[ladbroke]

Right after the conversation Chris and the team just had, what does everyone think about text speak? I HATE IT! Complete dumbing down of the English language, and some kids are now even applying for jobs using it! JUST WRONG! The nearest I ever get it to use OMG, or IMO, but thats not really the same!

[MK Chris]

I don't even use those. If I were scanning through job applications or CVs that used text speak they would go straight in the bin.

[ladbroke]

I wouldn't put it in the bin I'd send it back to them ripped in to bits!

[MK Chris]

It would probably depend what mood I'm in but I might send a subtly sarcastic reply back about why they've not been successful, but I might just not reply altogether.

[Console]

As I don't have a mobile phone (due to being utterly sick of people calling me at all hours), I frequently receive text messages on the house phone (thanks to a nice little service from NTL/Virgin), and it is quite amusing to hear the voice synthesizer completely fail at 'reading' all of the 'txt spk' in text messages. Although it does usually turn out that the message is quite important and have to ring them back to find out what, in the name of God, they were trying to say, and for that reason alone, 'txt spk' should be punishable by death, or at least a £60 fine (down to thirty if they pay me within two weeks).

[MK Chris]

My mum refuses to get a mobile, she says that when she's out she doesn't want to be contacted and that mobiles are an invasion of privacy. In a way I do agree and I don't rely on mine loads, but they are handy.

[ladbroke]

I've given my mum a lesson in texting but I still only ever get texts IN CAPITALS LIKE SHE IS REALLY ANGRY!!! They are also the most brief messages ever!

[Hammah]

As I don't have a mobile phone (due to being utterly sick of people calling me at all hours)

here's a tip......turn it off !???!??

[Ballbag]

The nearest I ever get it to use OMG, or IMO, but thats not really the same!

It's exactly the same.

[ladbroke]

For the purposes of me getting out of that staement I like to think of OMG & IMO as acronyms!

[Ballbag]

It is still unnecessary and lazy, in my opinion.

[Console]

As I don't have a mobile phone (due to being utterly sick of people calling me at all hours)

here's a tip......turn it off !???!??

I used to, but then people moaned at me saying 'What's the point of having a mobile phone if you never have it on?', so I got rid of it, that showed them.

[ladbroke]

Maybe, but I just about find that tolerable, obviously as I use it. Don't get me started on LOL though......... it's the equivalant of finger nails down the blackboard to me

[Ballbag]

For the purposes of me getting out of that staement I like to think of OMG & IMO as acronyms!

Don't get me started on LOL though......... it's the equivalant of finger nails down the blackboard to me

It's also an acronym.

[ladbroke]

Tis true it's an acronym but one I find offensive.............me irrational, never!!

[Console]

Aren't they technically abbreviations as the general idea of acronyms is that they are pronounced as written (either by reading the letters or whatever 'word' they make up) whereas you read abbreviations as whatever they are abbreviating. I know that 'LOL' is sometime pronounced as a word, but anyone that does that should be shot anyway, so that's not really an issue.

[MK Chris]

Bag for balls is correct, they are all as bad as each other.

[ladbroke]

Acronym or initialism is all a bit grey (and thats grey with an 'E' , not an 'A' , I hate that too!)

[Console]

True, but with both acronyms and initialisms you pronounce what is written down, whereas with abbreviations you (generally) expand it and pronounce the whole thing. As I can't believe that anyone reads 'OMG' literally without automatically translating it to 'Oh my God' I can't see how they're not just abbreviations.

[Boboff]

This should be rechristened the grumpy old man thread.

During the 20th century communications improved at an amazing rate, with changes in the style of communication so has the language.

From Chaucer through Shakespear, Hardy, Dickens, and on to the present day the English Language has changed to reflect society and customs and traditions, regionalism also accounts for variations.

Why is text speak so bad ?

TTFN, ASAP, PS, POSH, surely these have become part of the English language in the same was that LOL OMG IMO will do also.

I agree it is important to be able to communicate properly, and this forum is a good example, a place where due to the diverse audience the need to structure posts in an easily understood manner, is vital. But when one is talking to a friend, the choice of language used is surely up to the people who are communicating ?

[ladbroke]

I must admit that as I was writing the post I felt about 71 years old, rather than 31!

Boboff you raise an intersting point when you say it is up to the individuals who are communicating how they structure their messages. My girlfriend texts me in a completely different way than she does her friends, as she knows it gets on my nerves trying to decipher it! I just agree with Moyles that it takes longer to decipher the messages than the time saved in shortening the words..........

[MK Chris]

This should be rechristened the grumpy old man thread.

During the 20th century communications improved at an amazing rate, with changes in the style of communication so has the language.

From Chaucer through Shakespear, Hardy, Dickens, and on to the present day the English Language has changed to reflect society and customs and traditions, regionalism also accounts for variations.

Why is text speak so bad ?

TTFN, ASAP, PS, POSH, surely these have become part of the English language in the same was that LOL OMG IMO will do also.

I agree it is important to be able to communicate properly, and this forum is a good example, a place where due to the diverse audience the need to structure posts in an easily understood manner, is vital. But when one is talking to a friend, the choice of language used is surely up to the people who are communicating ?

I don't have a problem with people who use text speak in their texts, though I still don't understand it very much because mobile phones now have the ability to concatenate multiple texts if it is too long for a single text and I would think most people have hundreds of free texts per month. That said, as I say I don't have a problem with it in texts; it's anywhere else (including forums, instant messengers, emails, even on web sites with static pages) that annoys me. If, as you predict, abbreviations such as 'LOL', 'IMO' or 'OMG' make it into the English language, I would be really disappointed.

Of the other examples you mentioned, I have never used 'TTFN' and I don't think (certainly not recently) 'ASAP'. I rarely use 'PS' because usually I type messages so if I forget something I can easily go back and add it, 'PS' is for if you forget to write something in the main body, surely? I assume by 'POSH', you are referring to the origin of the word 'posh'? I think that's slightly different, as posh is now a bona fide word and has been for a long time. It was not brought about by hundreds of kids not being bothered to write it properly in texts and emails.

[foot-loose]

did we not have this discussion last week?





lol.

[S4B]

we did foots but Baggie's back (yay) so we have to recap for his benefit. Welcome Back Bagfer, I kind of missed you which suprised me somewhat. You been anywhere nice?

[ladbroke]

Sorry if you've had this topic already, I'm a new member and should of checked!