Categories: etcSocial Media

SMS, Twitter ruining English language in India

I get to work with many youngsters who write for us on Oneindia.in. Freshers send me emails with words like ‘dat (that)”, “2 (to)”, “pases (passes)”. Very painful for me.

I am not concerned about the style of writing, that keeps changing with the time. But obvious grammatical and typos must be avoided.

When it comes to English, I was and am no Shakespeare. In fact I wasn’t a good English language student during school days (Kendriya Vidyalaya). What worries me is the lack of interest in many youngsters in improving their quality, they have a lot more opportunities today but also competition.

Everyone is squeezing their language to make it fit in Twitter & SMS. But are they squeezing their careers? I think so.

BG Mahesh

Internet application ideator and implementor. Been there and done that since early 1990s. I like to present data to the common man in the simplest manner on the internet.

View Comments

  • i think your perception is wrong. The new generations English is as good as for their careers concerned and they excel in that but what they are doing in their emails and sms are inventing new way to bending English language for ultra fast communication and from this way new shorthand English language is evolving.This is not anyway corrupting English.

  • That's very much true...SMS, Twitter, FB, and IMs are playing a spoilsport in the usage of English among youth...I don't know how the teens of Americans and Brits are getting over this problem..or is it only we Indians that are affected ?

    In SMS we have an option to use T9 dictionary which most of the people ignore..

  • Mahesh, i completely agree with your concern. I have experienced that many of the users of Social Networking sites, prefer to communicate with their own style of coded words, some time they even say single letter for a word, like 'd'(the). Its not only with Indians but with all around the world i think.

  • Our (Indians) ability to speak & write in English has been one of the most important factors for the Outsourcing drive that India has seen over the years. This also gives us an edge over other low cost countries like China. If we are bent on tarnishing the advantage we have, then I see a bleak future for the coming generations.

  • I think Twitter and SMS languages are just our cultural shift! I think its wrong to be mistaken as career spoilers.

Recent Posts

From Entropy to Negentropy: The Transformative Power of Open Finance- Part I

We live in a world awash with digital transformation, and yet filled with painful and…

2 months ago

Brand recall of the WiFi logo in India is very strong

It is a well-known fact that branding plays a significant role in the success of…

9 months ago

Fixing the Visa application process with Consent Managers

Lately I have been coming across the frustrations faced in the visa application process. Earlier,…

12 months ago

How India can solve the Challenges in Digital Advertising starting in 2023

India has the second-largest online population. The rapid Internet access and mobile proliferation is the…

1 year ago

Digital Media needs an Online Dispute Resolution system

The digital media landscape has changed tremendously over the last decade. Social media has amplified…

3 years ago

Digital Ad spend in India to grow 28% in 2021

It is not surprising to see advertising will grow in the year 2021. It does…

3 years ago