Trends: Twitter Changes Language Much Like the Telegraph Did
The New York Times has a great piece up about how much as the telegraph changed writing back in the 19th Century, so might Twitter do the same today. This chart from 1891 illustrates how phrases were condensed down into single words to adapt for what then was a new medium. Could "RT" become something we use in everyday speech?
Twitter, of course, would get credit for RT, but I can't see it catching on in speech. How would you even use it in 'real life'? There's a comedy spoof waiting to be written here about some friends at a pub, and one 'retweets' the first one's speech to the others, ad infinitum.
"Hey Joe, I was talking with Steve, and he told me that the written word is being butchered."
"Hey Joe, RT Steve the written word is being butchered."
Look at how much more concise my speech becomes!
http://www.amazon.com/140-Characters-Style-Guide-Short/dp/0470556137/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_cart_4
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