I own a smartphone

Indeed with the worldwide craze about people owning a smartphone, our little paradise in the sun wasn’t spared and so wasn’t I!

It changes your life completely when you actually own one of these technology wonders. In my case, it literally made my PC  seem like obsolete !

What still amazes me is how I am experiencing real ubiquitous computing thanks to my smartphone. Although most of apps I use are social apps, it has really enabled me to enhance contact and communication with people around me.

I still find it quite incredible how I may be hitting the streets in Mauritius and be in touch with a friend abroad, something which was possible before only on Skype on my PC at home!

Today, I may interact more easily and quickly with anyone thanks to the different options available on a smartphone. I may ask my insurance agent to send me information I need in a mail even if I’m not at home and still forward these to my car leasing company without the need to be in front of a computer or a laptop!

I know,whatever I am writing here seems like old news for most of us but still I had to express my views on the subject.

As far as I am concerned, the use of a smartphone has recently seen a big leap in Mauritius and quite quickly the culture of using your smartphone more like a computing device than a mere calling device is spreading around…

Although we still are to acquire some local apps for local use like local newspaper apps for instance, the use of a smartphone is quite pleasant given you enjoy it. There are still those for whom a mobile phone is only to make calls and send smses.

In my case, my mobile phone is my full entertainment package – camera (Instagram), music, chat (Skype, Whatsapp, Facebook Chat, GTalk), social network (Facebook, Twitter, Google+), communication, mailing (Gmail), games (Angry Birds), geolocation (GMap and Foursquare), blogging (WordPress), online shopping (eBay and DinoDirect) and more… I can rarely get bored if this little wonder is around plus it has made instantaneous exchange of information may it be in form of messages, pictures or even recorded sounds or videos a reality!!!

Looking back in time, during my college days, where smses were still free and how we would spend houuurs texting friends, I consider that new generations have it even more enjoyable nowadays (provided they activated the 3G service) !!!

This technology world is really a crazy one, bringing people into one huge network where information is exchanged so rapidly and in such big volumes everyday! Imagine in the next decade, how things shall be. What am I saying, imagine in only 5 years from now! Incredible and wonderful indeed how man has been able to move from the Morse code to the binary world !!!

Is the texting language threatening other traditional languages?

The title might seem maybe somewhat ambiguous so let me explain myself first:

Texting Language – language used to send SMS or chat

Traditional Languages – any other languages coming along with a dictionary, syntax guidelines as well as grammar rules

So what’s my point? I just happened to wonder if texting language is getting more popular than other languages to the point of making new generations become oblivious of traditional languages…

it sure calls for debate. Still, texting language has brought a revolution in communication specially if we consider Mauritius where so many communities live together. How’s that? We, Mauritians, have developed the anility to mix in Creol,French, English amd even languages like Hindi in messages and that too without prior “schooling” in the subject. The amazing thing about it is though we all have our own way of writing our abbreviations and mixing up our words, we all really understand. So, could we think of it as a uniting factor?

The black spot though would be the over-exposure to this language, which would eventually lead to a decrease in the interest in other languages (specially that we know that very few people still enjoy reading books).

Yet, I don’t think it would replace other traditional languages because it’s far from being a formal language. However with things like chat forums, messengers, blogs etc… the use of texting language can incredibly increase and they can become fully integrated in our lives. An incredible spin off of the world going global as well as technologically advanced!

P.S: The picture illustrates a French book made specially for learning the texting language (Texto). Click here for more details.