TXT MSG Lingo - the New Slang - Netspeak

Every generation brings new words and language that struggles to cross the generation gap. The 50's brought cruisin' for a brusin', flick and Greaser. The 60's gave us blast, blitzed, boogie and cool. Then there was phrases like "may the force be with you", "goodnight John-boy" and "chill out."

The 80's begot bad to the bone, airhead, dink and yuppie.

It was like, the next decade that, like, had us interjecting words that, like, had no place there. And thanks to Wayne's world, NOT!

2day It b da nxt yrs dat i wan2 look@ wif txt msg s n ch@.

You (u) can be forgiven for not understanding the last line, simply it says:

Today it be the next years that I want to look at, with text messaging and chat. You are(UR) right to think it is not correct sentence structure, but nothing has correct sentence structure in text(txt) messaging(msg). The whole point is to say what u want to say in as little keystrokes as possible. A txt msg has 160 characters, then u pay for 2 txt msg, even if it is only 1 long msg.

The emergence of Instant messaging (IM) has bought the txt msg language to our computers. Talking (tlkn) on the computer called netspeak. Some parents(P) don't know what their children are talking about in IM, but you are about to learn.

P, have you ever looked over(O) your Childs shoulder(S) to see her typing POS?

Many of the acronyms are easy to work out , 2day, 2morrow, CUL8tr is a bit harder.

There r a few netspeak terms that parents should familiarise themselves with to help ensure a childs safety.

ASL is asking for Age, Sex and Location. I would not advocate giving anyone your ASL. It can be potentially dangerous to not only the child but the whole family. The same rule applies for wer r u, which is translated Where are you? Wan2tlk is another one to watch out for(4). http://www.netlingo.com/top50teens.cfm here is a list of the top 50 netspeak terms that parents should familiarise themselves with. Some of the terms I would rather not know but if a child is using them, you need to know. Most parents have internet filters to safeguard against pornographic chat, but the internet language is evolving so quickly that filters do not know the terms that are used. Eg. Porn becomes pron to overcome filters.

You can do an internet search for net lingo or text lingo and get lists of thousands of txt msg shorthand words, but it is easier to learn how to read netspeak for yourself.

First, Acronym, acronym, acronym. Make any phrase an acronym. An Acronym is taking the letters of the phrase to make a word, even though the resulting word may not make sense. WYCIWYG is an acronym of "What you see is what you get". Girl friend is shortened to GF, but BF can be boy friend or best friend, as in (BFF) Best friend for ever. Shorter acronyms are one word compressed to a single letter, eg. U = you, 4 = 4 for, C = see. Other popular acronyms are transposing part of the word and imposing numbers, eg. There4, B4, 2day.If any word sounds like the number, replace with the number. Mate=m8, later= l8tr

Most acronyms are easy to work out and have been around a while, eg ASAP, but there are a few you will need to know, like CWOT is "complete waste of time".

The next step is shorten any word. Forget vowels and double letters, and combine sounds. Wot = what usd = used ppl=people back= bk . If you want to know what the Instant Message means, don't ask a question, just use the question mark? If u dont no wot the im says, just ? Shorten words that end in e to no e. Ie. Cam=came

Punctuation- there is none. That is unless you want to exaggerate something, use lots of !!!!!!!!!!

As with any face to face (FTF) conversation, body language is an integral part of language, that is where emoticons come into play. A series of key strokes to depict a picture, often being changed to an icon by the chat program. A smiley face :) goes along way when letting someone know you are joking or having fun. LOL=Laugh Out Loud. Variations on smiley faces are easy enough to work out, read them sideways, the tongue sticking out to depict cheekiness for example :-P

Take a look at these phrases and notice the difference when emotions are used.

He slapped me in the head or He slapped me in the head. LOL.

She called me fat or She called me fat :-P

That was weird or That was weird :)

Often emoticons are used to describe feelings, I felt o:-) , the symbol for angel, I felt angelic. I was %-), this is the symbol for happy drunk, notice the eyes % are like they are crossed and used for drunk.

Netlingo.com have a comprehensive smiley list. http://www.netlingo.com/smiley.cfm

Spacing of words can become non existant in Internet slang, especially if it is a verb before the subject. vbrd becomes very bored, notice the elimination of vowels and the shorthand to v for very.

If you find you need more help try http://www.netlingo.com/

So now that u no more bout txtlingo, try reading this essay that was originally published in the Sunday herald.

My summrholswrCWOT. B4, we usd2 go 2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr3 :-@ kids FTF. ILNY, its gr8.

Bt my Ps wrso {:-/ BC o 9/11 thtthey dcdd2 stay in SCO & spnd2wks up N.

Up N, WUCIWUG --0. I wsvvvbrdin MON. 0 btbaas & ^^^^^.

AAR8, my Ps wr:-) --they sdICBW, & thtthey wrha-p 4 the pc&qt ..IDTS!! I wntd2 go hmASAP, 2C my M8s again.

2day I cam bk2 skool. I feel v O:-) BC I hvdnall my hmwrk. Now is BAU...