Name: John McWhorter: Txtng is...
Uploaded: 2025-11-06T09:42:47.671Z
Description: yourself or a group of people talking. That's what speech is like. Speech is much looser. It's much more telegraphic. It's much less reflective -- very different from writing. So we naturally tend to think, because we see language written so often, that that's what language is,

Telegraphic relates to obsolete communication tech; understand its past relevance.

Historical Technology

Used in technical or historical contexts, often discussing old communication methods.

Technical Context

'Telegraphic' is rarely used in everyday language today due to changes in technology.

Obsolete Term

Telegraphic style conveys information with a minimum of words, like in the old telegrams.

Brevity in Messages

The style emphasizes directness and clarity without unnecessary details.

Direct Communication

While concise, telegraphic doesn't imply rudeness; context determines tone.

Not Always Rude

Used in sports to describe movements that indicate what a player will do next.

Sporting Tells

In non-sports contexts, it implies predictability that can lead to transparency.

Predictable Actions

 yourself or a group of people talking. That's what speech is like. Speech is much looser. It's much more telegraphic. It's much less reflective -- very different from writing. So we naturally tend to think, because we see language written so often, that that's what language is,

John McWhorter: Txtng is...

 unmonitored way we tend to speak in word packets of maybe seven to ten words you'll notice this if you ever have occasion to record yourself or a group of people talking that's what speech is likes speech is much looser it's much more telegraphic it's much less

Telegraphic

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