What does "ritN eng" mean to you?

This book's cover "stpd" me in my "ritN" and "editN" tracks.

Was it a published work which never met an editor? The official handbook of the International Creative Spellers Association? Or could this be expressed in ... text-message language (a.k.a., SMS)?

Jeremy at shape + colour explains:

Swiss graphic design and new media student Clément Gallet lays it all out it his new communication manifesto “ritN eng iz ded”. In it, he posits that the speed of communication is moving too fast for our traditional written word system, and he gives suggestions on how to streamline language to work better with our new communication methods: texting, Facebook wall posts, and Twitter.

One very successful novel has already been written completely in SMS. What will written language look like in 50 years if society's fast pace and technology's insistence on brevity win out?

Via NOTCOT

Comments

[Johnny B.]

Reminds me a lot of 1984.. 'Oldspeak' ..

On cell phones, it's one thing - "c u" conveys the point correctly - but unless I'm really in an enormous hurry (and even then) I would hesitate a lot before writing something in ebonics.

Fortunately, I don't see language becoming completely undermined. Most people leaving comments -- well, many of them -- still have an appreciation for the written word.

IMHO (FYI).
TTYL. jfb.

[Johnny B.]

PS. I meant 'Newspeak', not 'Oldspeak' .. I also meant to comment that hesitating to write in SMS ruins the whole point of one's doing so-- but apparently I was in too much of a hurry to finish the thought.

As life speeds up, perhaps our words will remain more or less intact, but our thoughts themselves will become incoherent.

j f b.

[KG]

Johnny B. — I agree; we'll still largely find that "appreciation for the written word" online. If people didn't love to write, none of us would be here and email, blogging, etc. wouldn't be as popular/necessary as it is! People need to communicate and express themselves.

Newspeak! 1984 continues to be relevant. And speed does make thought incoherent. It's important we find slow-down time amidst the speediness so we can remember how to think!

Nice to make your acquaintance online, and many thanks for your comments!