A leading linguist has claimed abbreviating words in text messages is making youngsters ' spelling better rather than worse ( file image ) It was condemned as a 'digital virus ' with many fearing standards of literacy would plummet . But text speak has not been the disaster for language many feared and one leading linguist has claimed it actually improves people 's writing and spelling . Professor David Crystal , an honorary professor at Bangor University , said those who text regularly were found to be 'concentrating their minds ' on the relationship between sounds and written words . The linguist , who has written more than 100 books on the English language , pointed out a new generation is 'constantly ' reading and writing online . 'People say text messaging will harm your spelling . No ... It helps you to spell better , ' he said at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in Dubai according to the Daily Telegraph . 'This is because it focuses your mind on the connection between sound and letters . 'The best texters are the best spellers . 'People say young people do n't read and write any more . 'They may not necessarily read ... Shakespeare or Charles Dickens , but have you ever seen a teenager not reading ? 'Young people read probably more than I did when I was that age . ' He said the digital age had not necessarily heralded a 'linguistic revolution ' in the way critics had predicted and said the 'moral panic ' of the potential change has not been justified . Professor Crystal 's studies have found around 2,000 new words developed as a result of the digital age , including terms such as blog and twittersphere . He said additions have so far not had a major , or negative , impact on the English language , which has more than one million words . The linguist said many abbreviations such as ' c u l8r ' are not commonly used by modern teenagers . Professor Crystal also claimed that hashtags , used on Twitter , are simply a new method of managing and classifying information and were likely to stay . Professor David Crystal dismissed claims youngsters were not reading as much today as they had done in the past . His comments dispel previous claims abbreviated language was worsening teenagers ' grasp of the English language . In 2012 a study claimed the grammar standards of school pupils aged 10-12 had slipped as a result of constantly using shortened phrases . Researchers urged parents not to communicate with their children in text speak to avoid their abilities suffering more . Last year it was claimed Britons spent more time using mobile phones , computers and handheld tablets than they did sleeping . Information gathered by Ofcom , the television watchdog , found the average adult slept for eight hours 21 minutes but spent 20 minutes longer connected to technology .
Professor David Crystal said texting improves people 's writing and spelling . Youngsters are 'reading more than ever because they 're glued to screens ' Those constantly texting are 'concentrating ' on words and sounds , he said .