CURLY AND CANDID

I have worked with a client recently on an interesting topic which basically debated whether text speak (lol, l8r, pmsl etc) is damaging the English language.

I asked a few people on Facebook what they thought and the responses were varied and interesting so I am opening this up to more of you because I genuinely want to know what people believe here.

“LOL” is now included in the Oxford Dictionary

With the “is texting the root of all evil” debate there tend to be three camps of opinion:

Against

Text speak is the work of the devil. The English language is being butchered by people too lazy to use long hand. English, both spoken and written is a beautiful language and is being undermined by this fondness for breaking down perfectly good words and phrases. The common belief is that the declining standards of literacy in UK are partly caused by the widespread use of text speak.

For

What is the problem? It is quick, it is easy, it hurts no-one and it makes using social media sites (especially those with a limited character allowances such as Twitter) a lot easier.

Text speak is simply another form of communication, and a highly effective and much used one at that.

Smack Bang in the Middle

We’ve been communicating for thousands upon thousands of years and over that time our language has developed from grunts to the complex languages that are commonly used today. As part of the language evolution the way people have communicated has altered significantly and many believe that text speak is simply another addition, another style which over time will add to and advance our spoken and written language to the next level.

That said, text speak should be used appropriately. Having been sent formal documents, read job descriptions and received professional emails which include these popular abbreviations I have to say that while I have no issue with text speak on social media sites, in text messages and across other more informal communications it really doesn’t work when it comes to a job application or a letter to school.

I’m sitting firmly smack bang in the middle on this one. My question for you today is where do you stand on this issue?

Recently we’ve been looking at our finances with a different eye. We’ve been pondering pensions (being self-employed I need to sort this out!), savings and even investments. Finding your way through all of the information out there is like play hop-scotch in a minefield and so we’ve decided that at some point we will be looking at getting professional help to advise us.

A while ago I was asked to work on a project all about classic cars and how they make a great choice for investments. I absolutely LOVED the idea, especially when reading through my research at the return rates and besides, how sexy are classic cars??!

Up here in North Yorkshire we have access to some amazing events which feature classic cars and regularly see collectors and enthusiasts travelling through the town (my oldest used to shout “It’s BRUM!”) regularly. I’m not much of an expert when it comes to classic cars however I am more definitely a fan.

My oldest, Kieran next to an absolutely fab classic car

For those who are interested, I’ll share some of what I found when looking at classic cars as a possible investment option.

Basically, experts are telling us that the when investing your money in classic cars that you are pretty much guaranteed a good return. “Pretty much” is the best anyone may offer you these days as of course with any investment there is an element of risk. That said, over the past ten years or so the value of some classic cars has risen as much as 400%. That is a return hard to beat. Generally speaking fine wine, jewellery, watches and the other more common investment pieces are known to give a return of anywhere between 78% and 216% , impressive but £400 AND the opportunity to have your own classic car to stroke?

One case study I came across about investing in classic cars was about TV presenter / radio presenter Chris Evans. He bought in 2010 a Ferrari 250 GTO for (it was reported) ELEVEN POINT FIVE MILLION. Anyone would think spending that on a single car was insane to say the least until he sold in on two years later and netted an impressive £6.5million profit.

You don’t have to have millions of course to invest in classic cars as some models start out rather reasonably. Some people have a number of cars, polished daily and put away so as to protect their money as best they can, while others organise specialist classic car insurance and enjoy their investment piece. We’d probably be the latter and knowing our luck scratch or dent the car to the extent that we’d lose out however the option is there and down the road we’ll definitely consider it.

Fact and figures aside what would you love to invest in? Google seems a safe bet, classic cars a very good bet even; what about something quirkier? Let me know (I’m nosy!).

Is Text Speak Ruining the English Language as We Know It?

Classic Cars and Investments