Short-cut for Chatting and Texting

[LauraM]

Looks like most people find it irritating or annoying. I just wanna share, I got a text from my friend a couple days ago. R u goin 2 x-tian's party l8r rply asap (Are you going to Christian's party later? Reply asap.). Took me a few second to figure out what he was saying.

Yes, that's  a great example of how confusing the shortcuts can be for the recipient!  I had to read that a second time to make complete sense of it.  It seems quite unnecessary too, as it is not a long message even when spelled out without abbreviations.  But that's the trend.  Texting has its own lexicography, and I think for some people that's the appeal.  It's like using a secret language. 

[Hardison]

I only have one person in my life who sends me texts with the crazy shortcuts. I have gotten used to it. But it does take me a few seconds to figure out what she's trying to say. I also give her more leeway than the average person because English isn't her first or second language.

[leahcim132]

I'll admit. I sometimes use short-cuts when I am chatting or texting online. However, I do find it annoying though (yes I know... the irony).

I don't think it's bad though. Nothing wrong with saying lol or cya .

[DiesIrae]

I'm okay with it. I mean, I've seen worse. We have something called jejemons in the Philippines where they overly complicate texting by using substitutes for letters. Like 4 for A, or something. Something like PO can be complicated into p0h or even poewh. Those are the annoying ones.

[ashwinr1]

True! There is too much of short cuts used nowadays! There are certain times when I do not understand those shortcuts and it takes lot of time to decipher them. The way these shortcuts are used, I believe there has to be a separate dictionary for shortcuts soon!

[Alfonso]

It's actually called 'SMS language', 'text speak', or 'txt-speak' (or something similar). I find it annoying in words like gr8, or u instead of you, but I do use abbreviations like afaik, iirc, imo, simply because that's more accepted.

That's interesting. I've never heard any of those abbreviations before, could you enlighten me on the meanings of afaik, iirc and imo please?

[TABL]

It drives me crazy!  And I HATE when my kids do it, because I feel like they don't even have the English language down pat yet.....they don't spell perfect, so why purposely misspell words?  Some of the abbreviations, like IKR (I know, right) or BRB (be right back) don't bother me.  But it's the text speak of "r u going 2nite" make my skin crawl!

[Daedalus]

Sure.

AFAIK - As Far As I Know

IIRC - If I Remember Correctly

IMO - In My Opinion (also sometimes IMHO - In My Humble Opinion)

There's more like that, for example:

ATM - At The Moment

BRB - Be Right Back

[Preya_M]

I agree with you, it bothers me as well. By texting like that, you usually forget how to spell words and your spelling becomes pretty bad. I know so many people who can't spell simple words because they text using shortcuts; words like "somthing" instead of "something," not knowing that there is indeed an "e." It's heartbreaking to see how technology has changed the way of life. Research was also done, the more your text and use computers, the worse your handwriting gets.

[DiesIrae]

I thought that with autocorrect, there'd be less shortcuts for chatting and texting these days. I honestly don't know why people use shortcuts still, but it's understandable for me if people without autocorrect use it.

Actually, with some friends, I do use shortcuts but I avoid to overuse it. It's funny to mess with them because while I can be weird on text, I can also dish out complicated English words and sound professional :>

[mccanono]

Shortcuts in texting is still tolerable. During the early times, we only have limited characters when sending text messages so we tend to cut each word short (80 characters per sms)

However, when it comes to online chatting, I don't think that text speaking is tolerable. I usually don't talk to those kinds of guys. Haha

[MVent_20]

I am totally against shortcuts for chatting and texting. I can let tweets pass, sometimes, since there's a character limit.

Annoying shortcuts like "Hru?" or "Wru? are so hard to figure out. How are you supposed to know that HRU actually means "How are you?" when "are" and "you" don't start with "R" or "U." And these are just three letter words. How lazy can you get? :bored:

I am okay with BTW or OMG as they are acronyms of the phrase/sentence. Also, it's common and the meaning quite obvious for most, if not all. I am guilty of always using it though.

