In linguistics, we emphasise flexibility, because language usage should always be appropriate for the situation. A bathing suit is fine on the beach, but it is not so suitable when you go out for dinner in a posh restaurant; and in just the same way, innovative, abbreviated, code-mixed language is absolutely fine for informal communication between friends, but it would not be suitable in, say, an academic assignment. As long as students understand this, I encourage innovative styles of writing.
I believe that blogging is a powerful medium that can accommodate a range of different styles. And I don't believe the medium should dictate the style, as that should depend on who you are writing for, what you are writing about, and what the purpose is.
Similarly, for emails: you have to see who you are sending the message to and what the purpose of the message is. I recently received the following in an email message from a student:
I need 2 ask u how can I explain my Q.3 n 4? Cuz i try 2 use bar chrt,but how cn i calclte? So cn i just list the most reson stated by the stdnts?I'm afraid that I wrote back saying that the question should be phrased in proper English before I would be willing to answer it. Am I wrong here? Has this abbreviated style of writing become the accepted way of sending emails? Am I being old-fashioned? Am I fighting a desperate losing battle against modern trends? (After all, I am probably the only person in the world who uses full sentences and even proper capitalisation in SMS messages! But then I don't send out too many of those.)
Once again, I think that email is a powerful medium that allows for a range of styles, and you have to see who you are writing to and what you are writing about. I don't claim that the usage in the email message above is "wrong"; it is just inappropriate when asking for academic advice from your university lecturer, and I felt it my duty as a teacher to point that out.
