The linguistics professor and moderate-liberal commentator writes about how technology alters language: "The new thing, however, is using the word 'hashtag' in conversation. Especially if you are under a certain age, you may be catching people saying things like, 'I ran into that guy I met — hashtag happy!' or, in response to someone complaining, 'My flashlight app isn’t working,' perhaps you have heard the retort, 'Hashtag First World problems!' A college student not long ago reported a favorite witticism to be appending observations with: 'Hashtag did that just happen?'"
He continues his commentary: "Given that Twitter, along with texting and instant-messaging, is so often thought of as a dire threat to the writing skills of the American adults of tomorrow — not to mention to the English language and therefore civilization itself — what in the world does it mean that people are now speaking in Twitter? Not much, actually. Twitter may be changing the way we talk but not in a way that is cause for concern. In other words: Hashtag chill out."
He ain't done just yet: "It wasn’t so long ago that the scourge of civilization was supposed to be the informal writing used by people composing e-mails. Thanks to 'thx' and other similar abbreviations, yesterday’s handwringers foresaw doom. The response to this today would seem to be: '#Sotenminutesago.' Language marches on, proud and unafraid."
John McWhorter: "Twitter Isn't The Scourge Of Civilization"
