Just as humans and all of earth’s creatures evolved over time to adapt to their needs, so has the English language. This can be seen today in text messages and social media posts, but is it a bad thing? David Crystal, author of the essay “2b or not 2b” would say it is not. Throughout “2b or not 2b”, Crystal argues that this change in language from texting is not harmful to the English language at all and actually has some advantages, such as a new style of literature in text poems and the fact that texting could actually improve upon children’s reading and comprehension skills. Crystal believes the general mass hysteria surrounding the new texting language as an attack on the proper English language is misplaced. While he does not meet the…show more content… In the beginning of his essay “2b or not 2b”, Crystal compares the effect a ripple has on a sea to the effect texting has on language. He says “A trillion text messages might seem a lot, but when we set these alongside the multi-trillion instances of standard orthography in everyday life, they appear as no more than a few ripples on the surface of the sea of language” (Crystal 189). While this is a great example of metaphor within Crystal’s essay, it is also a great example of effective use of diction. The word “ripple” is essential to the message behind this sentence Crystal wrote for his readers to see. A ripple in any body of water is not a major event. Despite it being caused by a disturbance, the effect from said disturbance is hardly noticeable. The ripple correlates throughout the pond, only existing upon the surface, and eventually the energy…show more content… The scientific evidence Crystal bestows upon him credibility in that his readers can see he really understands the topic at hand and that Crystal himself is very knowledgeable in the subject and knows what he is talking about. His word choice is perfect in stating his message clearly throughout the essay, choosing the perfect words to use in each sentence of his argument. Through his use of logos, David Crystal effectively taps into the readers’ senses of logic so that they can see firsthand what Crystal is stating before them. Combining all of these rhetorical strategies as well as others within his essay, Crystal makes an impression on all his readers, and while his argument may not be able to woo others away from the popular stigma of a steady decline in our society in terms of sentence structure and proper grammatical syntax due to texting, he effectively makes us think about how our technology is really affecting
