Text speak will be the end of the English language as we know it

Quick text messages and the 140 character limit on Tweets have brought with them the denigration of English as I know and love it.

But I will continue to fly the flag for the correct spelling of words and their appropriate use.

And that is why the headline above this column as complete anathema to me.

Much like big companies knowing the rules so they can get away without paying the correct amount of Corporation Tax, most working journalists know and understand the rules of grammar.

Knowing the structure means you know how to break it down.

And doing so often takes more thought than sticking to the understood rules.

But enough of that.

My main point is that text speak - or txtspk if you prefer - is taking away the ability to spell.

And it can also lead to misinterpretation.

One of my colleagues actually says “lol” out loud when she finds something amusing.

My mother on the other hand signs off texts with the letters lol to indicate that she still loves me!

Imagine the confusion if she sent me a text saying, for instance, “Gladys is dead lol”.

I have also received texts from people who abbreviated some words so badly it looked like they had dropped their phone in alphabet soup before sending me a picture of the outcome!

But if that is not bad enough, the incorrect used of words drives me to distraction.

As far as I am concerned, electrocution is death by electric shock.

In the same vein, decimation surely has to be the removal of one in 10.

And the use of the word “literally” should mean the comments refer to something that has actually happened and not, as some believe, a way of underlining the importance of their feelings.

“I was literally over the monn”, I literally think not.

I could go on, but by now I am sure you are getting the picture!