THE EFFECT OF TEXT MESSAGING ON FORMAL WRITING IN ENGLISH

Abstract:

Teachers and parents have long been critical of the informal spoken language favored by young people, and more recently this criticism has been extended to include the informal language used in text-messaging. There is concern that “texting” and other electronic communications undermine students’ writing, but research results on this point are mixed. It is unclear the extent to which students are able to recognize the difference between formal and informal language and determine when it is appropriate to use each form. A study was conducted to examine the relationship between the language and syntax used in students’ texts and their New York State English Regents Examination scores. The results showed a statistically significant effect of non-standard punctuation on test scores, such that participants whose texts included missing commas and/or superfluous punctuation marks produced higher scores on the test. Participants with higher levels of grammatical skill may have enhanced ability to “code switch” between formal writing and texting. The results are inconsistent with the claim that ungrammatical language used in texts has a deleterious effect on formal writing.