Direction: Read the selection below.

Be able to apply critical reading skills by answering the questions

that follow.

DON’T BLAME TEXTERS

By Julie Yap Daza

SMS (short messaging service) or text, they say, is killing English and doing it faster, I say don’t worry.
English has been dead a long time; we just didn’t give it a proper burial.

It’s only a theory, but I dare stand by it because in the absence of real, solid data based on
empirical knowledge, I can’t argue, without being a linguist, that text is a language all its own – a
language independent of English, therefore text can’t be responsible of its demise.

The language of a text on call phone is the language of abbreviations, a language so personal, yet so
casual, that it is easily shared with another person who belong to the same ethnic or social class as the
sender of the message.

The abbreviated words are subjective inventions done without consideration of rules of grammar or
syntax, only of phonetics and spur-of-the-moment convenience, that they defy classified as English.
From a friend, I learned the shortcut for “I am” as “M”. From another person, I learned to spell
“someone” as “som1”. Of course, by that time I had learned that “R” means “are” and “U” stands for
“you”. As everyone who has ever texted knows, there are more than five ways to text “Thank You”. Every
word in the English language lends itself to abbreviation, from “apple” to “zebra”, so you can imagine
what texting in Tagalog with its repetitive prefixes and suffixes sounds like!
The people who murdered English before the invention of the cell phone have done a good job; so don’t
blame the deterioration of English as a second language to them.

Which brings me to the second point of my theory. Those of us parents and teachers who fret over the
death of English at the hands of murderer lose sight of the fact that the texters, who are not comfortable
in English, are not likely to spend their precious pesos communicating in an unfamiliar language, when
they could so gladly text in Filipino or Ilongo or Kapampangan. In other words, the continuing killing of
English will not be carried out by today’s generation of non-English-speaking youths or adults. If English
is in danger, it will not because of them.

And while it may be true that word in the national language tend to be long and kilometric, certain
words make a point more effectively and hit directly when texted in Tagalog, words like “Cgue” (short for
sige) and “na” as in “tmw na” (to mean “tomorrow might be a better time) and “sana” to mean
“hopefully” or “I wish”. Who says cannot be bilingual in texting? English and Tagalog, and now a third
language, SMS.

When I tested my theory on an instructor handling collegiate in Scriptwriting, he provided the good news
that his students, writing in English or Tagalog as the spirit moves them, “are card-carrying members of
the text generation,” but believe it or not, they write so well in English and Tagalog.
Questions:

1. What is the selection all about?

The selection is all about how everything changes especially the language of communication in
texting that it gets shorter and shorter in time. The author talks about how other people blaims the
texter that the English language is dying because of the abbreviation use in the language of texting
when the truth is English has died a long time ago.

2. What are the claims of the author?

The author stated that by using the language of abbreviation may find easier to share for people
with same ethnic or social class. Since it is shorter than the national language and not minding the
gramatization of the text. The author also claims that the non-speaking english youth and adults, and the
texters that uses abbreviation is not the cause why English is dying.

3. Were the claims supported by valid and reliable evidences?

Yes the claims are supported by valid and reliable evidences since the author stated in the last
paragraph that she tested her theory in an an instructor handling collegiate in Scriptwriting and find out
that the students there are very good in English and Tagalog even though they are the card carrying
members of the text generation. But, in the part where the author said that the English is dying, she did
not provide much evidences and explanation why the English has died a long time ago.

4. Do you share the same views with the author on the topic? Why or why not?
I kind of share the same views with the author because also me use abbreviations when texting.
I just use an abbreviation to keep my message short but that doesn't mean I didn't know the proper
grammar or language of it. I do believe that some people should not blame the texters why the English is
dying because the purpose of the abbreviations of the words are just to shortened the text to easily
shared with your friends or people with the same social class.

5. What is your personal take on the issue discussed?

I do believe that the English is dying but not because of the texters that uses abbreviations, but
because of the lack of proper teaching in homes or even in schools since nowadays we are in a
pandemic, youths in this generation can't really learn properly. But apparently some of the youths and
adults in this generation didn't really know the purpose of abbreviations, they just use it without
knowing the proper grammar or spelling of that word, and they will get use of using those abbreviations
not only in texting but also in articles or essays.