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Following on from the previous post (“A Revolution in Writing“), the question was, “Is the pressure exerted by market forces (to constrict web content to pursuing the particular objective for which it was put online) good for the English language?”

I believe it is a factor that tends to benefit the English language. But it has to be seen in context, where there are a number of factors arising from the popularity of the internet that work against the interests of good English.

Deliberately mis-spelling words for the sake of commercial individuality and market share had been going on for many years before the internet came along. It still is. For example, advertising placards frequently contain words that are deliberately mis-spelt. Text messages usually contain words mis-spelt for the sake of brevity and saving costs. No wonder school children are leaving school (here in England, at any rate) barely able to spell the most elementary words.

These are the future custodians of our language. If fewer and fewer people can spell, or even read properly, what hope has English of surviving as a language, let alone the pre-eminent language of the world?

So by all means lets keep the internet – the greatest forum for the exchange of information and ideas ever invented – a lively place where there’s never a dull moment. But let’s save our precious language at the same time.

Philip Gegan