[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.74,0:00:03.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We always hear that texting is a scourge.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:03.60,0:00:08.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The idea is that texting spells the decline and fall
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.44,0:00:11.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of any kind of serious literacy, or at least writing ability,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.94,0:00:14.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,among young people in the United States
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.59,0:00:16.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and now the whole world today.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.89,0:00:20.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The fact of the matter is that it just isn't true,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.39,0:00:22.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's easy to think that it is true,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.90,0:00:24.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but in order to see it in another way,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.80,0:00:28.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in order to see that actually texting is a miraculous thing,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.46,0:00:31.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not just energetic, but a miraculous thing,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.03,0:00:32.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a kind of emergent complexity
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.78,0:00:35.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we're seeing happening right now,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.24,0:00:37.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we have to pull the camera back for a bit
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.54,0:00:40.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and look at what language really is,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.96,0:00:43.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in which case, one thing that we see
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.03,0:00:47.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that texting is not writing at all.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.66,0:00:49.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What do I mean by that?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.48,0:00:52.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Basically, if we think about language,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.04,0:00:55.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,language has existed for perhaps 150,000 years,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.84,0:00:57.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at least 80,000 years,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.97,0:01:02.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and what it arose as is speech. People talked.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.12,0:01:05.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's what we're probably genetically specified for.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.15,0:01:07.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's how we use language most.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.34,0:01:10.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Writing is something that came along much later,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.82,0:01:12.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and as we saw in the last talk,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.88,0:01:15.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there's a little bit of controversy as to exactly when that happened,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.55,0:01:17.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but according to traditional estimates,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.86,0:01:21.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if humanity had existed for 24 hours,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.38,0:01:26.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then writing only came along at about 11:07 p.m.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.58,0:01:30.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's how much of a latterly thing writing is.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.22,0:01:33.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So first there's speech, and then writing comes along
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.61,0:01:35.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as a kind of artifice.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.37,0:01:39.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now don't get me wrong, writing has certain advantages.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.38,0:01:41.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When you write, because it's a conscious process,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.96,0:01:44.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because you can look backwards,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.10,0:01:46.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you can do things with language that are much less likely
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.93,0:01:49.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if you're just talking.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.39,0:01:53.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For example, imagine a passage from Edward Gibbon's
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.29,0:01:57.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire:"
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.10,0:02:00.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"The whole engagement lasted above twelve hours,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.35,0:02:02.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,till the graduate retreat of the Persians was changed
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.65,0:02:05.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into a disorderly flight, of which the shameful example
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.42,0:02:08.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was given by the principal leaders and the Surenas himself."
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.01,0:02:12.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's beautiful, but let's face it, nobody talks that way.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.33,0:02:16.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or at least, they shouldn't if they're interested
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.57,0:02:19.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in reproducing. That --
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.08,0:02:21.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.80,0:02:24.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is not the way any human being speaks casually.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.78,0:02:27.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Casual speech is something quite different.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.36,0:02:29.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Linguists have actually shown
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.22,0:02:31.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that when we're speaking casually in an unmonitored way,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.93,0:02:34.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we tend to speak in word packets of maybe
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.61,0:02:36.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,seven to 10 words.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:36.42,0:02:39.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You'll notice this if you ever have occasion to record
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.10,0:02:42.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,yourself or a group of people talking.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.09,0:02:43.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's what speech is like.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.54,0:02:47.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Speech is much looser. It's much more telegraphic.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:47.85,0:02:51.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's much less reflective -- very different from writing.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.54,0:02:54.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we naturally tend to think, because we see language
