Is CMC killing our English language?

Examples of textspeak

CMC means computer mediated communication which is how we communicate using technology. An example of CMC are text messages.

Some people might say that because of CMC we are killing the traditional English language as we make up new words. M.A.K Halliday would say that language changes according to the needs of its users. If there is a lexical gap, a word is invented to fill it. John Alego agrees with Halliday ,as he says we need new words for new inventions and technology, this made Alego create a classification of the new word formations such as: Loans, Shifts, Composites, Creations, Blends, Shortenings.

In the 1990s the limit of characters in mobile phones to send messages was 160, which meant that the less characters you write the better, this created textspeak. As well as before everyone had to press the keypad buttons many times to spell out a word and there was no auto correct which meant that textspeak was so much easier and quicker. 

Professor David Crystal, who is a linguist, have said that textspeak doesn't affect English language in any way. In the 1800s people writing poems have used their own way of text speak as they didn't want to write out full words, an example is Shakespeare. As well today's teenagers use textspeak with friends but still know the right words and they also know in which situations they can use textspeak, which means that they don't always use textspeak.