Speaking, writing, and signing are the three ways in which a language lives and breathes. They are the three mediums through which a language is passed on from one generation to the next.

We are rearing a generation of kids who are more equitable and more understanding about the existence of language variety and why it is there.

Text messaging is just the most recent focus of people's anxiety; what people are really worried about is a new generation gaining control of what they see as their language.

Anyone interested in language ends up writing about the sociological issues around it.

Of all the mediums that influence language, I think film is the one that has the most effect. Not so much from the point of view of pronunciation and grammar. I don't think we pick up very many sounds and grammatical instructions from the films we see - but the catchphrases.

Passed down from generation to generation, storytelling was an art in my family.