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.48,0:02:56.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,written so often, that that's what language is,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.92,0:03:00.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but actually what language is, is speech. They are two things.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.88,0:03:04.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now of course, as history has gone by,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:04.14,0:03:06.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's been natural for there to be a certain amount of bleed
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.93,0:03:09.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,between speech and writing.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.94,0:03:14.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, for example, in a distant era now,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.77,0:03:17.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was common when one gave a speech
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.27,0:03:20.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to basically talk like writing.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:20.39,0:03:22.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I mean the kind of speech that you see someone giving
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.74,0:03:25.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in an old movie where they clear their throat, and they go,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.27,0:03:27.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Ahem, ladies and gentlemen," and then they speak
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.80,0:03:31.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a certain way which has nothing to do with casual speech.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.07,0:03:34.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's formal. It uses long sentences like this Gibbon one.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.93,0:03:38.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's basically talking like you write, and so, for example,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.89,0:03:40.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we're thinking so much these days about Lincoln
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.89,0:03:43.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because of the movie.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.10,0:03:46.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Gettysburg Address was not the main meal of that event.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.18,0:03:50.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For two hours before that, Edward Everett spoke
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.10,0:03:53.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on a topic that, frankly, cannot engage us today
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.34,0:03:54.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and barely did then.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.84,0:03:57.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The point of it was to listen to him
Dialogue: 0,0:03:57.22,0:03:58.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,speaking like writing.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.77,0:04:01.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ordinary people stood and listened to that for two hours.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:01.12,0:04:02.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was perfectly natural.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:02.55,0:04:05.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's what people did then, speaking like writing.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:05.04,0:04:07.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, if you can speak like writing,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.51,0:04:11.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then logically it follows that you might want to also
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.31,0:04:14.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sometimes write like you speak.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.17,0:04:16.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The problem was just that in the material,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.22,0:04:19.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mechanical sense, that was harder back in the day
Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.68,0:04:22.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the simple reason that materials don't lend themselves to it.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:22.99,0:04:25.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's almost impossible to do that with your hand
Dialogue: 0,0:04:25.01,0:04:28.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,except in shorthand, and then communication is limited.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.44,0:04:30.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On a manual typewriter it was very difficult,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:30.96,0:04:33.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and even when we had electric typewriters,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:33.24,0:04:35.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or then computer keyboards, the fact is
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.40,0:04:37.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that even if you can type easily enough to keep up
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.70,0:04:40.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the pace of speech, more or less, you have to have
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.50,0:04:42.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,somebody who can receive your message quickly.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:42.84,0:04:46.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Once you have things in your pocket that can receive that message,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.05,0:04:48.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then you have the conditions that allow
Dialogue: 0,0:04:48.66,0:04:52.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we can write like we speak.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:52.17,0:04:55.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that's where texting comes in.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:55.38,0:04:59.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so, texting is very loose in its structure.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:59.15,0:05:03.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No one thinks about capital letters or punctuation when one texts,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:03.45,0:05:05.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but then again, do you think about those things when you talk?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.81,0:05:09.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No, and so therefore why would you when you were texting?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:09.48,0:05:12.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What texting is, despite the fact that it involves
Dialogue: 0,0:05:12.61,0:05:15.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the brute mechanics of something that we call writing,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:15.44,0:05:18.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is fingered speech. That's what texting is.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.73,0:05:22.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now we can write the way we talk.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.20,0:05:24.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's a very interesting thing, but nevertheless
Dialogue: 0,0:05:24.98,0:05:29.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,easy to think that still it represents some sort of decline.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:29.83,0:05:33.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We see this general bagginess of the structure,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:33.12,0:05:36.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the lack of concern with rules and the way that we're used to
Dialogue: 0,0:05:36.47,0:05:38.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,learning on the blackboard, and so we think
