Is language evolving or devolving?

Over the course of human existence, society has continued to evolve and adapt in ways that favor the needs and interests of the time. Therefore, it can be extrapolated that language and communication among people has also transformed in order to fit in the context of the time. For example in the Elizabethan era, during the height of such writers as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, the predominant form of entertainment for the average citizen was attending the local theater. In these plays props were scarce, thus playwrights needed to rely heavily on language in order to illustrate the scene within the minds of the audience. As a result, eloquent and descriptive vocabulary and sentence structure were utilized in order to get the most out of the performance. In contrast, the focus of modern society is often efficiency and productivity; what needs to be accomplished, and what is the optimal method of ensuring said task is completed? In such a world as this, it makes no sense to spend additional time, energy, and resources to make language look or sound a certain way; as long as it gets the point across it's good enough. A common example for modern day communication is often drawn from instant text messaging, other wise known as texting (the word itself is an abbreviation!). If you look through the messages of an average teenager with even the slightest sliver of a social life, you will likely find small abbreviations and phrases rather than fully fleshed out clauses. In order to keep with the fast paced, action packed nature of modern society phrases such as "talk to you later" may be condensed to simply "ttyl". Furthermore, "lol" is an abbreviation of "laughing out loud" serves to function as an expression of emotion, sarcasm, hyperbole, or one of many other long forgotten figurative devices. 

Thus, when evaluating the question "is language evolving or devolving" it is important to take in to consideration that language and communication are constantly adapting in order to fit the needs of the communicators (that's us!). In terms of eloquence and fluidity, language has devolved from the time of Shakespeare and Marlowe when it was an expectation for literature rather than a decorative afterthought. However in terms of communicating in a fast and efficient manner, language is currently leagues ahead of where it had been in any prior century. Language and communication will continue to change alongside mankind as time wears on, however what will never change is language's ability to accommodate the needs of those who use it.