I struggle with this Modern, Techno-Driven Phenomenon every time I correct a student who drops a preposition, and I subsequently hear a parent or teacher do the same. HELP!
"I'm done my work!" (with???)
"Are you finished your project?" (with???)
"He walked out the classroom." (of???)
The concept is very confusing to me, and I cannot find any solid resources on the internet regarding the subject, simply blogs with opinions and often foul language. So, I am posting my observations and thoughts here, hoping for some intellectual and creative input. I am wide open thoughts and suggestions. (for???)
There is a part of me that wants to jump the band wagon (on???) as I would have, quite quickly no doubt, when I was an ever-s0-"with it" teenager who loved new language fads. However, my adult good sense and teaching commitment tell me that communicating this way in both speech and writing (be it text, email, blog, tweet, or publication manuscript) may lead to speaking and writing in this manner in situations where sounding as though I did make it through 7th grade English class may be important.
Now, now, mind you, I intend to insult no one here. I am a Native New Yawka, and there was a time where I played bawl and drank wata and soder. After spending a few years in a professional business position in California, where every letter sound is articulated quite clearly and some exaggerated to prove you live in the Valley, I learned to hear the illiterate sound of New Yawk Tawk. Needless to say, due to communication difficulties in business in different parts of the country, my accent has faded. I find the prep drop to ring as illiterate to the ear as the New York accent does outside of the five boroughs and surrounding burbs.
However, when I analyze the use, I first (in all fairness) note that I have always dropped "of" when walking out the door or climbing out the window. Walking out of the door? Climbing out of the window? They surely sound awkward to me. So then I comment to self, " Self, you do this, too. There is just more of it, and it is popping up in places you never imagined it could fit." My research has also led me to the completely unimaginable Because Preposition.
"What is the Because Preposition?" you ask. Well, maybe it's an attempt to add a new one, making up for all of those dropped prepositions that are no longer in use. Apparently it is another new phenomenon in technology talk that has permeated our spoken language. I get that we take shortcuts and use faddish, ever-so-cool lingo in WiFi situations, but this groovy new shortcut utilizes the ellipsis without the three dots to indicate that the pause and thought are there. Hence, the pause is eliminated. Basically, we are just dropping words deemed by the speaker/writer to be an unnecessary waste of his or her time in order to have the receiving party understand the thought being expressed. Because catchy. It's advertising in speech: because billboard. This phenomenon is a sad one in my mind, because the ellipsis and the pause in both spoken and written language add so much to the context in which we are expressing ourselves. I suppose I could say, " This phenomenon is a sad one in my mind, because expression. " I am a HUGE fan of the ellipsis, and I know it must be used correctly to be effective. It is a component of the art of language use; pauses are dramatic and ear-catching, even deeply engaging! The ellipsis is a privilege, not trash to throw out!
Are we compromising the art of language for teen fads? I am shocked every time I hear an adult drop with or for in a spoken sentence. Will they soon utilize the because preposition, because sweet? Are they trying to be cool for their children and students? Have they fallen victim to the permeation of shortcut, technology language in our culture? Are they from a part of the country where their accent causes them to sound illiterate by dropping prepositions, similar to my NYC dropped R's and inserted R's making me sound illiterate?
Again, I plead...HELP!!!
Fight it or Get with it?
"Are you finished your project?" (with???)
"He walked out the classroom." (of???)
The concept is very confusing to me, and I cannot find any solid resources on the internet regarding the subject, simply blogs with opinions and often foul language. So, I am posting my observations and thoughts here, hoping for some intellectual and creative input. I am wide open thoughts and suggestions. (for???)
There is a part of me that wants to jump the band wagon (on???) as I would have, quite quickly no doubt, when I was an ever-s0-"with it" teenager who loved new language fads. However, my adult good sense and teaching commitment tell me that communicating this way in both speech and writing (be it text, email, blog, tweet, or publication manuscript) may lead to speaking and writing in this manner in situations where sounding as though I did make it through 7th grade English class may be important.
Now, now, mind you, I intend to insult no one here. I am a Native New Yawka, and there was a time where I played bawl and drank wata and soder. After spending a few years in a professional business position in California, where every letter sound is articulated quite clearly and some exaggerated to prove you live in the Valley, I learned to hear the illiterate sound of New Yawk Tawk. Needless to say, due to communication difficulties in business in different parts of the country, my accent has faded. I find the prep drop to ring as illiterate to the ear as the New York accent does outside of the five boroughs and surrounding burbs.
However, when I analyze the use, I first (in all fairness) note that I have always dropped "of" when walking out the door or climbing out the window. Walking out of the door? Climbing out of the window? They surely sound awkward to me. So then I comment to self, " Self, you do this, too. There is just more of it, and it is popping up in places you never imagined it could fit." My research has also led me to the completely unimaginable Because Preposition.
"What is the Because Preposition?" you ask. Well, maybe it's an attempt to add a new one, making up for all of those dropped prepositions that are no longer in use. Apparently it is another new phenomenon in technology talk that has permeated our spoken language. I get that we take shortcuts and use faddish, ever-so-cool lingo in WiFi situations, but this groovy new shortcut utilizes the ellipsis without the three dots to indicate that the pause and thought are there. Hence, the pause is eliminated. Basically, we are just dropping words deemed by the speaker/writer to be an unnecessary waste of his or her time in order to have the receiving party understand the thought being expressed. Because catchy. It's advertising in speech: because billboard. This phenomenon is a sad one in my mind, because the ellipsis and the pause in both spoken and written language add so much to the context in which we are expressing ourselves. I suppose I could say, " This phenomenon is a sad one in my mind, because expression. " I am a HUGE fan of the ellipsis, and I know it must be used correctly to be effective. It is a component of the art of language use; pauses are dramatic and ear-catching, even deeply engaging! The ellipsis is a privilege, not trash to throw out!
Are we compromising the art of language for teen fads? I am shocked every time I hear an adult drop with or for in a spoken sentence. Will they soon utilize the because preposition, because sweet? Are they trying to be cool for their children and students? Have they fallen victim to the permeation of shortcut, technology language in our culture? Are they from a part of the country where their accent causes them to sound illiterate by dropping prepositions, similar to my NYC dropped R's and inserted R's making me sound illiterate?
Again, I plead...HELP!!!
Fight it or Get with it?
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