I keep seeing this in the news– articles where teachers around the country are worried because their middle and high school students are turning in essays and papers that include leek speak in place of properly spelled English words and correct syntax.
Some teachers are worried that students the constant leek speak used in IMing and text messaging is ruining some students’ ability to spell. While of course it’s a benefit to know what those abbreviations mean when texting or messaging, they also need to know those terms should not show up on a job resume, application, or in formal writing.
Other teachers feel we should applaud those students for coming up with a more efficient language that will benefit them in the ever-increasing tech world.
Personally, I’m not sure it’s anything to be worried about. I agree that it’s important for everyone to understand a common language and realize that when properly written, it’s not acceptable to substitute the number “4″ for “for” or “fore.” And if students aren’t understanding that, then yes, I agree there is a literacy problem. If they do understand the difference, and don’t understand that it is acceptable to spell that way in a text message, but not in your college term paper, that is also a problem. Most of us understand that we speak differently when talking to our friends than we do when we are speaking formally to someone interviewing us for a job. Those of us who don’t get that, usually don’t get the job.
Hard to say. I guess time will tell…
ur 2 kul bebe
ACTUALLY studies are showing that kids that use leek spell better, it’s mostly because they do so much chatting and typing that they write much more than at any time in history improving spelling and grammar.
I don’t know how we go from writing much more to improving spelling and grammar. Just the act of writing more doesn’t help you spell words correctly that you never knew how to spell correctly to begin with. And abbreviating those words doesn’t help you spell either.
The only things that help you spell better are: 1. avid reading and therefore exposure to words you don’t know and must learn using the context of the sentence; 2. understanding spelling rules, and 3. actually memorizing the spelling of words that break the regular spelling rules (hence the reason they still give spelling tests in elementary school).
I don’t agree with that, I mean we chat and write so much more.. as a direct line of communication. Most people do not want to look stupid because they can’t spell something correctly. Also with spell checkers now becoming inline with the chat (like in this comment box) when ever something is wrong it tells me and I click on it and see how it is spelled.. and I try and remember that the next time I need to spell that world.. (I suck at this tho).
Actually, people remember things better by writing them down… that is actually proven. Looking at how spellcheck changed your incorrect spelling doesn’t help you remember the right way to spell something. It actually does nothing to help you memorize that word.
And people don’t look stupid because they can’t spell something. Leek speak has actually taken away that stigma because basically anything goes as long as the sounds the letters or numbers make, help you decode which word someone is trying to convey.
School actually teaches people to be smart, when the hell did this start?
Actually, school can’t teach you to be smart. Smartness is related to acumen, not acuity. Acumen refers to a person’s ability to learn (like I.Q.). Acuity refers to how much they know (like book smarts). School can teach acuity, which a lot of people associate with “smartness.” But you can be “smart” without being “educated.”
So this actually applies to this situation… learning to spell words is acuity, and understanding that there are certain times it’s appropriate to spell that way, and certain times when it isn’t, is acumen. Either way, in order to know when the time is appropriate, you must have the acuity to know that there is more than one way to spell– leek speak and proper English spelling.
Not to get too technical… I’ve been carrying that around in my brain for years just waiting for an opportunity to explain it.
I don’t know about that.. I spend everyday wishing I would have paid more attention in high school.. because all the things I thought I wouldn’t need.. now bite me in the ass.. so I think school can make you smart.. or at least add to your overall brilliance. ( which would be the case with me )
I was being sarcastic, but thanks for the info anyway Christine.
I have complete disdain for people who use txt speak, l33t speak in normal conversation or in any form other than sms. While it is understandable in that situation since sms is limited to certain noumber of characters and charges are per message, in other places, especially on the internet and email or academic settings, where there is no such charge, there is no excuse for using such spellings except laziness!
And most frustratingly to me, my younger brother tends to use such language even with me. I tried to correct him but then realised that sometimes I Was being too strict and elderly with him so stopped. I knew it was a tide I could not change since it was the language used on IM and in txt chat
AJ… just curious… how many languages do you speak? Fluently and non?
And Ben2, I did get that it was sarcasm… but I decided to use it as my platform to discuss acuity vs. acumen anyway since none of our other posts seem to be heading in a direction where I can work it in.
