The problem with hybrid speech-text communication

“Let us eat, Grandma”;”Let us eat Grandma”. Grammar can save lives!

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

Call me a pedant, but I notice when Muck Rack writes “hoards” (of employees) rather than “hordes”. Or when an editor sends a text message about taking up the “reigns” (of a new post) rather than “reins”. Or when a university teacher emails a breezy festive salutation, hoping “your all well” rather than “you’re all well”.

They should all know better, one would think, considering they’re in the business of words and the accurate transmission of that intangible thing — ideas.

But the lack of linguistic precision is acquiring pandemic force. It’s troubling and I’m not alone in blaming social media and text messaging for the declining emphasis on grammar, punctuation and spelling.

We are living in a new age of speech-text hybrid. While everyone is, by any measure, writing more — texting, tweeting, posting on Facebook and Instagram — the style resembles speech rather than written communication. People write texts and posts much as they speak — there are l…