The Effects of Jejemon Essay

Learning and teaching grammar is an important aspect of language learning. It is not enough to know how to translate words into different languages. One of the aims of language learning is to help students learn effective communication, thus learning the correct grammar is essential. As noted by many grammarians, studying a second language primarily consisted of grammatical analysis and translation of written forms. Developed for analysis of Greek and Latin, this approach divided the target language into eight parts of speech: nouns, verbs, participles, articles, pronouns, prepositions, adverbs and conjunctions. Learning the language required study of the eight categories in written text and the development of rules for their use in translation. However, when 18th century grammarians moved beyond the Greek and Roman classics and began the study of English, again using the eight categories to generate grammar rules, it became clear that the parts of speech could not be used as effectively to analyze a language in which word order and syntax produced grammatical function and where rules often had multiple exceptions. Nonetheless, this traditional approach remained the basis of instructional pedagogy in the United States and England until recently (Howatt, 1984), and is still being used in a number of countries as the primary method of English instruction. This is  particularly true for many English as foreign language (EFL) classrooms, where English is learned mainly through translation into the native language and memorization of grammar rules and vocabulary. Today, grammarians have been able to use modern pedagogical grammars for teaching and learning. Pedagogical grammars generally describe the full structural complexity of any given unit (Swan, 1995), but significant differences may emerge in the distribution of potential elements in actual discourse. As mentioned, one of the defining characteristics of a modern pedagogical grammar is that it provides descriptive information which is helpful for learners of the language. With this definition, this paper will try to compare the helpfulness of two pedagogical grammars by describing the features of transitivity of verbs and passive voice. However, with the emergence of the jejemon languages, educational authorities are trying to convey its effect on the students. According to UrbanDictionary.Com, it is anyone with a low tolerance for correct punctuation, syntax and grammar. This definition is limited to the linguistic style of Jejemons. But in reality, Jejemon is a new breed of hipsters who have developed not only their own language and written text but also their own sub-culture and fashion. For brevity, I will limit this article to Jejemon language, which for lack of grammatical â€Å"canon† on how to call it, I will call it the â€Å"Jejenese† and their alphabet, â€Å"Jejebet. The Jejenese is not just confined to Pinoy Jejemons. Just before I wrote this, I played â€Å"Warcraft† and found a European opponent who enjoys typing â€Å"jejejeje† in a very wide context, much to my disdain as he sabotages my online quests. Another group of foreign Jejemons, although their Jejemonism seems so trivial to actually classify them as Jejemons, are the Thais who type â€Å"hahaha† this way: â€Å"5555.† You will see a lot of these in your Thai friend’s Facebook status messages. Since, the number 5 translates to â€Å"ha† in Thai, as explained by my friend Pakorn Dokmai. I’m sure many of you have personal encounters with other foreign Jejemons, be in Manila or abroad. So we can assume that Jejemon is a worldwide phenomenon. Text messaging is the first ever evidence that the Jejemons are not just fictional creatures; they really emerge. They have a set of eyes (and obviously the time) that can easily decipher the word hidden in jumbled letters, alternating capitalization, over-usage of the letters H, X or Z and mixture of numeric characters and our normal alphabet. To be able to understand Jejenese or to Jejetype is definitely a skill. In a commentary, â€Å"Intellectualizing a Language,† by Dr. Ricardo Ma. Nolasco published on June 13, 2009, in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, he said that: â€Å"We will never be able to develop our languages for higher thinking unless we begin basic literacy and education in them.† With the prevalence of Jejemon, will the long process of intellectualization of our Filipino language be held back? I believe that the answer depends on one’s lenience with the Jejemons. Just as whether or not the Jejenese and the Jejebet wreak havoc on major languages depends on how one perceives Jejemonism. The Jejemons find their place in their world by finding a clan, or a regular group of people they text and talk with in Jejenese. Regardless of whether they know each other or not, they will talk to other members of these clans and even meet up with them in Jejelands (frequent hang-outs). STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 1. Where did the jejemon word came from? 2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of jejemon? 3. Who are the persons involved in this state? 4. How does this method affect the other’s? 5. What are the ways to prevent its disadvantages? BODY 1. Where did the jejemon word came from? Jejemon is a pop culture phenomenon in the Philippines. According to Urban Dictionary a Jejemon is a person â€Å"who has managed to subvert the English language to the point of incomprehensibility.