Dialogue: 0,0:05:38.74,0:05:41.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that something has gone wrong.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:41.98,0:05:44.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a very natural sense.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:44.94,0:05:48.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the fact of the matter is that what is going on
Dialogue: 0,0:05:48.98,0:05:52.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is a kind of emergent complexity.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:52.55,0:05:55.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's what we're seeing in this fingered speech.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:55.30,0:05:58.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in order to understand it, what we want to see
Dialogue: 0,0:05:58.29,0:06:03.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the way, in this new kind of language,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:03.03,0:06:06.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there is new structure coming up.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:06.61,0:06:12.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so, for example, there is in texting a convention,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:12.33,0:06:15.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is LOL.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:15.25,0:06:17.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now LOL, we generally think of
Dialogue: 0,0:06:17.100,0:06:20.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as meaning "laughing out loud."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:20.46,0:06:22.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And of course, theoretically, it does,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:22.76,0:06:25.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and if you look at older texts, then people used it
Dialogue: 0,0:06:25.18,0:06:27.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to actually indicate laughing out loud.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:27.70,0:06:31.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But if you text now, or if you are someone who
Dialogue: 0,0:06:31.95,0:06:35.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is aware of the substrate of texting the way it's become,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:35.24,0:06:36.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you'll notice that LOL
Dialogue: 0,0:06:36.93,0:06:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,does not mean laughing out loud anymore.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:39.00,0:06:42.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's evolved into something that is much subtler.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:42.79,0:06:46.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is an actual text that was done
Dialogue: 0,0:06:46.24,0:06:50.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by a non-male person of about 20 years old
Dialogue: 0,0:06:50.17,0:06:51.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not too long ago.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.67,0:06:54.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I love the font you're using, btw."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:54.62,0:06:58.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Julie: "lol thanks gmail is being slow right now"
Dialogue: 0,0:06:58.38,0:07:00.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now if you think about it, that's not funny.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:00.12,0:07:03.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No one's laughing. (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:07:03.02,0:07:04.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And yet, there it is, so you assume
Dialogue: 0,0:07:04.99,0:07:06.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there's been some kind of hiccup.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:06.35,0:07:08.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then Susan says "lol, I know,"
Dialogue: 0,0:07:08.18,0:07:10.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,again more guffawing than we're used to
Dialogue: 0,0:07:10.48,0:07:13.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when you're talking about these inconveniences.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:13.71,0:07:16.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So Julie says, "I just sent you an email."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:16.46,0:07:18.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Susan: "lol, I see it."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:18.01,0:07:21.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Very funny people, if that's what LOL means.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:21.62,0:07:23.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This Julie says, "So what's up?"
Dialogue: 0,0:07:23.75,0:07:26.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Susan: "lol, I have to write a 10 page paper."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:26.40,0:07:28.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She's not amused. Let's think about it.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:28.71,0:07:31.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,LOL is being used in a very particular way.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:31.39,0:07:35.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a marker of empathy. It's a marker of accommodation.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:35.08,0:07:38.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We linguists call things like that pragmatic particles.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:38.33,0:07:42.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Any spoken language that's used by real people has them.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:42.17,0:07:43.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you happen to speak Japanese, think about
Dialogue: 0,0:07:43.94,0:07:47.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that little word "ne" that you use at the end of a lot of sentences.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:47.30,0:07:49.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you listen to the way black youth today speak,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:49.65,0:07:51.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,think about the use of the word "yo."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:51.43,0:07:53.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Whole dissertations could be written about it,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:53.38,0:07:55.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and probably are being written about it.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:55.65,0:07:59.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A pragmatic particle, that's what LOL has gradually become.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:59.45,0:08:03.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a way of using the language between actual people.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:03.50,0:08:06.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Another example is "slash."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:06.74,0:08:09.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, we can use slash in the way that we're used to,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:09.50,0:08:11.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,along the lines of, "We're going to have
Dialogue: 0,0:08:11.14,0:08:14.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a party-slash-networking session."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:14.63,0:08:16.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's kind of like what we're at.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:16.72,0:08:20.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Slash is used in a very different way
Dialogue: 0,0:08:20.26,0:08:23.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in texting among young people today.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:23.22,0:08:25.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's used to change the scene.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:25.07,0:08:28.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So for example, this Sally person says,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:28.02,0:08:29.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"So I need to find people to chill with"
Dialogue: 0,0:08:29.82,0:08:31.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Jake says, "Haha" --
Dialogue: 0,0:08:31.34,0:08:34.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you could write a dissertation about "Haha" too, but we don't have time for that —
Dialogue: 0,0:08:34.23,0:08:36.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Haha so you're going by yourself? Why?"
