Is txting ruining language?

The short answer is No. It is additive, not subtractive. A friend gave me a heads up on this Ted Talk by linguist John McWhorter. The big idea is that texting isn't writing! It is "fingered" speech. It is looser, natural, less formal than writing. And it has its own rules and conventions -- highly creative! Language nerds: hang in there until minute 7:00 for his meta analysis of LoL and the use of the slash.