China could lose its character(s)

One of the oldest written languages in the world is in danger of being forgotten. People in China send text messages more than any other population in the world, and many experts believe that this could lead to its people forgetting how to write Chinese characters. The phenomenon has been called, tibiwangzi: literally (take pen, forget character).

Barbara Demick, Beijing bureau chief of The Los Angeles Times, has been following this story. She says this is a cultural crisis — a population that can’t write in its own language.