Response to Van Kooten

Overall, I think that Van Kooten makes a very good point that if society is not careful, computer mediated language can potentially degrade formal English language--if we allow it to. This youtube video reminded me of something that I read in Delpit's article a few weeks ago. There was a teacher in Alaska who taught two forms of English in her classroom. One language was formal English, and one was the English spoken at that dominantly Native American town. The children knew that their local language slang was acceptable when they were with family, friends, and people from their culture because everyone could understand one another. However, the children were also aware that when they were out in the real world trying to find employment or be accepted into a good college, they would have to use formal English. I think that the same goes for computer mediated language. It is ok to use it when you are emailing or texting family and friends, but when you are sending something like a business email or an email to a professor, you should write it while using formal English.