Gotta take the shots that come to you… and the ones that don’t… well, swing anyway, right?
I speak 3 languages. 2 I can fluently read, write and speak and one I can read (slowly) and speak semi-fluently
I hope your not counting English AJ
lol j/k ( incase the humor was lost on you )
He’s just jealous, AJ, because he only speaks one language and you spell it better than he does.
Nah.. I’m not so good. Though I would love to get as good as you! You are absolutely amazing. Remember those essays you edited! When I saw the corrections you had made, my jaw dropped each time because they completely redefined the essay. Made them more powerful!
=D> ^:)^
How sweet are you! Thanks!
Minor quibble, but it is leet speak, as in elite. A leek is a vegetable and a member of the onion family (and tasty). As AJ said, “l33t”.
Not all that minor, someone has finally corrected Christine on a grammar or spelling related point! I’ve been waiting years for this, I can finally die in peace.
Hey Scotty, thank you for pointing that out! Now, if you’d mentioned to Christopher he spelled an actual word that’s found in the Merriam Webster wrong, he’d launch into a diatribe about how lame people are who correct spelling. I, on the other hand, appreciate being told when I’ve spelled something wrong– which is why, before I wrote the post, I called Christopher. Our conversation went like this:
Me: Hey babe… what’s that called when you write with numbers and letters all mixed up like on chat?
Christopher: Leek speak.
Me: Leek speak?
Christopher: Yeah.
Me: Really? (pause) Like L-E-A-K?
Christopher: No… I think it’s L-E-E-K.
Me: Hrmmm… okay. Thanks, honey.
Christopher: Sure, babe.
So then… in my infinite wisdom, decided to look up “leek speak” in google to make sure he was right. When I saw that the first page had tons of “leek speaks,” I figured he was right since other people were using that term and added it to my repertoire with the erroneous “k.”
I thought it was probably Christopher either not knowing how to spell it (which is my fault since I should have considered the source when I asked a spelling question), or maybe he just wasn’t really listening when we had the conversation (also common with Christopher), but after seeing his last comment, I now realize he intentionally sabotaged me so that I would spell it incorrectly.
Thank you, SCOTTY, for being the one to point it out.
That kind of sounds like a conversation we might have had.. however it’s hard to be positive.. the girl sure has a vivid imagination.
Hence the “he wasn’t really listening.” It’s usually a safer bet to count on that, than to assume I imagined the whole thing…
Speaking leek does not help nor deter from a child’s ability to spell. The mere act of reading and writing helps either way. Speaking Leek makes it easier for children to communicate faster with friends or family across the nation or in other countries. Like never before, children can communicate with family members in other countries or online friends that may live in Germany or England or any other country. This may make the world a better place because they may learn to understand other countries traditions and maybe there will be less war. As today’s children and teens grow up, they will have a better understanding of other cultures and HOPEFULLY, have a littler more tolerance for different beliefs. That being said, I do not believe children spell better for chatting in Leek but they certainly do not spell any worse. Increasing their typing skills will better prepare them for today computer driven society. I think people put too much emphasis on memorization. After all, do we really need to memorize everything or isn’t it more important to be able to FIND the answer. Give a person a fish they eat for a day teach them to fish the eat for a life time
oh and it’s Leet not leek
Originating in the early 1980′s, leet speak was first used by hackers as a way to prevent their websites/newsgroups from being found by simple keyword searches.
Leet speak grew and became popular in online games such as Doom in the early 1990′s as a way of suggesting that you were a hacker (h4x0r), and therefore to be feared.
Leet, or 1337, is a short form of “elite,” commonly used by video gamers to suggest that they are skilled.
You are right about it being “leet” and not “leek,” Debs… check out the thread above your comments and you’ll see that was already established and how the misspelling occurred…
But yes, interesting thoughts… so maybe the saying should go “Give the person a computer and they’ll leet until the computer dies, but teach a person to build a computer and they can leet forever…”
Well… as long as computer parts are available.
And there’s an internet connection.
hahaha yes as long as computer parts are available and of course there is an internet. I don’t forsee either of those going away any time soon.