What Texting Owes To The Literary Enlightenment

Chris Addison explores the links between modern-day text-speak and the language of the 18th-Century Literary Enlightenment. He examines the expressive elements of text language, or 'textese', and how it can be seen to echo a ludic art form that became popular in the Romantic era, via insights found in the letters of Jonathan Swift and later works by Lewis Carroll and James Joyce.

Featuring contributions from authors Will Self and Ian Rankin, poet Scott Tyrell and Professors Jeremy Tambling, John Sutherland and David Crystal.

The links between text-speak and the language of the 18th-Century Literary Enlightenment.