Text Speak

R U RDY 2 LRN? Love it or hate it, text speak is everywhere, and it looks like it's here to stay. But what exactly is text speak, why does it exist, and what are its main features? This article will tell you all you need to know.

Text Speak Definition

Text speak, otherwise known as SMS language or textese, refers to the shortened and informal language we use when communicating with each other digitally (usually online). The term was initially used to describe the language used in SMS text messages (who sends those anymore?) but can now be used to discuss any form of digital communication. Nowadays, we usually adopt the term to describe messages and posts on social media sites, such as Instagram and TikTok.

There aren't any rules to text speak, and it generally develops naturally amongst its users over time; however, some common features include acronyms, abbreviations, and omitting vowels.

The linguist David Crystal coined the term textspeak in 2001 in his book Language and the Internet, and in 2008 he went on to say,

Although many linguists share Crystal's enthusiasm for the creativity of text speak, others do not, stating that it is making us lazy and damaging the English language. What do you think?

Text Speak History

The emergence of text speak can ultimately be attributed to two things: saving money and saving time. Before the widespread use of the internet, the ways we communicated often cost, and saving money meant reducing the number of words or characters we used.

Examples of when people would have needed to reduce the number of characters they used include:

• Telegrams (written messages shared via an electronic device) charged per word

• SMS text messages (sent via cell phones) cost per text, and each text was restricted to 160 characters

• Tweets on Twitter were restricted to 140 characters - today they are restricted to 180 characters

Fig. 1 - Can you imagine paying for each character you use in a message?

Text Speak and Identity

Today, it isn't that necessary to restrict characters and words due to the cost, and, let's be honest, typing WYD? is almost as fast as typing 'what you doing?'. Despite this, text speak is arguably more popular than ever, so why is this?

Text speak is often the way we choose to write when communicating with our friends and peers and can therefore help us form social bonds and a sense of belonging with others. How you communicate online with people who share the same social factors as you, i.e. age, may be different from how you communicate with others. Having this unique 'language' can play a significant role in your identity formation and the way you identify with others.

Text Speak Attitudes and Opinions

The attitudes and opinions towards text speak are varied, with some linguists stating it highlights the creativity and adaptability of language. In contrast, others suggest it is having disastrous effects on the English language.

David Crystal, a renowned linguist, countered the claim that text speak has a negative impact on language by highlighting that using abbreviated speech successfully requires a strong understanding of spelling, phonetics, and grammar. He also conducted a study on the use of text speak outside of online communication and found that abbreviations etc. were not as common as people might think.¹

The way people feel about text speak ultimately comes down to their view on language in general and whether they take a prescriptivist or descriptivist viewpoint. Prescriptivists believe there is a 'correct' way to use language, and deviations from this are 'wrong'. On the other hand, descriptivists view language as an ever-evolving thing and study the way language is actually used in a non-judgemental way.

Features of Text Speak

Now we have a basic understanding of what text speak is and why it exists, let's turn our attention to the common features of text speak and how it differs from traditional written communication.

Informal

Text speak is arguably one of the most informal forms of communication as it is meant to resemble real-life speech rather than traditional written speech. When we message people online, we are communicating on our own terms. There's no expectation to follow traditional grammar, spelling, or syntax rules, and we can be free and creative with our language use.

Punctuation

As text speech doesn't have to follow traditional writing rules, punctuation often gets left behind. However, there is one punctuation star in the world of text speak - the exclamation point!

Studies have found that many young people today feel using the period (.) in online messages comes across as too abrupt or even rude.¹ Instead of ending their sentences with periods, many people are now opting for an exclamation point to create a friendlier sounding message.

Fig. 2 - Exclamation points are an important part of text speak.

Capital Letters

Using capital letters is another way of adding meaning to text speak. Look at the following two messages and decide if and how their meaning changes based on the use of capitals.

1. Don't message me back

2. DON'T message me back

Here, the use of capital letters adds emphasis to the word don't and can be likened to a shout or change in the tone of voice.

Text Speak Words and Symbols

There are common aspects of text speak that appear again and again. These mainly include:

• Initialisms and acronyms

• Reductions and omissions

• Gramograms

• Logograms

• Emojis

Let's now take a closer look at each of these.

