Tuesday, November 30, 2010

OMG ETC.

There is a new phenomenon in the world of communications. The lazy typist. I cannot count how many times I have received a text message from my son, only to reply “I beg your pardon? Might I enquire as to the meaning of * BBT. G/Fs. GWHTLC*? You do realise, or course, you are not paying by the letter? This is not engraving. “
Creating acronyms and shortening words is a practice that should definitely be discouraged, especially when these text message colloquialisms are leaking into speech.  My pet hate is the acronym LOL. LOL is not a word.  That means you cannot use it in a sentence, so please desist from trying. I am growing frustrated with the incessant need to shorten words and create acronyms. You would not say “laughing out loud”, you would just laugh. So why use the acronym as a word? Have we lost the ability to simply laugh? If you say it, you are not actually laughing are you? So to say LOL is a LIE.
The word ‘for’ takes very little time to write. Considering that on a phone you have to hit two buttons just to bring up the numbers, writing ‘4’ instead is actually less efficient.  ‘You’ is a three letter word. To use ‘U’ instead will save you LESS THAN A SECOND. Is a mere nanosecond worth your reputation as a capable communicator?
Studies have shown that this new slang is not only affecting the speech of today's youth, but their educational standards. This article, dated 2008, describes teachers' frustration at marking essays containing these new colloqiualisms. Text Message Slang Found In School Work  
Please, for the love of all that is Holy, stop and think before you write. The smartest student could write a thesis containing the cure for cancer, but written in text message, it is worth no more than a smiley face on a post it note. What a waste. The English greats would be rolling in their graves.

5 comments:

  1. I agree totally, I thought LOL meant lots of love. I was told thats what it means for the older generation. If I send a text it takes me ages to do because I spell the complete words out. Peter

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  2. Hey! I feel like you. I tried 'txting' a message to my son in what I thought was his lingo....when he called back immediately and said 'it is something important? - I don't understand your txt message' Is that just a generational thing?

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  3. I quite agree I hate when my children message me with lol or they way they abbreviate words I'm always left scratching my head at what they mean.

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  4. a "cow" (coworker) here also thought lol was lots of love, so we started a little txt meanings space on the staff whiteboard for a bit of fun & knowledge.

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  5. LOL!

    Love your rant :-) Whilst I agree with you in that some acronyms are just plain stupid, some are actually useful as they convey what plain text cannot - and that is emotion. For example if you were to "say" something sarcastically to someone they would most likely understand that it is said in jest because of the tone of voice used, whereas the same sentiment in written form does not always allow the reader to know what the writer is "feeling". Therefore the use of :-) (smileys) and abbreviations that express feelings (e.g. Laughing Out Loud) can come in handy.

    Whilst I'm in my early 30s I still cringe when I read articles about the youth of today using abbreviations and slang for important occasions like exams and essays. Whilst I understand that language is continuously evolving, for example program has now replaced programme, I would hate to see words like 'nite' being an acceptable replacement for 'night' simply out of laziness.

    BTW (by the way), when the heck did it become acceptable in the English language to write "e.g." and "i.e." as "eg" and "ie". If something is abbreviated, then use full stops darn it! What next?! Should we start dismissing other punctuation marks! Soon we'll be dropping apostrophes and start using cant, didnt, wouldnt...

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