Blogue du RAEQ

Le président du Conseil supérieur de la langue française, Conrad Ouellon, a fait preuve d'audace en opinant que le texto ne nuit pas à la qualité du français (La Soleil : Le «texto» n’est pas une menace pour le français). C'est aussi mon opinion, que je ne suis pas seul à partager. Il y a un bon moment que je compile des sources afin d'approfondir la question. En attendant, je me contente de présenter ici le contenu de mes archives, histoire de faire contrepoids au barrage de protestations que cette déclaration risque de soulever.

- The Guardian : 2b or not 2b? | Despite doom-laden prophecies, texting has not been the disaster for language many feared, argues linguistics professor David Crystal. On the contrary, it improves children's writing and spelling.

- BBC: Expert says txt is gr8 4 language | A linguistics expert has rejected claims that texting by mobile phone is bad for language and literacy skills.

- Kent State University : Instant Messaging, A New Language? | The language of instant messaging was found to be informal, explicit, playful, both abbreviated and elaborated, and to emphasize meaning over form and social relationships over content.

- Technology Review : Literacy and Text Messaging | Ongoing research is indicating that text messaging and instant messaging often vary with changes in the rhetorical situation. In other words, when someone texts or IMs someone who is not a close friend, or when the message is about something more serious, the grammar and spelling become less abbreviated and more conventional.

- CNN : New Zealand students may 'text-speak' in exams | New Zealand's Qualifications Authority said that it still strongly discourages students from using anything other than full English, but that credit will be given if the answer "clearly shows the required understanding," even if it contains text-speak.

- CNN : Re: Book written in txt msg | A novel whose narrative consists entirely of mobile phone text messages has been published in Finland.

- Totally Wired : Seven Reasons You Should Text Your Teen | Cingular also enlisted help from psychologist Dr. Ruth Peters (who authored the texting guide as well) to articluate some reasons why texting can actually help parent/teen communication. She came up with seven.

- PBS Teachers : Should Schools Teach SMS Text Messaging? | Kids today are exposed to a much bigger range of languages than we were in the pre-digital era. Thinking about SMS is actually a way of thinking about English, standard English and about the way it works, the way it’s different from these other languages that students are very familiar with.

- Globe and Mail : Texting helps teens' grammar | University of Toronto researchers have found that teenagers are not losing what they learn in English class, but rather demonstrating a mastery of formal and informal language when chatting on-line with friends.

- BBC : Texts 'do not hinder literacy' | A Coventry University study of 35 11-year-olds found those who texted frequently also scored highly in school tests and in standard spelling tests.

- TechDirt : Txt Spk In Schools Not A Big Deal | In 2003, there was a study that showed that all this writing online was actually making kids more comfortable with writing in general. In 2004, a study showed (like this one) that with a little instruction kids easily understood the difference between texting and writing. In 2005, a study actually found that kids were better writers than in the past "using far more complex sentence structures, a wider vocabulary and a more accurate use of capital letters, punctuation and spelling" even if they sometimes let a txtism into their writing. And, in 2006, a study showed that students showed no ill effects from widespread text and IM messaging.

- PEW Internet : Writing, Technology and Teens | Teens write a lot, but they do not think of their emails, instant and text messages as writing. This disconnect matters because teens believe good writing is an essential skill for success and that more writing instruction at school would help them.

- San Francisco Chronicle : Why tlk whn u cn txt? | Among the more startling discoveries by experts tracking this trend is that young people feel they're presenting a more authentic self when they hide behind an electronic device.

(Billet retranscrit d'un blogue personnel)