I blame it all on texting.
Way back when I was in college and dinosaurs still roamed the earth, we did indeed have computers. And we did spend too much time corresponding online with friends in other schools. But oddly enough, we still used proper capitalization. And punctuation. We spelled everything correctly, even without spell check.
Fast forward to today. Even a dictionary can't help you decipher all the abbreviations that show up in texts and emails. Some are easy to figure out. "np" is "no problem". "k" is "okay". Some require a little more thought. "ty" is "thank you". "brb"? "be right back". "ttyl" becomes "talk to you later".
Others require assistance. Not from a dictionary, but from anyone under the age of thirty. How many of you know what "tltt" stands for? And even once you think you know what all the abbreviations stand for, they make up new ones.
And why have we created this new, bizarre language? Because it is such a pain to text on those teeny, tiny keyboards. If you want a phone that's going to fit in your pocket and not weigh more than a pack of gum, everything has to be Polly Pocket sized. And once we got started writing like that in our texts, it infected all our correspondence.
Age definitely seems to be factor. Over 40's still type out whole words. Make sure things are grammatically correct before we hit send. I know. No matter how cute we dress, how you we try to act, it's one of the ways that you remind us we're just not 21 anymore.
25 comments:
omg thats so ttly true! it's crazy how ppl txt only in abbreviations! wtvr.
Gotta try harder than that if you want to confuse me. Those were all easy.
srry it was rlly late at night. htbtatt. ur post was very cute tho. i was rotfl.
texting is awesome. its our way of saying we dont want to communicate (lol). and its really good for something- you know the feeling wen u need to ask somebody something but ur really not interested in having a whole long conversation with them and if u call it will take at least 20 mins to get off the phone? one text takes care of all of that. and u cant exactly talk on the phone during class. besides spelling and punctuation is way overrated anyways
Ok, you got me. htbtatt?
I think if I started texting I would NEVER get anything done. At least emailing is something I do only when I'm logged on. If I could do it all day (and night!) I'd be hooked. And I'd never get anything done.
And spelling and punctuation are not overrated. It's like making sure your shirt is ironed (for guys) or putting on a cute outfit (for girls). It's how you present yourself to the world, especially when your entire relationship with someone is done this way.
Taking the time to spell and punctuate properly say that you care how you come across.
Okay, guys, let me have it. I'm sounding like an old person again, right?
yup. ur rite for business purposes etc u have to look presentable. but i wouldnt be doing business thru a text message. wen im just chillin with my friends of course i look good but im not gonna care as much especially if its in a private setting...im not sending out mass text messages with bad punctuation- Have a great shabbos! is a complete sentence :-). for private usage between friends nobody really cares abt spelling or punctuation as long as its understandable
It's either a generational thing, or a type-a control freak thing.
And there ARE people who care about spelling and punctuation. I'm guessing that most of them are just, ummm, old.
Also, there are abbreviations that seem to make more sense to me. Thru instead of through is intuitive. Wen instead of when just looks like you flunked spelling in second grade.
I'm guessing as long as you spell and punctuate correctly when it counts it's not a problem. But I'm guessing that there are lots of people out there who don't even know how to do that.
If language is all about communication, then punctuation, spelling, and clarity is all about making sure communication is clearly understood by all. It's a common denominator; teens might understand "teen speak", computer geeks might understand 733t, but everyone understands clearly written, well thought out sentences.
Yeah, I'm over 40.
Sruli, I take it one step further. It's not just about being understood by all, it's about putting your best face forward.
At least it is for our generation. It just doesn't matter to the younger set, at least not when they communicate with each other. Not because they don't care but because that's just their way.
I am NOT a texter. But the once recently that I did text someone, I found myself looking for the shortest possible words to convey my message because those keys are so tiny! I might have even (gasp!) resorted to an abbreviation or two.
Guess we better learn the lingo if we want to be able to communicate with them!
its not a matter of not knowing how to punctuate punctuation is learned in like 4th grade as are all the words we abbreviate. it comes down to efficiency-it takes 2 fewer keystrokes to write y instead of why etc and even tho its only a half of a second when you text a lot it really saves a lot of time. also, most services only allow 160 characters in a text message using abbreviations lets u fit more into each message
lets face it were all just lazy and dont want to punctuate whle were txting if we dont have to
i was always a nut about spelling things correctly when i was a kid. but once i started texting, i condensed my words to consonants only to save time. now that my phone has a full keyboard, it's easier to spell correctly again. but if I'm sending a text to someone who's not the same carrier as me, i only have 160 characters. it's one of Verizon's many flaws...
htbtatt-had to be there at the time
Just ask Zev- he knew that Bex had commandeered my phone when he started getting txts tht lk like ths.
Everything I send has always been in full sentences and with proper punctuation.
Yeah, but the space limitation only exists when you're texting. You can't tell me that when you're emailing you spell out words and make sure everything is written properly.
If anyone out there takes notes in class, I'd be curious to see if you're notes are written out or if they're full of texting abbreviations.
And just because we learned grammar and punctuation in elementary school doesn't mean we remember any of it. I'd love to see your typical 20 year old try to turn out a well written paper or business letter. I'm sure some of you are capable of it. But many out there are not.
And I honestly believe that all this texting lingo contributes to the problem.
when i use t9 i spell most words out but with my keyboard i always write it in the shortest way possible it just saves time and room in the text. and ye pinny maskim were just 2 lazy 2 type it all out. keyboards rule verizon sux my freinds messages are always cut off
it definitely doesnt help but its an email! who cares abt spelling and punctuation we im telling somebosy where im going for shabbos or watever. nobody would rite lik in textin lingo if it was an official paper. and even old people would use @ instead of writing out at so wat r u all complainin abt
whats the problem? if your writing an email and trying to be formal or even just writing someone a letter ull use proper punctuations and everything but if your just trying to ask a a quick question or something wats the big deal to ask it the fastest way possible
People who complain against "txtspeak" are making kids go off the derech!
(That seems to be the politically correct answer for everything nowadays.)
Pinnyk: Yeah, like sprint is so great?? At least our calls go through.
Pinnyf: I think you hit the nail on the head. If it's a text, it's just easier. As long as you guys know how to write properly, it works for me. And as long as one of you is around to translate for me.
y2k: you're right. All those kids off the derech - I caused them to stray! Gonna have to daven hard on yom kippur.
at least our unlimited text messsaging plans are unlimited unlike certain services that are unlimited 2 verizon and 500 o e/o else
Yeah yeah Pinchas - convince yourself Sprint is better.
I'm a self-hater w/ phone service. Go Verizon!
i know Verizon might be terrible at times, but would sprint give you a 200 dollar phone for free? :)
and you should see my emails, cuz out of habit, i use correct spelling. it's automatic. but i don't capitalize. ever
Its always the people without verizon that have to make up for the emptiness they feel without it so they have to make things up to validate why they don't have it.
I think someone has way to much time on her hands!
I dun now wi ur makin sch a bg deel abowt splng an grmar. I noze ho 2 speek gud. I ams a colej grajuat.
And if you think that's bad you should see some of the emails I get at work. I'll cut some slack for the many people for whom English is a 2nd (or 3rd) language, but the natives, especially the newbies, seem to have skipped a couple of English classes along the way.
Most of the texting acronyms evolved out of the chat room shorthand that's evolved over the last 10-15 years. It's used because it's expedient.
I absolutely will not text because I suffer from fat finger syndrome. There is no way that I can hit those little buttons with sufficient rapidity to even bother. If I've got something to say, I'll call you. I'm holding a phone am I not? :)
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