The increasing use of slang language is having a negative impact on society.

Thank you for excepting this debate. Firstly I would like to say that I do not believe that abbreviations should not be used when texting for general speed, I purely object to the overuse of slang language being spoken in society today. Slang language is clearly effecting grades and not just in English; we are assessed on our grammar and punctuation in other subjects as well. The constant use of abbreviations and text speech starts to show in writing. I can personally say I have seen people write abbreviations in their English work at school. This is because people spend such a vast amount of time developing new shortcuts and leaving out punctuation that they can start to forget and indeed miss out basic punctuation for instance apostrophes. The use of this text speak also effects spelling as the important rules are forgotten. There are plenty of designated systems and rules for the English language which everyone is taught to remember but society use such a large amount of slang every day that these rules are being quickly forgotten. This applies particularly to the younger population as these are the people who are developing these new abbreviations and use them with such fluency that basic rules are forgotten. But please remember I am not suggesting that this applies to everybody in the younger population. I think your point about slang language helping us to communicate efficiently is a valid one which I partially agree with however, it has also occurred to me that sometimes slang language can be misinterpreted and arguments can arise over simple grammatical errors which change the meaning of the sentence. Additionally, I have noticed that it is becoming increasingly difficult to understand whether somebody is making a joke or if they are serious. An example might be 'soz' which is supposed to be a shortened version of the word sorry, but when somebody apologises using this abbreviation it can be difficult to work out if they are being sarcastic or genuinely truthful. When it comes to slang language the problems don't only exist in written work but they can effect the whole speech of a person. These abbreviations for example:' ikr' which stands for I know right, when actually spoken can sound a little muddled and don't make a lot of sense. This can also be passed on into writing. I think you have a good point about finding a balance between slang and using the proper English language and I understand how some people can find that balance. Nonetheless throughout life you will always find those people who just don't care and they won't find a balance as they believe it totally unimportant. You mentioned reading to help find a balance which is perfectly credible but then again you get to those people who have no interest in reading as they believe it a trivial life skill. This brings me to mention why the English language is so important. It is vital that we learn to use it correctly as we have to pass two English papers successfully at GCSE. Though it might seem that the English marks don't account for anything they are essential to help us move on to a good university and get a job and strong career. This is why I think slang language is having a negative impact on society.