26 Jul Is text speak taking over the world?
If you have a profile on Facebook, Twitter or Myspace, you will no doubt have encountered ‘text speak’. In fact, it’s very hard to miss – more and more people seem to be adopting this strange new way of ‘talking’ online. And it’s not a new occurrence, from the minute we could send texts via our mobiles, we looked for further ways to abbreviate our communications (txt anyone?)
Now text speak is invading our online profiles – are we really getting to the point where we are too lazy to write full sentences? OK, so it can be a quicker way to get your point across – however, unless you’re part of the ‘text generation’ (i.e. under the age of 30) – it can all get a bit confusing. It seems like a new word is being invented every day – or at least an abbreviation of an existing word – so who can blame us for getting our IMAOs and LMAOs confused?
The most amusing instance of text speak can be found in reports generated by recruitment agencies and HR professionals. Recent studies have revealed that many candidates are now listing ‘texting’ as a hobby, and a small number of applicants have actually used text speak abbreviations on their application forms! In a particularly difficult job market, it’s maybe not the best impression that you can give to a potential employer!
With all of this word chopping are we are slowly losing grip of traditional English altogether? What’s next – will we be using text speak as a replacement for verbal communications? OK, so that may be a slight exaggeration, but you get my point. In an increasingly online world, text speak is a trend that may well continue for many years to come. And perhaps it is possible for ‘text speak’ and ‘normal speak’ to live together harmoniously?
So, rather than getting annoyed by this new occurrence, it may be an idea to just embrace it. It’s unlikely that text speak will take over the world and replace traditional English any day soon (although an increasing number of abbreviations seem to be entering the English dictionary of late), so take a breath, exhale and LOL.