The beauty of txting: Text messages

David Crystal's brilliant new book, txting: the gr8 db8, will open your eyes. He shows that, contrary to popular opinion, texting is not leading to sloppy language use and linguistic incompetence. Instead, it is an innovative type of communication that is producing far more than simple messages such as "cul8r". Texting, which combines the immediacy of a phone call, the convenience of voicemail and the simplicity of e-mail, is actually increasing young people's interest in writing.

One of the most astonishing developments described by Crystal are text poems, which he compares to haikus. Take, for example, these lines from a poem by Julia Bird:

it splits my @oms
wen he :-)s @ me.

Don't miss out on the fun: If you want to be able to write text messages or at least understand wot ppl r sayin, come and do our language exercises this week. You will find that the spelling may be unconventional, but makes sense, and that the grammar is spot on. Be sure to read Mike Pilewski's in-depth interview with David Crystal in Spotlight 11/2008 and listen to the professor himself on Spotlight Audio.

Anne Hodgson