“MOM, bk l8. Str8 to lib. TTYL.” When Annie received this text message from her 19-year-old daughter, she was at a loss as to what it meant. “The only word I understood was “mom”. The rest looked like alien language to me. I had to call my daughter and ask her to explain the message.” All her daughter wanted to convey was that she’d be home late as she was heading for the library straight after class. TTYL? Talk to you later.
If you are like Annie, dazed and confused about text-messaging abbreviations, then join the growing club of likewise people. With the surge of exchanging messages over email, Facebook, mobile phones and Twitter, millions of these barely understandable text words are today flooding the new media.
Made popular by tweens and hi-tech geeks, these abbreviations have been acknowledged as the new lingo in Information Technology talk between youngsters wanting to communicate quickly and easily.
Believe it or not, a study recently found that children who constantly use text abbreviations when messaging friends are not poorer readers and spellers.
Researchers at Britain’s Coventry University revealed that when text abbreviations such as “Cu l8r” and “Wot u doin 2nite?” are used often, they might actually improve literacy in young people.
The researchers looked at the number of textisms that 88 children aged 10 to 12 used in messages and then sized up their reading ability. Their findings showed that those who used more abbreviations were better readers.
According to an article published in Wall Street Journal, both the AP Stylebook and Merriam-Webster Dictionary recognised texting shorthand for the first time in their 2009 editions. The AP Stylebook has included IMO (In my opinion), ROFL (Rolling on the floor laughing) and BFF (Best friends forever) in its edition. Merriam-Webster has defined LOL (Laugh out loud) and OMG (Oh my God).
Annie’s daughter says short form texting allows for easy and fast message typing. The teen says it is such a hassle to type every single letter in a word, especially if the word is too long.
“I know that it is not a proper language and some of my friends discourage their children to text like that but it is a growing trend, so whether I like it or not, I have to keep up with it. I have to admit I don’t know all the meanings but I am slowly getting there. Most of the time, I have to call my girl to understand what the texts mean,” laughed Annie.
Taking it a little further, Annie has also surfed some websites that explain the meaning of the text message abbreviations. Just as she was getting the hang of it, new ones made their way into the list.
Amira Zulkifli, 22, uses text-messaging abbreviations when she sends messages to her mother on her mobile phone.
“I started using short form text messages with her about two years ago. At first, she was confused with the terms BTW and LOL. So she asked me what they meant. Now, she uses it when she text messages her friends.” On concerns that using the abbreviations would affect teenagers’ grasp of languages, the law graduate said it actually depends on the individual. She only uses it for text messages or in her emails to friends but never in academic settings — such as in assignments or exams.
“My friends and I only use it for fun and simplicity. I’m sure there’re others who also know the difference and would not let it affect their understanding of the language.” With the increasing number of text-message abbreviations used by teenagers, parents have been advised to get familiar with the terms and meanings. In the United States, it was found that teenagers have been using text-message slang to avoid their activities being detected by their parents. It was found that one in four American kids use such lingo to warn their chat friends of prying eyes.
For example, MOS means “Mom over shoulder”, CD9 (Code 9) for when parents are around, PIR (Parent in room) and PRW (Parents are watching).
So, the next time you get text messages from your children, look it up and familiarise yourself with the lingo. You might just be able to understand what “ROTFLMAO” means!
| When sending messages over mobile phone, some prefer to shorten the words. |
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