An old buddy we e-mailed the other day responded with “HU.” After some head scratching and asking our in-house computer guru what HU meant, we phoned our buddy and learned it was short for “huh.”
Like it or not, the incredible power of personal computers, email, and texting software have not been a boon for grammar or spelling. In fact, it could be argued that the computer culture is wreaking havoc with many sacred elements of learning – including penmanship and the use of proper English.
Acronyms abound. Our 9-year-old twin daughters were explaining something the other day and referred to someone as a “BFF.” They are not quite old enough to be offended by questions from their dad yet, so I asked what is BFF? “Best Friends Forever,” they chimed in stereo from the backseat.
Their affinity for computers and all things “digital,” mirrors that of most of their contemporaries. Even if they do not know how to perform a task, they have no qualms about trying and making mistakes. Heck, even plugging in video games or DVD players, most kids will tackle jobs their parents won’t. Amazingly, they seem to get it right too.
This past week the push was on for Bratz dolls. Although they had several of them months ago, the novelty seemed to have worn off so the dolls were recycled to other people whose kids would like them. The resurgence of Bratz as a must-have toy caused days of questions. Can we have one? Have you decided yet? How about now? Can we go look at them?
One whole morning at the office was spent on the Bratz website. Working with dad has its perks, so each took a seat at different desks and began researching Bratz toys and playing games on that website. Fair enough. What really threw us was the discovery that they were cross referencing the various dolls with prices on the Zellers website. Using the principles of an MBA graduate they developed a compelling letter with a persuasive argument for purchasing the doll, including numerous commitments to make it worth my while for letting them have one.
The rest is history.
Society’s fascination and reliance on computers is part of the future. We just hope equal efforts are spent by young people to learn English the right way and not to drag short-cuts and acronyms into everyday life anymore than the technology already has.
Dave Adsett
