Textspeak is an informal term for the abbreviated (缩写的) language used in text messaging and other forms of electronic communication. In the digital age, it’s common to hear how textspeak is ruining language. Some people argue that technology has made us lazy about how we speak and write.

Of course, language does change when it’s used digitally. Textspeak is an evolution of language. It’s even the focus of a field of linguistics (语言学) called CMC, which is committed to the study of interaction facilitated by technology like computers, mobile phones and tablets.

Contrary to the idea that these innovations are aggravating language, CMC demonstrates a creative repurposing of symbols for technology. These swift and clever evolutions illustrate the flexibility of language and its capacity to communicate meanings not relating to words.

People have been complaining about language being “ruined”. In A.D. 63, for example, a Roman scholar complained that students of Latin were writing in an “artificial language”. In fact, this writing was a new language that would become French! Similarly, in 1871, the then-president of   Harvard University said,“Bad spelling, incorrectness, inelegance of expression in writing, and ignorance of the simplest rules of punctuation... are far from rare among the young who are well-prepared for college studies.”

Today, people are able to communicate rapidly using a wide variety of tools and technologies. Perhaps no linguistic development better indicates changes in the ways we communicate than the popular emoticon (表情符号). It is a visual representation of a smiley face turned sideways. Although an emoticon may look like a smile, a frown or any number of facial expressions, it doesn’t really represent a face. Instead, it’s intended to convey a feeling, such as “I’m happy” or “just joking”.

So, far from ruining language, the example indicates how people can now communicate complex feelings in a simple manner. This kind of change is perfect for our modern, fast-paced world.

Short video applications are not only developing rapidly and successfully in China, but gaining more strength as people across various age groups and geographical locations are using them to kill time, record lives, and even make a fortune.

Douyin, the most popular short video app in the country, said on Monday that the number of daily active users on its app had risen to 400 million by January, 2020. That represented awhoppingrise from the 250 million recorded during the same period a year ago. Such an achievement is successful, considering that the app first appeared in 2016.

People of almost all ages use the app, and they double as both viewers and content creators, the company said. For instance, those in their 50s were. more keen on creating dance-related videos and enjoyed watching video clips on wedding scenes. Those born in the 1980s liked recording childhood memories with phones and watching beautiful scenery while teenagers and younger customers were keen on videos about animes (日本动漫), comics (漫画) and cute pets.

As an emotional bond, Douyin saw 1.76 million new born babies, 180,000 college entrance exams, 380,000 graduations and 7.09 million shares, of weddings as users chose to record and upload videos of these important occasions in their life onto the platform.

With flowers increasing at high seed for top influencers, businesses are also sensing marketing opportunities. This year more marketing dollars will be given to short videos for better contact with customers and the creation of interesting content, according to Maggie Wang, president of data marketing technology firm AdMaster.

“For social marketing, it has become more important to create original content,” she said. “It’s highly likely to turn clicks into cash if the contents are to viewers’ tastes.”