OMG! IDK! These text phrases are examples of a new language that has
become popular in America. Short Message Service or text messaging is a
service provided on cellular phones as another means of communication,
initially aimed to ensure the viability of cell phone usage. Early
model cell phones only allowed 160 characters sparking the need for
users to shorten the messages they sent, which has evolved into a
sub-language. This all seems innocent enough until one factors in the
easily persuadable English language where popular words, phrases, and
jargon are added to the dictionary yearly. As the English language
borrows from many countries and cultures there is no assurance that the
text message language will not become this year's addition to Miriam
Webster's Dictionary.
Short Message Service language, SMS, now has its own grammar, or
language system. According John Humphries in an article titled I h8
txt msgs, "The SMS vandals are doing to our language what Genghis Khan
did to his neighbors eight hundred years ago. They are destroying it:
pillaging our punctuation; savaging our sentences; raping our
vocabulary. And they must be stopped." The system of the SMS language
has crossed over into mainstream English. More than 16,000 words in the
dictionary have changed to become shorter; specifically words that were
traditionally hyphenated are now more concise to feed into the need for
speedy communication. Also apparent is the birth of strings of letters
and numbers together to symbolize phrases of thought, for example "I
only want to be with you" becomes "ionwan2bwu".
Mary had a mobile. She texted day and night, but when it came to her
exams she'd forgotten how to write. In the education system where some
teachers have used rap lyrics to encourage children to read, it has
become increasingly difficult to maintain focus in grammar and reading
classes when technology has bread a new form of attention deficit
disorder. Truth be told we write the way we speak and after the surge
of the SMS language students in the 11-20 age group have begun to talk
text. Seemingly harmless, yes, until we realize the full context of
this cycle. When a 13 year-old Scottish girl handed in an essay written
in text message shorthand, she explained to her teacher that is easier
than Standard English. She wrote: "My smmr hols wr CWOT. B4, we used
2go2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 :- kids FTF. ILNY, it's a great plc."
(In translation: "My summer holidays were a complete waste of time.
Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend,
and their three screaming kids face to face. I love New York. It's a
great place.") As she and many students like her grow and become
members of the workforce it can be concluded that society will be
forced to learn a new language, instead of Spanish or French, people
will have to pick up Text.
Ironically, the aim of Short Message Service was to bridge the gaps of
communication by increasing the availability of contact. Instead, a
sub-language has been born with many scary implications. Many teenagers
who are advanced in text talk and may even be cyber junkies have codes
to one another when adults are in the room. Terms such as'POS', means
"parent over shoulder", similarly, 'PIR' means "parent in room," these
phrases can prove to be dangerous as cyber predators increase; another
flaw to text, the traitor of the American language.
It is a cheap fix. A standard messaging rate is on average 10 cent on
most cellular carriers, but is the convenience worth the inconvenience?
There is no emotional context in text lingo. Instead, text receivers
are left with a cold truth that the sender thought about them, but not
enough to actually hear their voice. To that I say, thks but no thks.
