AS AN ENGLISH MAJOR, MANY PEOPLE like to assume that I’m defensive of language. They like to believe that when I see “you’reâ€Â transformed to “ur,â€Â I’m offended on some deep level.

So to some of you, this will come as shock, but I don̢۪t really take issue with it. In fact, I̢۪m pretty okay with many of the changes to written English that have come with the growth of text messaging in Western culture.

Really, if I have any problem with “ur,â€Â it’s that there isn’t a good way to distinguish “you’reâ€Â from “your.â€Â

Still, it isn’t as though we don’t have this in standard English — “readâ€Â and “read,â€Â for instance. I’ll leave it to you to guess which form is present tense and which is past tense.

I think I have the right idea though — people who spend their academic careers looking at texts over a large span of time should be most willing to accept the changes that text-speak presents.

Certainly, not many English majors I know bemoan the changes our language has undergone since Chaucer.

I haven̢۪t heard anybody plead for a return to Spenserian English, even within the major.

The fact is, language changes, and it’s generally in the service of facilitating more efficient communication. It’s hard not to see the same thing in the abbreviation of “areâ€Â to just “r.â€Â

So embrace the changes as they come. Someday, a class full of English majors will probably thank you for it.

Mathew Gomes is a senior majoring in English and music composition.