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I don't know when text messaging started becoming popular because I wasn't paying attention and I wasn't involved with it. In my opinion, it was a mistake for text messaging to be incorporated with cell phones because people have become lazy, using abbreviations, acronyms and Internet slang instead of using correct spelling and grammar.
I don't know what or who's responsible, but the introduction of kids cell phones has made matters even worse. This is leading to a degradation of languages worldwide and if you haven't noticed, you're living under a rock.
Internet and Cell Phone Slang
If I laugh and send you a text messaging containing "LOL", do you know what it means? How about "ROTF", "WTF" or "FTW". It's a sad day when I have to ask young people what something that I'm not familiar with means. Heck, it wasn't until I saw "Nacho Libre" that I realized that combinations of "x" and "o" mean kisses and hugs (with uppercase meaning big and lowercase meaning little). I had already seen it at the bottom of text messages and computer instant messages and was clueless before watching that movie.
Just in case you're as lost as I am most of the time, here are those abbreviations again and what they mean:
- LOL – Laughing Out Loud
- ROTF – Rolling On The Floor
- WTF – What The F***?
- FTW – For The Win!
Of course, there are tons of combinations being used as well, like "ROTFLMAO" which means "rolling on the floor, laughing my ass off". These are the abbreviations that have been around a while and there are some that I still haven't figured out, especially the newer ones invented by kids.
Cell Phone Service Robbery
The problem stems from the fact that cell phone providers charge by the message and each message is usually limited to 140 characters. People try to stuff as much as they can into that 140 character limit to incur the least amount of charges. Who can blame them? The cell phone companies are making a fortune off of people who primarily use text messaging and it's highway robbery considering how little it costs those cell phone companies.
Flat rate text service subscriptions mitigate the cost, but the fees are ridiculous to begin with. Regardless, cost is no excuse to promote illiteracy, especially when Internet slang is being used in the real world. Someone left me a note once and it was signed with Internet slang. Please! How lazy can a person get?
Words are Power
Words are power when combined with a large vocabulary. You don't hear motivational speakers or other speakers you respect using "net speak" or Internet slang, do you? Of course not!
Would you be reading this article right now if it was filled with Internet slang you're not familiar with? I wouldn't and I'd be ashamed to publish an article like that, except maybe as a humor piece making fun of Internet slang.
If Internet and cell phone slang annoys you as much as it does me, I challenge you to use it as little as possible. Nothing bothers me more than trying to decipher things that shouldn't need deciphering. While I can understand text messaging on cell phones using restrictive acronyms and abbreviations, I can't stand to see it in Internet forums or on blogs or other places where people are not charged by the message or character.
I and my wife exchange text messages via Yahoo Instant Messenger when we're not talking by voice using Skype. Neither one of abbreviates anything. We may misspell something between the English and Tagalog translations, but it isn't intentional. If we can do it, given the obvious language barrier (English being her second language while being my first and Tagalog being my second language while being her first), then anyone can. That is, if you really want to.
Notes:
I'll add notes here as I see people searching for certain terms:
1) RT is my first two initials. If you get a text message with RT on it, it doesn't mean it's me. RT stands for "Re-Tweet" in Twitter and could also mean "reply text". Other than that, I have no idea.
2) More test slang:
- BRB – Be right back
- BTW – By the way
- CUZ – Because or cousin
- PO – Pissed off
- R – Are
- U – You
- UR – Your
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Hi RT,
Phone are for talking on. I'm refusing to pay an extra $5 a month or $.15 per message to be able to text. And I don't like learning new things. So I'm not joining the "texting" revolution. They can keep their LOLs for now. I'm staying under my rock!
Of course, I also refused to use ATMs when they first came out because I didn't trust them… Steve, the crotchety trade show display guru
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Now the people prefer use text messages instead make a call and I hate that, I think the communication is very poor when you talk trough text messages so I only use them when I have to say just a little message like I'll be there in 5 minutes or something like that.
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I hope people will not forget good grammar even when texting.
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Great point, whenever i get one of those messages i just reply back: LOLWTFBBQ
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I prefer to use text messages instead make a call and I hate that. I send messages when necessary and it is more cheaper than call.
In my opinion, the following usage of text messaging language is most annoying when used online:
When I think about how many languages die every year and how people like to play around with words that aren’t even real when they talk, I do get scared for the survival of the English language as I know it. I believe that things like 1337 speak and shortening of text to get your short message in there are things that damage any language. But I don’t believe that this started on the internet.
I think someone needs a nap and a cookie. Kids using slang is not the end of good grammar or proper English.
There is a concept called code switching, it is when people switch from one type of idiom to another depending on context. So, for example, a kid that uses L33T speak, ebonics, or pidgin among their peers will know to use proper English say at school or work.
Now, granted, some people are better at code switching than others, and some people are not learning proper English properly, but these are problems remedied by good education, not by railing against whatever idiom is popular in the day.
I know what you mean! Many times I am on forums and trying to figure out what they are saying! I have figured out the basic ones, and I am known to use LOL occasionally in response to something funny. But, I see no reason to use it so much!! I can't imagine using those abbreviations on my blog posts on toddler crafts!! That would be crazy-do people really do that?!!
Yeah, it's quite hard to keep up with all the kids' new lingo. Everyday the list just keeps on getting longer.
I think it's okay to use shortened words or phrases on text messaging, just as long as we don't forget to use those words in full when we're not texting.
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