Learning SMS Language from Internet Natives

It39s called texting or SMSing for Short Message Service and chances are you39re already using it LOL IDK FML and WTF Laughing Out Loud I Don39t Know F My Life and What the F are possibly the four top text messaging shorthand quotwordsquot to emerge into the American lexicon Text messaging is in essence a language of its own It requires learning and practice like any other language in order to communicate effectively and be understood Many text abbreviations and 39words39 share a common meaning and interpretation Others continue to be added to the language by users The most common texts described above may soon be overtaken by SMH meaning Shaking my Head or Sex May Help TBH To be Honest and HMU Hit Me UpIt39s not uncommon for groups of teenagers or college friends to develop their own text abbreviations as part of a secret code decipherable only by members of their exclusive group This enables them to send secret messages between each other without others being privy to what they are sayingNetLingo and Urban Dictionary explain other popular text shorthand and remain the gotoplaces for an answer to the latest WDTM what does that mean shorthand The following chart includes some favorite terms in current useamp160Texting Dictionary amp8211 Favorite TermsACORN amp8211REALLY NUTTY PERSONASL AGE SEX LOCATIONBABY amp8211 BEING ANNOYED BY YOUBHOF amp8211 BALD HEADED OLD FARTBFF amp8211 BEST FRIENDS FOREVERBUMG amp8211 BARFING UP MY GUTSCOO COOLGAL GET A LIFEGSOH GOOD SALARY OWN HOME GOOD SENSE OF HUMORHMU amp8211 HIT ME UPIDK amp8211 I DON39T KNOWIRL IN REAL LIFELOL amp8211 LAUGH OUT LOUDLOTS OF LOVENBD amp8211 NO BIG DEALOMG amp8211 OH MY GODPRW PARENTS ARE WATCHINGROFL ROLLING ON THE FLOOR LAUGHINGSMH amp8211 SHAKING MY HEAD or SEX MAY HELP10Q amp8211 THANK YOUTISNF amp8211 THAT IS SO NOT FAIRTMI amp8211 TOO MUCH INFORMATIONTBH amp8211 TO BE HONESTWRU amp8211 WHERE ARE YOUs WHAT39S UP5 High five STARBUCKS amp8211 TALK TO THE HANDTexting Habits of a Generation18 to 24yearolds spend more time textingamp8211amp8211sending and receiving an average of 100 plus messages dailyamp8211amp8211than they spend on almost any other activity That39s just shy of 40000 texts per person per year a number that is more than double the comparable figure for 25 to 34yearolds and 23 times the figure for text messaging users who are 65 or olderJust over one in ten 18 to 24yearolds say that they send or receive more than 200 messages on an average dayamp8211amp8211that equals 6000 or more messages per month or a whopping 72000 in a yearLess Talking More TextingAccording to the 2011 Pew Research Study on Americans and Text Messaging active text messengers are much more likely to prefer texting to callingAlong with the increased use of texting Internet Natives have become phone adverse Making a simple phone call to request information place an order deal with a conflict or even speak to a friend or parent can be an exercise in futility The trend extends beyond US borders and includes places like Japan and Hong Kong where mobile technology has been more advanced and texting became the norm for young people several years ago According to the Pew Research study text messaging and taking photos are the most common nonvoice applications Americans use on their mobile phones However the use of texting is surpassing the use of voice calls among the Internet Native generation and the trend appears to be growing among other age groupsTexting Not So NewText messaging has been in common use for decades The use of abbreviated texts is common in hundreds of disciplines including medicine science business and the military The first quotFYIquot probably adorned a business memo more than a century ago Some of these common terms have become so embedded in our daytoday language that their actual meaning has been lost but everyone knows their intended meaning Examples include RSVP for quotRamp233pondez S39il Vous Plaamp238tquot and SOS for quotSave Our SoulsquotThe Study of TextingThe study of texting has existed longer than you might think In fact this field is already 20 years old with volumes of research in various linguistic subfields Computer Mediated Communication CMC is a new offshoot of the field Noted linguist Susan C Herring Indiana University defines CMC as quotTextbased interactive communication via the Internet websites and other multimodal formats including mobile communicationquot Currently most scholastic research doesn39t consider CMC computermediated communication as quotwritingquot However as texting becomes a more prominent form of communication and as voiceassisted writing gains accuracy researchers may need to redefine traditional views of quotwritingquotStudy Results Gender DifferencesIn terms of gender differences in texting research was done in a number of countries including Norway where teenage girls and young adults text most frequently Their messages were both greater in number longer and more syntactically complex 52 percent of Norwegian girls39 text messages