comment by b

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comment by b_b

b_b · 4618 days ago · link · · parent · post: 10 most challenged books of 2011

Twain was, first of all, already quite famous when he wrote HF; you have to show you know the rules before you can break them. Second, he was purposefully trying to shed light on illiteracy that was rampant among rural youth and blacks.

I don't know if Ms. Myracle was trying to shed light on illiteracy among today's youth, but using text/IM speak would be a good way, I suppose.

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zebra2 · 4618 days ago · link ·

I'm not convinced that textspeak can be synonymous with illiteracy. There are tons of people that use texting shorthand just because it's good for that. While there may be some that don't know better, I don't think it makes sense to assume illiteracy through textspeak. Either way, the dialect of HF didn't become the status quo, why have that concern here?

Knowing the rules, as in knowing English grammar, is a petty task. It's especially arbitrary to need to show it through fame. And as you should know, the merits of artistic works don't ride on their author's fame or history.

You're conflating your own concerns over the sanctity of language with the mission of an artistic work. Ignoring unsavory aspects of reality is absolutely not the mission of art, so attacking the work on those grounds is pretty futile.

+discuss+discuss

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b_b · 4618 days ago · link ·

I wasn't being literal. "Knowing the rules before you break them" is a figure of speech. It means that unless people know you're a serious person with something to say, using an alternative format just makes you look stupid. It may be an unfair critique, but it reminds me of a Banksy quote: "All artists are willing to suffer for their work. But why are so few prepared to learn to draw?" The same applies here. There is an inherent beauty to sentence structure, not just content that is completely lost in shorthand texting and messaging.

I did a quick academic literature search for how IM affects literature. Interesting results. It appears that lots of IM and texting give kids more confidence in writing, increases their vocabulary and (surprisingly) spelling skills, but that it decreases reading comprehension and the ability to distinguish non-standard from standard English. Mixed results, it seems.

+discuss+discuss

thenewgreen · 4618 days ago · link ·

I don't know if Ms. Myracle was trying to shed light on illiteracy among today's youth, but using text/IM speak would be a good way, I suppose. This seems highly unlikely) . This is unfortunate because this does seem like it could be a valid literary device used to highlight an emerging form of illiteracy or at the very least an emerging communication style. But it turns out it's just a bs teenie novel.