One of the most popular features of text speak is, without a doubt, initialisms and acronyms. Before we take a closer look at these, let's examine the definitions and differences between these two terms.

Text speak is full of both initialisms and acronyms as they can save a lot of space and time.

Look at the following list and decide whether you're looking at an initialism, acronym, or both (some abbreviations can be pronounced letter by letter or as a word).

• LOL

• TTYL

• FTW

• FOMO

• ASAP

• LMAO

Answers

• Both

• Initialism

• Initialism

• Acronym

• Both

• Initialism

Reductions and Omissions

It's not always possible to turn words and phrases into initialisms and acronyms. In this case, words are often reduced, and non-essential word classes, such as articles (e.g., a/an/the), are omitted.

A common reduction technique includes removing the vowels from a word, the linguistic term for this is disemvoweling. For example, please becomes pls, table becomes tbl, and plant becomes plnt.

Disemvoweling became a common technique because it is fairly easy to understand as the human brain automatically fills in the missing vowels for you.

Gramograms

A gramogram (otherwise known as a letteral word) is when a word/group of words is phonetically similar to a letter, group of letters, or a number and can be written that way. For example, see you can be written as CU.

Other examples include:

• Are you okay? - R U OK?

• To - 2

• For - 4

• Ate - 8

• Any - NE

• I see - IC

Logograms

In language, a logogram is a written sign or character that represents a word. Egyptian hieroglyphics, Chinese characters, and numbers are widely considered logograms. For example, the symbol '3' represents 'three' in English, 'trois' in French, and 'tres' in Spanish.

Logograms became popular in text speak in the late 1990s and early 2000s and, in many ways, pathed the way for emojis.

Some logograms that were popular in text speak included:

• :), :p, :D, ;) etc.

• <3 - represents a love heart

• @ - represents the word at

• x‑D - represents a laughing face

• >:3 - represents a lion (yes, we know...)

Emojis

Nowadays, text speak goes far beyond acronyms, abbreviations, and simple logograms, and the world of emojis has forever changed how we communicate online.

Emojis are a highly-impactful way to add lots of meaning to things we say online quickly and efficiently. However, the meanings of emojis can change over time the more they are picked up and used by different social groups, and sometimes an emoji's meaning may be completely different from what you might expect. If you've ever received an emoji of an eggplant from your mum when asking what you want for dinner, you know what we mean!

It's important to recognize that many emojis carry a connotative (literal) and denotative (implied) meaning. The denotative meaning may not be known by all and may differ depending on the social factors of the groups using them, i.e., their culture or age.

Let's look at some common emojis and their implied meanings.

1.

Fun fact, the 'holding back tears' emoji won Most Popular New Emoji at the World Emoji Awards, 2022. The emoji can be used to express a wide range of emotions, such as gratitude, embarrassment, admiration, and even anger.

2.

Many people have moved on from the crying laughing emoji - see how fast language can change - and instead use the skull or coffin emoji to show when they find something very funny. It's believed the origins of using the skull emoji in this way are rooted in the phrase 'dead funny'.

3.

The clown is a simple insult to send to people who are acting 'foolish'.

4.

The face melt... We all know that feeling, right? This emoji has a more symbolic meaning and can be used to show embarrassment, shame, or a sinking sense of dread.

Text Speak List

This is in no way a complete list of all text speak (compiling such a list would probably be impossible), but it is a short collection of common text speak now used on social media.

Take a look at the blow list, and think about how text speak has changed from the 'LOL' days. How and why do you think text speak has evolved? Can you think of any other examples?

• AITA - Am I the a**hole?

• FTW - For the win

• IB - Inspired by

• IDC - I don't care

• IMO - In my opinion

• KLM - Calm

• NSFW - Not safe for work

• OMW - On my way

• POV - Point of view

• RN - Right now

• SMH - Shaking my head

• TfW - That feeling when

• YNK - You never know

Text Speak Examples

Now you know all about text speak, see if you can 'translate' the following examples.

Answers:

• Send your address, please

• See you tomorrow, yeah?

• I'm busy at the moment. Talk to you later