† The Philippine Daily Inquirer describes Jejemons as a â€Å"new breed of hipster who have developed not only their own language and written text but also their own subculture and fashion. The origins of short-handed typing was through the short messaging service, in which each text message sent by a cellphone is limited to 160  characters. As a result, an â€Å"SMS language† developed in which words were shortened in order to fit the 160-character limit. However, some jejemons are not really â€Å"conserving† characters; instead, they are lengthening their message. On April 14, 2010, on a Pinoy Tumblr, a post about vice presidential candidate Jejomar Binay indicated that he was the Jejemon’s preferred vice presidential candidate, complete with a fake poster with him called as â€Å"Jejemon Binay.† Later the use of word jejemon to refer to such people made rounds in various Filipino internet message boards. The Jejemons are said to be the new jologs, a term used for Filipinos of the lower income class. The parameters of being classified as a Jejemon are still unclear, and how the different â€Å"levels† of â€Å"Jejemonism† are reached, although there are named levels such as â€Å"mild,† â€Å"moderate† and â€Å"severe† or â€Å"terminal. The sociolect of the Jejemons, called Jejenese, is derived from English, Filipino and their code-switched variant, Taglish. It has its own, albeit unofficial, orthography, known as Jejebet, which uses the Filipino variant of the Roman alphabet, Arabic numerals and other special characters. Words are created by rearranging letters in a word, alternating capitalization, over-usage of the letters H, X or Z. Superfluous as well as the presence of silent letters characterize its spelling convention. It has similarities with Leetspeak, primarily the alphanumeric nature of its writing. 2. What are the advantages and disadvantage of jejemon? That has been the question on everybody’s mind ever since a picture of presidential aspirant Gilbert Teodoro holding a sign declaring that he would send all jejemons back to elementary school started circulating on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. But even before making its debut on Urban Dictionary, the word â€Å"jejemon† has been making sporadic appearances elsewhere on the web. On Pinoy Tumblr, for instance, â€Å"jejemon† appeared on a post made on April 14 about vice-presidential candidate Jejomar Binay — complete with a fake campaign poster calling him â€Å"Jejemon Binay†. It makes an even earlier appearance on the My Ragnarok Online Forum. In a post that went up on March 14 entitled â€Å"Jejemon ka ba?†, user Deviluke points out that most jejemon wear baggy clothes and sport jejecaps – rainbow caps usually worn backwards and just placed on top of one’s head. Artuji.com points out that â€Å"jeje† enjoys popular usage among Spanish-speaking countries as a word to denote  laughter. â€Å"Jejemon† sprung from its combination with the subculture spawned by popular Asian anime, â€Å"Pokemon†. NEW POP PHENOMENON Administrators and members of Gotta Kill ‘Em All, Jejemon seem to agree that the term â€Å"jejemon† was first coined a month ago, but the behavior attributed to jejemon was around for much longer. â€Å"This kind of typing started when text messaging became famous and they used it to shorten long text messages,† says Kahel, one of the administrators of Gotta Kill ‘Em All, Jejemon. â€Å"I first encountered them in high school. Mobile messaging was the newest and hottest technological trend then,† says 24-year-old quality analyst Aldrin Fauni-Tanos. â€Å"Like dinosaurs, their existence preceded their discovery and categorization.† MAJOR IRRITANT CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY http://cellphones.about.com/od/phoneglossary/g/smstextmessage.html (http://aids.gov/using-new-media/tools/text-messaging/) http://ipod.about.com/od/iphonesoftwareterms/g/sms_definition.htm http://cellphones.about.com/od/phoneglossary/g/smstextmessage.html http://computer.howstuffworks.com/e-mail-messaging/sms.htm http://saaammieee.blogspot.com/2010/02/text-messaging-advantages-and.html http://voices.yahoo.com/advantages-disadvantages-text-messages-329419.htm http://www.ehow.com/about_4745121_advantages-text-messaging.html http://www.ask.com/question/disadvantages-of-text-messaging http://post.jagran.com/search/disadvantages-of-texting#sthash.mVyFr3Fh.dpuff http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/what-some-disadvantages-text-messaging http://elitedaily.com/news/world/disadvantages-texting/ http://www.ehow.com/info_8593619_disadvantages-text-messaging-speaking-e http://enc1102finalproject.blogspot.com/ RECOMMENDATION In this research, as the researchers, we therefore recommend that before we use to do shortcut text messaging, we should know our limitations in using it. It is better to consult first the guidance of the old ones, the persons expert of using cell phones and the persons who are involve in all technology so that it will be easy for us to know information’s about it in order to avoid it’s disadvantages. Yes, it is good to use cell phone because of the benefits that it will give unto us but come to think of the reality that it really have also some barriers that may lead us to failure in the goals that we have. Learn first on how you will manage to familiarize using the method. Such method may lead to failure on success. Lastly, we recommend to the readers to try reading this research of ours and apply the guide or rules we have research for your queries regarding the use of shortcut text messaging.