Is texting killing the English language?

January 28, 2020

I grew up with a rather strict brother who did not take any nonsense when it came to writing the correct English in addition to attending ‘the’ school, St Theresa’s girls’ boarding school Namagunga which formed my English language skills. So I did not have the luxury of using colloquial English especially in written speech. I did not appreciate this until I saw the effect of ‘petty’ use of colloquial English later in my adult life. I mean jobs have been lost because of individuals using informal English speech.

In this 21st century where we are flooded with ‘grammarly’, smart phones that have auto correct it could not get any better. The other day I got a text from a friend of mine and it was very distractful reading it. [I now understand why I get irritated when I see a consistent grammatical error]. Anyway the text went like this;

Hey Lutgard, I hp yhu are ok. u hv bin so lost but this pik luks so nice. Anyway hv a good day.

Many friends in their defense say that they only do that for texts but not for school or exams. And I don’t want to be out there feeling like the ambassador of the English language. Now I subscribe to the school of thought that says once something becomes a habit, it will cost you too much to break it. Same thing works here, you will be writing an essay and before you know it, you have the ‘u’, ‘hv’, ‘nd’ showcasing and this will cost you lots of marks however smart and bright you maybe.

The most bizarre thing is that every one seems to interpret these abbreviations their own way. More less like the new sensation, the emojis. (this will be a story for another day). On ‘debate.org, this topic earned a 50,50 score as to whether texting is killing the language. It is interesting to see people’s views, you may want to see this for yourself; https://www.debate.org/opinions/is-texting-killing-language

Here are my top ways on how to beat this habit and get yourself on a healthier relationship with your English.

Make your informal engagements as formal as you can.

It does not matter whether you are texting your mother, brother, girlfriend, boyfriend or tutor. It does not hurt to write ‘and’ instead of ‘nd’ just and that missing ‘a’; throw those abbreviations to the bucket unless it is inevitable. The time you are trying to save by writing ‘idk’ instead of ‘I don’t know’ is costing you that school paper or that interview for your next job placement.

2. Remove or suspend Auto-correct from your settings

Call me backward or a hater for innovation but here is what I am saying. Removing or suspending that auto correct from your phone settings will get you to be more alert to what you write and how you write it. No one wants to embarrass themselves so am sure you will be more keen to write it right once the hideous red underline appears.

3. Proof read before running to ‘grammarly’

Let us face it, we are in a very fast paced millennium and this has not spared our literal skills. Sometimes you don’t need ‘grammarly’ at all. All you may need is a second read through. if you are tired, take a 30 minute rest from that text then come back to it. This may not apply to all situations but it does for school work and report writing.

I will leave you with this famous quote from Mahtama Gandhi

Where did it all go?

January 24, 2020

For the larger part of 2018 and 2019 there are trends that came and had their time and they seem to have taken a vacation to some place no one knows. And being a nutritionist I will talk in the line of health and lifestyle

Okra — ‘The lady’s fingers’

First it was okra, there was a time where you would not move 100 meters in Kampala without seeing a girl with a water bottle that contained some green french bean like things in her bottle. The water would be slimy but that did not matter. As word would have it most took it with the promise that it is a very good lubricator and who would not want to make things better down there hence the popularity of this vegetable. Whether it delivered this promise or not we don’t know but towards the end of 2019, it seemed to have lost it’s fame. Here are some of the benefits of okra, and based on these you will decide whether to give it one more chance or not.

Did you know that Okra is actually a fruit? A fruit is defined as anything that contains seeds and since Okra has seeds it qualifies to be a fruit, but because it lacks the sweetness of a mango or a strawberry, it is regarded as a vegetable.

2. Okra is also known as ladies’ fingers perhaps the reason it is famous among the female generation.

3. When storing okra for later use, never wash it as the moisture will cause it to become slimy. Instead, put in a paper bag and refrigerate.

4. Okra doesn’t have to be cooked to be eaten. This is why many opted to put it straight away in drinking water.

5. This small vegetable is a superfood. It is low in calories, but high in calcium, protein, carbohydrates, fat, fiber, and magnesium. It also contains a good dose of vitamins C, K, and A, and can enhance the immune system.

6. Okra has many health benefits and has been found to reduce asthma symptoms, prevent diabetes, relieve constipation, and help those suffering from exhaustion and depression.

7. Okra can keep skin smooth and help prevent pimples as well as rejuvenate hair. For your hair, just slice okra horizontally, boil until it becomes very slimy, cool the brew, mix with a few drops of lemon, and then rinse your hair out with it.

So the ball is in your court, now that you know of what benefit okra is, you may decide to bring it back to your diet or not.

Chia seeds

This was another that took the country by a storm though this was mostly attributed to the aggressive marketing that was done by those that were dealing in it. Given its relatively fair affordability the market was flooded with these small black and or grey things. It was a wonder food many were told. But again like all things, they come and have their time and in a short while the excitiment is gone and we move on. So here is what you did not know about chia seeds

1. Chia seeds are a nutritional punch made up of protein, fat and dietary fibre. In addition there is a mountain of minerals including calcium, magnesium, iron, and phosphorous.

2. Tiny as they are, chia seeds are packed with loads of fiber. They have about 20% of the fiber which is soluble. The beauty about soluble fiber is that it promotes a healthy digestive system by feeding the good microbes in your gut.

3. Chia seeds have a capacity of absorbing alot of water which means they bulk up and give you a full feeling for longer. So many on weight loss journeys, this is a very good way to deal with those hunger spells.

Let us not throw away trends before we get the best from them as much as possible. I will soon share some of my favorite recipes using okra and chia seeds. Be on the look out.