lot of anecdotal evidence, that doesn't invalidate the
arguments---otherwise you could never use anecdotal evidence. The
author has done a huge effort to present balanced and honest educated
opinions where he had too.
Interesting, fast easy read! November 17, 2008
This wasn't a subject I was extremely interested in, just curious since my texting abilities are limited. Where I found some things insightful, I could have been happily satisfied reading an article on the subject rather than a book. However, Crystal is engaging and fun to read. He's also an English author so expect to find English colloquialism. I suspect if you have a linguistics interest you'll really enjoy reading this book, ultimately I did.
In the end I found the book best summed up on page 53: "My conclusion about the language of texting is that it is neither especially novel nor especially incomprehensible. Several of the abbreviations have been taken over wholesale from other Internet activities (such as chatrooms and emails) or from earlier varieties of written language. What novelty there is lies chiefly in the way texting takes further some of the processes used in the past."
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