How do you Text?

[Preya_M]

I know so many who text and they use "shortcuts", these can bother me a lot when they're over used. I tend to text using full sentences and good punctuation and grammar, but that's just me. How do you text? I like using proper english because I don't want to get too used to shortcuts and forget how to spell certain words all together. What do you think?

[MyDigitalpoint]

I do it in the same fashion as you do. I text my messages writing the words as they should be, unless I need more than the 160-words limit and then I try only to use the more common shortcuts to make the message remain clear.

By saying the above I mean substituting 4 instead of for, 2 rather than to, and some of those well-known shortcuts except "u"  because I really hate this.

[Shannonbutler18]

I text just as I type; full sentences, full words and punctuation. Most of my friends text "how r u" and "dats good" and "wats up w u" and I have to say, that annoys the hell out of me. It's one of my biggest pet peeves! I can't stand improper grammar and punctuation!

[Trellum]

I tend to text using full sentences, good grammar and punctuation.  Mostly because I can't stand using shortcuts, I just don't feel comfortable doing that!  It's part of my obsessive personality, I think, lol.  I just like to express myself in the best and most clear way possible.  That's why I text using full sentences.  After all... what's the rush?  No point in using shortcuts in my opinion... unless you really need to, like when you are in a real rush.  But sadly people nowadays seem to think they're always on a rush, so they over use shortcuts.

[sidney]

I tend to remove the vowels when I text, so they're quite shortened, but they're understandable. Unless I'm using predictive text input or I'm texting formally, I just tend to abbreviate my words. I don't see anything wrong with that, after all, I'm just texting, I'm not writing a formal document.

[Dieselfit]

I have the QWERTY keyboard on my phone and it's not a touch screen so it's sort of useful and easier to type out messages. Though I will shorten and ruin my grammer when I need to shorten a long message.

[Kotro]

I try to text the same way I speak - properly. Occasionally, because my phone will not accent certain characters, I will go out of my way to find a word that fits, even if I don't use it often in speech. I avoid abreviations at all costs, and will often refuse to reply anyone who texts me like that (partly because I'm a curmudgeon, partly because I simply can't understand them).

[xxxxxx]

When I answer and send messages on text I don't do shortcut for the words I am writing. The usual type of writing is the one I am doing no abbreviations of words and it had always a complete thought also and I seldom use different characters only the smiley

[jcannon]

I always use full and proper sentences, regardless of who I'm speaking to, or any text limit. If there is a limit, I will break my message into more than one part. I think proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation are important in every facet so I go out of my way to ensure I'm a good role model in such situations. The down side of this is that, when I run into friends who type like that, I have a very hard time tolerating it and often can't take them seriously!

[JoanMcWench]

Wow, I am amazed so many use proper English when sending a text. I have found no one in my vast circle will do so. Regardless of my attempts (in vain) to try and lure them to the dark (light?) side. The only thing I do happen to use more with time is 'lol'. I found myself using 'hahaha' to supplement it but it seemed sarcastic to the person on the other end.

[thekernel]

My phone has a pretty useful setting that finishes what you're typing with common or recent words. Normally I have great spelling and grammar (though my instant messages aren't capitalized or punctuated perfectly). But having a phone that does it for me makes it a lot easier. My friend has a touch phone without any additional settings, and as a result he sends me sloppy messages all the time.

[Mr.Styx]

I use proper English regardless of the circumstances, though I will make some of the substitutions as mentioned above.  There are, however, cases where I am able to convey my thoughts "better" by speaking in a less-than-grammatical manner.  Sometimes people find my way of speaking-- a tad "intimidating"... 

I will also try to change the "style" of my language in order to better fit the social context. 

So I end up with problems similar to this,

.

[LauraM]

I keep abbreviations to a minimum.  I approach texting the same way I approach email.  I spell out the words and use correct grammar and spelling.  With a QWERTY keyboard and autocomplete, it's not difficult to do.  I prefer to do this both for clarity -- after all I do want to be understood! --  and also because I don't want to get into poor habits in spelling or grammar. 

[erronousRogue]

I have Swype on my phone, so using absurd abbreviations and random numbers in my texts wouldn't really make sense in terms of usefulness. Not that I'd be otherwise inclined to say "lol partay @ my house 2nite" either.

[Bloomsie]

When I text, I write it all out. I don't use any shortcuts of the kind. I find it such a pet peeve that people still short cut when phones now have a keyboard embedded into their system! If I know someone has an old phone such as a flip phone, then I would not mind it as much. But the fact that most people have an Andriod or iPhone, they shouldn't be doing shortcuts. *peeved* Hahahaha.

[rodserd]

If its to my wife who I text a lot I will use shorthand/abbreviations frequently.  Things like truncating though to tho.  If it is to anyone else I usually spell everything out (swype is very handy for this).

[Loud]

I don't do shorcuts and always try to have a good grammar, but I use acronyms a lot. I don't think that's a bad thing though, it's part of texting culture in my opinion.

[SpiralArchitect]

Not that I'd be otherwise inclined to say "lol partay @ my house 2nite" either.

One can always do it ironically, although I guess the irony would be lost on a lot of people.

I personally always use correct English when I text. It's a simple matter of habit and nothing more for me.

[caparica007]

It's rare for me to text in English, but when I do I always try to write correctly with no abbreviations, possibly because I don't know how to...  :wacky:

[Baburra]

I prefer to use whole words just because I think it looks better, but that's pretty much as far as my reasons go. Otherwise, I'm not too avert to using shortcuts or seeing them because the character limit plays a big factor in texting.

[Denis Hard]

When I am texting I don't bother trying to observe fancy grammar rules and such. The point is to get the message across in as few words as possible since I hate typing on the phones keypad. In such instances I take liberties. For example if I want to know whether someone is at home or not I simply type: "home?" Simple and direct.

[Dame6089]

I use a handful of abbreviations, but don't over do it. A lot of people don't know all of the abbreviations, so it is really a waste of time to use them and have a person looking them up on the other end.

[lizbeth19hph]

I used to do the sms thing which are really short, short messages but now I have gone back to typing the whole words when I send a text. I also find it annoying to receive or read sms which you cannot really make out of for they seem to appear more likes codes or something.

[pandandesign]

I don't text, but I do use the online instant chat in which I have downloaded the app on my phone. I usually try to use complete sentences and good grammars the best I can because I don't want to loose myself on that. I still have to follow the grammar rules and be able to use them ccorrectly, regardless I text or not. I want to make sure people will understand and not think I'm being goofy just because I text or send out instant messages doesn't mean I don't need to warch my grammars or something.

[Daimashin]

I only text in shorts when I'm in a hurry or busy at work. Otherwise, I'll always stick to full sentences and stay grammatically correct. I feel that if I use shorts too much, it'll affect my ability to write in other mediums as well. Many youngsters struggle to contruct a proper sentence these days because of this.