Murder? It's not murder - it's progression!

There are a lot of new-age linguists putting poison pen to wasted paper at the moment, spouting off about how 'text-talk' is not killing the English language. It's merely progression, they say.

Progression, smrogression.

If the English language were a man - an actual living, breathing man - charges in court would be gross negligence, harassment and attempted man-slaughter.

A somewhat nut-shell example, but the below should illustrate:

1600's

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?


Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,


And summer's lease hath all too short a date:


Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,


And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;


And every fair from fair sometime declines,


By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;


But thy eternal summer shall not fade


Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;


Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,


When in eternal lines to time thou growest:


So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,


So long lives this and this gives life to thee.

20th Century

You're a bit like summer, 

But probably a bit better. 

Summer is short and eventually disappears -

But you'll always be lovely. 

I think you'll still be quite fit with wrinkles. 

Now

M8, luvin ur gear atm

Luk amzn!!

UR lke sumr, 

Bt, u'll b btfl 4eva!

Enough said?