Dialogue: 0,0:08:36.72,0:08:39.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sally: "For this summer program at NYU."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:39.33,0:08:42.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Jake: "Haha. Slash I'm watching this video with suns players
Dialogue: 0,0:08:42.22,0:08:44.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,trying to shoot with one eye."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:44.02,0:08:45.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The slash is interesting.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:45.30,0:08:48.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don't really even know what Jake is talking about after that,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:48.45,0:08:53.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but you notice that he's changing the topic.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:53.19,0:08:55.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now that seems kind of mundane,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:55.01,0:08:56.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but think about how in real life,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:56.45,0:08:59.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if we're having a conversation and we want to change the topic,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:59.11,0:09:00.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there are ways of doing it gracefully.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:00.72,0:09:02.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You don't just zip right into it.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:02.44,0:09:06.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You'll pat your thighs and look wistfully off into the distance,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:06.64,0:09:10.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or you'll say something like, "Hmm, makes you think --"
Dialogue: 0,0:09:10.75,0:09:13.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when it really didn't, but what you're really --
Dialogue: 0,0:09:13.11,0:09:15.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter) —
Dialogue: 0,0:09:15.34,0:09:18.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what you're really trying to do is change the topic.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:18.05,0:09:19.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can't do that while you're texting,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:19.98,0:09:23.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and so ways are developing of doing it within this medium.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:23.71,0:09:25.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All spoken languages have what a linguist calls
Dialogue: 0,0:09:25.96,0:09:29.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a new information marker -- or two, or three.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:29.35,0:09:33.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Texting has developed one from this slash.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:33.65,0:09:36.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we have a whole battery of new constructions
Dialogue: 0,0:09:36.63,0:09:39.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are developing, and yet it's easy to think,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:39.22,0:09:41.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,well, something is still wrong.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:41.67,0:09:45.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's a lack of structure of some sort.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:45.44,0:09:47.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's not as sophisticated
Dialogue: 0,0:09:47.35,0:09:49.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as the language of The Wall Street Journal.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:49.55,0:09:51.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, the fact of the matter is,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:51.33,0:09:53.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,look at this person in 1956,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:53.78,0:09:56.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and this is when texting doesn't exist,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:56.06,0:09:57.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I Love Lucy" is still on the air.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:57.90,0:10:01.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Many do not know the alphabet or multiplication table,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:01.66,0:10:02.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cannot write grammatically -- "
Dialogue: 0,0:10:02.100,0:10:05.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We've heard that sort of thing before,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:05.20,0:10:09.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not just in 1956. 1917, Connecticut schoolteacher.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:09.20,0:10:11.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,1917. This is the time when we all assume
Dialogue: 0,0:10:11.90,0:10:15.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that everything somehow in terms of writing was perfect
Dialogue: 0,0:10:15.15,0:10:17.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because the people on "Downton Abbey" are articulate,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:17.56,0:10:18.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or something like that.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:18.78,0:10:21.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, "From every college in the country goes up the cry,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:21.72,0:10:24.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,'Our freshmen can't spell, can't punctuate.'"
Dialogue: 0,0:10:24.35,0:10:26.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so on. You can go even further back than this.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:26.76,0:10:29.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's the President of Harvard. It's 1871.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:29.94,0:10:32.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's no electricity. People have three names.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:32.49,0:10:34.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Bad spelling,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:34.91,0:10:38.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,incorrectness as well as inelegance of expression in writing."
