This thread is too funny but alas it is true! I've taught middle school through college level and was am amazed at how many assignments I get with the abbreviated words inserted into their final drafts! English is not the subject I teach but I do require properly written and sited text in their final assignments.
Yes it has changed English as we know it and as many of us were taught was proper. I have no doubt those hard core "Proper English" teachers and advocates are biting at the bit to "correct" these inevitable transitions that all languages are known to go through in time.
Ebonics being but one branch of that tree, and certainly not the most recent. IM, SMS, Facebook, You Tube... etc, these all have had major influences. Don't forget music and especially music videos.
Where I'm at currently I do have students discuss these issues but must insist on their use of "proper English" because it's mandated by the Departments of Education at both National and State levels. Makes for an interesting, even funny topic as it seems to have turned to in this string. I needed a laugh this evening. My guess is it isn't going to go back to how it was ever again, & with all the rules and exceptions in the English language that may not be a bad thing.
How will voice over programs change this dynamic yet again, & in the very near future??
