Floccinaucinihiliphilification

Randomness about words. This is not a complete essay, it has not been proof read even by me, this is just a simple exercise in observation.

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Academic language, 1337 speak, txt msg, thieves' cant; Language is used as a means in which to descriminate, to keep a specific group of people seperate. In some cases it is easy to see the reasons, and desired effects.

Thieves' cant was used in Britain in the 1500's as a way for criminals to discuss crimes, and potential victims in realtive safety. In this case it becomes incredibly easy to see the intended use; to allow conversation that prevented law enforcement and good samaritans from putting a stop to illegal activities. Now Thieves' cant is relegated to fantasy fiction, and role playing games.

Txt msg is a set of rules for abbreviation that are designed to allow rapid communication with minimal risk of the details of the message being descovered by those outside the txt msg world. In many cases this means parents. POS means many things, in many forms of life; in txt msg is means Parent Over Shoulder, signifying that the nature and speed of the conversation will be altered to make it more difficult for the parent to understand or follow the conversation.

1337 speak; a series of number characters and symbols designed to remove the non-computer savvy from the conversation. Many claim that 1337 or LEET speak is used by hackers as a form of communication, yet the majority of this form of conversation is limited to chat rooms and video games. The name is derived from the term elite, taking meaning that the person is of above average skill or ability. Even the name of the language is set in such as way as to cause a separation of people.

While not all inclusive, this list is completed with quite possibly the most disturbing examples of language segregation. Academic Language is by far the worst perpetrator, of intentional segregation, on this list. Attempting to disguise itself a s modicum of normalcy, Academic language achieves a specific goal, keeping the educated and the uneducated distinctly separate. Simple use of language in the academic setting creates a slowly evolving feeling of community; as your time withing academia progresses this level of community, of belonging, grows to a strong feeling of camaraderie amongst the intellectual. While inherently good, this inevitably creates a rift between those that live and grown within academia, and those who never enter its waters.

I have no idea why I am writing about this, I am not up in arms wanting a change in the way things are. I am not asking that academic language change to fit the common vernacular of everyday conversation. I am just asking that we realize what is occurring, and then consider the effects of such events.

Well that certainly won't do.

I sat down with the intention of posting in a thread on my guild forums. That thread was a get to know each other thread entitled "Let's Discuss Ourselves!" What began as a simple task turned into a bit of rambling, and ended up being in no where near the direction I was interested in it going. So here it is, my first blog post on a site I feel will never have many followers.

I am 6 days from 29 (at the time of this post.), I am older than most my instructors, and the people that are supposed to be considered my peers are barely gaining the right to legally drink. The bulk of my social circle is in academia and under the age of 25, as such I tend to date young. My last three girlfriends (I hate that title.), have not been old enough to drink. I tell people I am an English Major, but that is the simple explanation, I am a writer, but not the kind most imagine. I am a Composition Theory Major, I study academic writing and the essay. I have a passion for the written word, and several opinions on it that are not necessarily popular. I have ADD, I drink, I game, I write. Yet none of this actually describes me with any meaning. Words on a page are designed to cause a person to think, to analyze, to attempt to understand. Trying to explain a person in simple words suggests that they are capable of being captured in a medium that many have devoted their lives to trying to master, and have fallen to wayside without ever achieving the level of understand they originally sought. So let's try to get this back on topic. I am Andrew D. Snow, I am a writer, a gamer, a lover, and a space cowboy. Pens are amazing, good paper a must; and yet I still cannot write as much as I should. My life is blessed, my journey is fun, I am a Snow, and that is a title more than it is a name. I wear my name with pride, as a badge standing out against the darkness.

I am Snow.
I Write.