Dialogue: 0,0:10:38.18,0:10:40.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he's talking about people who are otherwise
Dialogue: 0,0:10:40.33,0:10:42.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,well prepared for college studies.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:42.22,0:10:44.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can go even further back.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:44.07,0:10:47.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,1841, some long-lost superintendent of schools is upset
Dialogue: 0,0:10:47.92,0:10:51.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because of what he has for a long time "noted with regret
Dialogue: 0,0:10:51.10,0:10:54.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the almost entire neglect of the original" blah blah blah blah blah.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:54.60,0:10:59.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or you can go all the way back to 63 A.D. -- (Laughter) --
Dialogue: 0,0:10:59.89,0:11:02.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and there's this poor man who doesn't like the way
Dialogue: 0,0:11:02.27,0:11:03.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people are speaking Latin.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:03.50,0:11:06.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As it happens, he was writing about what had become French.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:06.65,0:11:13.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so, there are always — (Laughter) (Applause) —
Dialogue: 0,0:11:13.05,0:11:15.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there are always people worrying about these things
Dialogue: 0,0:11:15.22,0:11:18.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the planet somehow seems to keep spinning.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:18.50,0:11:23.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so, the way I'm thinking of texting these days is
Dialogue: 0,0:11:23.14,0:11:26.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that what we're seeing is a whole new way of writing
Dialogue: 0,0:11:26.72,0:11:28.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that young people are developing,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:28.35,0:11:32.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which they're using alongside their ordinary writing skills,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:32.11,0:11:35.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that means that they're able to do two things.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:35.28,0:11:38.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Increasing evidence is that being bilingual
Dialogue: 0,0:11:38.17,0:11:40.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is cognitively beneficial.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:40.41,0:11:42.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's also true of being bidialectal.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:42.56,0:11:45.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's certainly true of being bidialectal in terms of your writing.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:45.65,0:11:50.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so texting actually is evidence of a balancing act
Dialogue: 0,0:11:50.57,0:11:53.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that young people are using today, not consciously, of course,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:53.87,0:11:57.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it's an expansion of their linguistic repertoire.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:57.56,0:11:58.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's very simple.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:58.79,0:12:02.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If somebody from 1973 looked at
Dialogue: 0,0:12:02.50,0:12:06.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what was on a dormitory message board in 1993,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:06.60,0:12:08.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the slang would have changed a little bit
Dialogue: 0,0:12:08.44,0:12:10.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,since the era of "Love Story,"
Dialogue: 0,0:12:10.26,0:12:13.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but they would understand what was on that message board.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:13.57,0:12:16.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Take that person from 1993 -- not that long ago,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:16.29,0:12:19.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this is "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" -- those people.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:19.55,0:12:21.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Take those people and they read
Dialogue: 0,0:12:21.92,0:12:24.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a very typical text written by a 20-year-old today.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:24.82,0:12:27.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Often they would have no idea what half of it meant
Dialogue: 0,0:12:27.71,0:12:31.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because a whole new language has developed
Dialogue: 0,0:12:31.64,0:12:33.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,among our young people doing something as mundane
Dialogue: 0,0:12:33.93,0:12:36.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as what it looks like to us when they're batting around
Dialogue: 0,0:12:36.20,0:12:37.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on their little devices.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:37.88,0:12:41.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So in closing, if I could go into the future,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:41.54,0:12:45.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if I could go into 2033,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:45.91,0:12:48.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the first thing I would ask is whether David Simon
Dialogue: 0,0:12:48.83,0:12:52.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had done a sequel to "The Wire." I would want to know.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:52.72,0:12:55.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And — I really would ask that —
Dialogue: 0,0:12:55.70,0:12:58.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then I'd want to know actually what was going on on "Downton Abbey."
Dialogue: 0,0:12:58.79,0:13:00.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That'd be the second thing.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:00.30,0:13:02.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then the third thing would be,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:02.84,0:13:06.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,please show me a sheaf of texts
Dialogue: 0,0:13:06.03,0:13:07.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,written by 16-year-old girls,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:07.99,0:13:10.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because I would want to know where this language
Dialogue: 0,0:13:10.44,0:13:12.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had developed since our times,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:12.40,0:13:16.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and ideally I would then send them back to you and me now
Dialogue: 0,0:13:16.03,0:13:18.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so we could examine this linguistic miracle
Dialogue: 0,0:13:18.55,0:13:20.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,happening right under our noses.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:20.90,0:13:22.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you very much.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:22.41,0:13:27.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)
Dialogue: 0,0:13:27.58,0:13:31.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you. (Applause)