Texting has added a new dimension to language use, but its long-term impact is negligible. It is not a disaster.

Research shows that those kids who text frequently are more likely to be the most literate and the best spellers, because you have to know how to manipulate language.

Word books traditionally focus on unusual and quirky items. They tend to ignore the words that provide the skeleton of the language, without which it would fall apart, such as 'and' and 'what,' or words that provide structure to our conversation, such as 'hello.

Anyone interested in language ends up writing about the sociological issues around it.

Text messaging is just the most recent focus of people's anxiety; what people are really worried about is a new generation gaining control of what they see as their language.

You don't talk to a linguist without having what you say taken down and used in evidence against you at some point in time.

Swearing makes an excellent relief mechanism