Texting: A Battle Between English And Shortcuts

PALM DESERT – Conversations are moving from face-to-face to screen-to-screen. More people are chatting online and through text messages, especially young teens. They’ve created short cuts and abbreviations so they can send more messages in less time. Some people worry the text language is hurting the proper English language, but others say it’s all part of evolution.

It’s like a secret language created to help satisfy society’s desire for immediacy.

“O-M-G, L-O-L, B-R-B,” says seventh grader Ann Marie Magnus.

“I just like fast and easy,” says seventh grader, Emilie Kassin.

The need for speed leaves no time to write out complete words or check for spelling and grammar.

“It’s inconvenient to use commas and periods in text messages,” says Kim Ussery, seventh grade Language Arts Teacher at John Glenn Middle School.

“I text probably 25 texts a day,” says seventh grader, Rachel Hjerpe.

Gone are the days of sending letters or using a pager. They’re just too slow for the fast world. For some, even email is too slow.

“I don’t like waiting for it,” says Kassin.

Now, texting is all the rage.

“I basically text everyone,” says Magnus.

It’s hard to find a teen or tween who doesn’t text. In Ussery’s seventh grade classroom, only 7 students out of 40 don’t have a cell phone. They’re like foreigners in a new land who don’t understand the language.

“I feel left out,” says Raychel Jackman. “I don’t know what they mean.”

There are so many acronyms, new ones pop up everyday. Of course, they’re no where to be found in a good old fashion dictionary, but it seems kids don’t use actual dictionaries anymore.

“I used to use one of those, but I don’t anymore,” says Hjerpe.

“I don’t want to look through a dictionary,” says Kassin. “I like technology.”

So instead, they look words up online. With one quick “Google” search you can find dozens of text message dictionaries full of the new lingo.

“T-T-Y-L means talk to you later. G-T-G means got to go,” says Hjerpe.

” We use ‘U’ instead of y-o-u or ‘R’ instead of a-r-e,” says Magnus.

Some kids even use text language in “face to face” conversations.

“We’ll be like ‘O-M-G! you are so weird!'”, says Magnus. “We use it in regular conversation.”

The shorthand also shows up on tests and homework.

“It’s just laziness,” says Ussery.

Ussery says the biggest problem is sentence structure.

“Students are making basic errors,” says Ussery.

The text message writing style drops letters, punctuation and grammar, which are all critical in formal writing.

“It’s mostly effecting capitalization. That’s a first grade language arts standard and we are seeing kids that are not capitalizing letters,” says Ussery. “It’s frustrating.”

But Ussery says the world will adapt, and it is.

“A lot of childrens’ literature is full of texting terms, so kids can see it in the books they are reading,” says Ussery.

She says language is constantly evolving and times sure have changed since Shakespeare’s days. No one says “where art thou” anymore. Now it’s “where are you?” or as texters would type, WAY.

“It makes it faster,” says Magnus.

Ussery doesn’t think this rushed text slang will destroy the English language as long as students don’t LOL (leave out letters) on their SA (essays) or HW (homework).

“As long as they know when to use it and when not to use it, it’s okay,” says Ussery.