Latest Podcast



Featured Articles

Ofcom helps protect customers against unexpected roaming charges

Ofcom helps protect customers against unexpected roaming charges

UK service providers must notify customers when they connect to a different network

New rules from UK telecoms regulator Ofcom will protect customers when they use their mobile phone on a foreign network. In addition, customers will be alerted if they are inadvertently roaming, perhaps because they're near an international border.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Global smartphone market is set for recovery, says new forecast

A new forecast from research specialists Canalys shows the smartphone market is set to recover next year. Worldwide shipments declined by 12% last year but that decline is expected to slow to 5% this year.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

New Hutchison/Vodafone network would be biggest UK operator

Vodafone Group plc and CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holdings Limited have agreed to combine their UK telecommunication businesses, respectively Vodafone UK and Three UK. The merger will create a large new network operator to compete with Virgin Media O2 and EE.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

UK mobile payment service Paym to close in March 2023

UK mobile payment service Paym will close on 7th March 2023. The service, which allowed users to make and receive payments using their mobile phone numbers, was launched in 2014.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Which? seeks payout for Samsung and Apple smartphone owners

Consumer protection organisation Which? has been given permission by the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal to represent Apple and Samsung smartphone buyers in a legal case against chip manufacturer Qualcomm.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS

Opinion Articles

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

f u cn rd ths thn wts th prblm?

Iain Graham writes:

Text language. Why do they do it?  What an interesting question!  Normally asked by people who have never ever sent a text, believing it to be the invention of the devil!! "Texters are vandals, doing to our language what Genghis Khan did to his neighbours eight hundred years ago" asserted Jhn (sorry) John Humphrys of Radio Four fame writing in the Daily Mail. The new 'text language' has been blamed for many things including:

Erosion of children's ability to spell,
Abandonment of all punctuation and capitalization,
Worsening marks in examinations,
Children growing up into adults who are unable to to write 'proper' English, and
Eventually, the language as a whole inevitably declining.

The interesting point to make here is that there has never been any clear evidence to support any of the above fears. This reassurance comes from the work completed by David Crystal, honorary professor of linguistics at the University of Wales, Bangor. He should know, he has written or edited over a hundred books on the subjects of language and writing.

"The end is nigh" people say to me on receipt of yet another communication by text from one of their offspring!  Well I don't think it is!  I speak as a typical fuddy duddy and Grumpy Old Man well set in his ways and a convert, yes, a convert to sending texts as a quick and largely non-intrusive way of communicating with a whole range of different people.

I will admit that I have not, and will not change my way of sending a text, (grammatically correct, accurately spelt and punctuated) but I have no objection to those that abbreviate for the sake of cost and use emoticons for illustration and fun!  Yes, language should be fun!!

My point is this, language has to evolve and change otherwise it will die, and if the use of texts and the language used therein helps monosyllabic teenagers communicate better and more frequently, then so be it.

Communication methods are moving on at a very fast pace and in a few years time sending texts could seem as archaic a method of communication as the typewriter and the telegram do today. Whatever happens I'm fascinated by the subject and believe that with the common everyday use of texts we are seeing a demonstration of a language in evolution at a fast pace!!

g2g h2cus

Print
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Rate this article:
No rating

Categories: OpinionNumber of views: 8613

Tags:

Leave a comment

This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data.
Add comment

Recent Podcasts

Twitter is going public, Dell is going private... and roaming charges may be going forever

Podcast - 18th September 2013

We start this week's show with news about the European Commission's plans to end mobile roaming charges completely from next year.

We're also talking about the future facing Twitter and Dell, Vodafone's security challenges in Germany, app development, wireless charging, mobile payments and Nokia's Android-based smartphones.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Apple iPhone 5s, Samsung Galaxy smartwatch, Sony Xperia Z1 and much more

Podcast - 11th September 2013

This week's show is packed with new products, including two iPhones, three smartwatches, two Android smartphones and a couple of innovative lens-based camera accessories.

We also find time to talk about mobile security, virtual networks and being dishonest via text message.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Microsoft, Nokia, Verizon and Vodafone: the latest mobile industry news

Podcast - 4th September 2013

We're back after a short break last week - and just in time for three of the biggest industry news stories of the year.

Microsoft's CEO announces his retirement, then Vodafone sells its US operation for $130 billion... and now Nokia's mobile phone business is being bought. Alongside these reports there's also time to talk about 4G in the UK, children with mobiles, roaming charges and the future of smartphones.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

David Akka talks about Google's future and declares that Android is dead

Podcast - 26th August 2013

In this special feature we're talking to David Akka, who tells us why he says Android is dead, why Chromecast is an omen for the mobile industry, why OS companies are getting into hardware and what the future holds for the mobile industry.

David is UK managing director of Magic Software and describes himself as a 'recovering techie'. His personal blog is at davidakka.com.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

A week of mobile industry news, from smart meters to stupid drivers

Podcast - 21st August 2013

There's good news for Telefonica as it's chosen to support the UK's smart meter rollout - but bad news for fans of the Microsoft Tag barcode, which is being discontinued in a couple of years' time.

We're also talking about drivers who use mobile phones illegally, Amazon's new service for mobile developers, the forthcoming Kazam smartphone, mobile advertising, satellite broadband, wearable security accessories and a word that's completely unacceptable to Motorola.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS
First1314151618202122Last

Follow thefonecast.com

Twitter @TheFonecast RSS podcast feed
Find us on Facebook Subscribe free via iTunes

Archive Calendar

«November 2024»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
28293031123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
2526272829301
2345678

Archive

Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement