Partial rant about the verb “to be”
I was thinking recently about how I talk in text.
(Wait, back up: I’m one of those people who likes to send text messages instead of talk. My “phone” is really a wireless telegraph. Okay? Okay.)
Anyway. When I text, I drop the verb “to be.” Viz.:
- “I here”
- “You pretty”
- “That crazy”
Now: I am not one to be sloppy or slangy with my text messaging. I don’t say “LOL” or “OMG.” I typically correct typos before I hit “Send.”
So I started thinking about why my text messaging lacks what we’ve been taught to believe is a key verb. I mean, seriously:
- “I am”
- “You are”
- “That is”
These are expressions of a fundamental concept, right? And there must be something deficient in my written expression if I’m omitting them.
Or maybe not. Maybe the idea is so fundamental that it’s always already implied. That is: if we can speak (write, text, etc.) about something, it must already be — at least in concept, if not in material fact.
And so maybe the semantic ROI on “to be” has been overstated.
Maybe it really not worth typing.
Oct 19, 2011 @ 8:25 pm