contained complex sentence structures compared to 15 percent of the boys39 text messages A similar German study indicated these broad differences between girls and boys are common Girls are more likely to place emphasis on emotional exchanges contemplate reasons behind interpersonal incidents and discuss through text language how incidents have affected them Boys however typically place greater emphasis on speed their messages tend to be brief informative and practicalTexting A Negative InfluenceOutspoken opponents of text messaging include Steve Pain of the Birmingham Post and BBC Radio journalist John Humphrys They believe texting language has devastating effects on grammar sentence structure spelling and vocabulary In his comments on SMSing Humphrys demeans quottextesequot as promoting lazy and sloppy English language habits that hinder students from learning proper punctuation and grammarMany educators tend to agree with these findings believing that the text language system contributes to a decrease in interpersonal skills among teenagers and young college studentsThe new text language also raises some concerns about writing skills On the college level writing requires the use of correct grammar punctuation and spelling all nonessential in the world of texting Some educators worry that text messaging hinders the development of important skills including creative writing essay writing the ability to express personal viewpoints and many othersIn some schools the criticism of text language began when text slang began to appear in assignments and exams This was a natural byproduct of texting as an integral part of students39 lives indicating a need for students to learn the appropriate times and places for using this languageTexting Positive AspectsIn contrast to the criticism some studies show positive aspects of the new text languageFrancis Katamba professor of Linguistics at Lancaster University expressed his belief that texting is a means of enriching modernday communications by stimulating the thought processes Professional linguist and author David Crystal expressed positive findings in his research report Txtng the Gr8 Db8 Crystal concluded that SMS language did not promote a lower literacy rate nor did it cause bad spelling among those who used it On the contrary he pointed out that text messaging could actually improve young people39s literacy rates due to providing greater opportunity to practice their reading and writing skillsCrispin Thurlow and Michael Poff of the University of Washington point out that quotamp8230most empirical studies maintain that texting does not pose a threat to standard English teaching and learningamp8230Although there may be some diffusion of texting style into 39formal39 writing eg school work texters almost always recognize that language is context specificquotYoung people are inherently aware of key pragmatic considerations such as context relationship and communicative intent in their writing finding creative ways to be even more expressive through text language than they are able to be with traditional words and sentence structure Research also suggests that the creativity of texting poses little threat to spelling Tools such as automated spell checks have already decreased concerns about spelling literacy in realworld writing activities and this trend is likely to continueBeyond TextingNew voiceaided Artificial Intelligence AI technologies such as Apple39s Siri and Google39s Chrome platform will need to adapt to texting and understand requests made using the shortened languageOf course texting may find itself usurped with a life cut short or at best sidelined much as radio was overshadowed by television Texting language may ultimately prove to be a communications skill unique to the first generations to grow up in an Internet worldFuture generations will continue to develop communications technology designed to optimize voice recognition But even future voice recognition with its AI boost reaching very high accuracy levels has a flawamp8211amp8211lack of privacyamp8211amp8211so a combination of texting for interpersonal communications and enhanced voice messaging for search queries is likely to evolveFarfetched as it may seem future generations will be empowered with cognitive input and may merely have to think to generate messages on a holographic display There is always new technology waiting in the wings to advance the state of communicationsInto the FutureBeyond the academic what can we make of our emerging text language and the current crop of college age and younger practitioners Are they gaining efficiency of communication at the expense of sentence structure knowledge of grammar and basic writing skills And more importantly will this new communication style impact how this generation thinks writes and communicates beyond textingChapter 19 Impact of Wikis Wikipedia and WikiLeaks

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Learning SMS Language from Internet Natives

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