Text Messaging Harms Written Language

A recent study of Irish schoolchildren says that text messaging is having a negative impact on spelling and grammar. The State Examination Commission stated that the frequency of errors in grammar and punctuation has become a serious concern after reviewing last year's exam performance by 15-year-olds.

"The emergence of the mobile phone and the rise of text messaging as a popular means of communication would appear to have impacted on standards of writing as evidenced in the responses of candidates," the report said, according to Wednesday's Irish Times. "Text messaging, with its use of phonetic spelling and little or no punctuation, seems to pose a threat to traditional conventions in writing."

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