[viciosomundial]

I just hate short texting. I mean, in spanish or any other language I would accept that people omit accents, apostrophes and all of that good stuff, but using shortcuts just makes it a pain to read. I would feel more comfortable talking with someone using good grammar and punctuation, than someone who just tries to make the conversation easier. Unless you are on a hurry, don't write in the worst possible way, please!

[10theMCee]

Texting and chatting have paved the way for these shortcuts. I think they are convenient to use especially when you have limited number of characters to type for your novel-long expressions. As a teacher though, I am saddened every time I see individuals who totally change the spelling of a certain word, adding more letters and symbols than necessary. In the Philippines, this is very common and I would even receive messages starting with an apostrophe or comma. I don't understand why they have to do this in the first place, considering we are supposed to be maximizing the characters! And what is with the apostrophe at the beginning of the sentence? In this case, the rules of grammar are neglected and not prioritized. Add to that the confusion and misunderstanding the recipient of the message experiences whenever they get such SMS!

[calebmelvern]

It's strange how we accept some shortcuts and despise others. I wonder if the time will come when we will accept some of the less-accepted terms today such as "r u" (are you), "2" (to), and those that omit vowels like "smthng". I sure wouldn't want that time to come!

[xlzqwerty1]

I used to type like this when on the computer, however, I've gotten over it ever since 6th grade. Started using proper typing. Later on, it got annoying when I saw other people using shortcut words such as "u" instead of "you" and it really annoyed me. I believe the only time I use shortcuts is on the phone, when you are limited to 250 characters for an SMS.

[pxyc]

The worst is when people type like "ThIs LyK WhAt ArE YoU eVeN dOiNg". It's so counterproductive and it doesn't even look cool, it makes you look like an idiot. Or when people add extra letters when they're texting, like saying "lolll woww how couldd you even doo thattttt". It's just weird and wastes time.

[Baburra]

I used to abhor it immensely, but after having been immersed in the culture of a certain online community, I have a newfound appreciation for it. I now see it as being humorous and quaint, at the very least, but of course, I'd still prefer to see proper writing as much as possible.

[Aheyz]

I dislike it I understand using it every once in a while when you are in a hurry, but if you are sitting on your couch watching T.V and short texting i think it is just lazy.

[akhdair]

This is really annoying and dis-forms the language. Sometimes, I encounter some new shortcuts that I am not familiar with and I feel an alien.

But I have encountered situation much annoying which is someone using these shortcuts while speaking.

one said to me " FYI, I did this job ... " ... So i was shocked ... FYI...

and another one while he was laughing, he kept repeating " lol" which was meaningless.

and last one, which I can not forget, is when one said to me " BRB " but he pronounced it very fast. So, I stopped him and ask him to repeat the last word, and he repeated in an angry slow manner " BE RIGHT BACK" ... as if I was a slow understanding person.

[justusforus]

The idea of text is to save time.  I hate it when they use short cuts at all much less ones made up on the fly...I spend more time trying to figure out what a "quick" text means than it is worth.  It really is frustrating and one of my biggest pet peeves.

[Bonyi]

I only use short cut text when relating to a friend or an acquittal but if relating with a boss or senior, I don't use it. For those who use it always, I think it is so that they can be fast. You know we are in a fast world, so people want fast text also.

[kniera]

It is handy at some point but they let it get to far at sometimes, I use them but set in autocorrect for it so it automatically writes it full out. People doing it might consider that because most phones have that funcionality nowadays.

[Guest isabbbela]

I don't have a problem with shortening you with u, lol, imo, idk, or more usual stuff like that. What makes me mad is when people come up with their own "short versions" thinking others are obligated to understand what it means.

[JulesX]

These short-cuts are really annoying. This is even worse when you live in a country where there are various dialects. So it is becomes a bit of a task; first trying to figure out what the person it trying to say, then what it means. The following is a typical example of dialect meet shortcut. "Ah doh no wat he doin dey. He dey in dey hole day." - "I don't know what he is doing. He has been inside for the entire day." See what I mean?