Child talk in Sl

QFT! = Quoted for truth

asfar as i know it has been around since ICQ's early days , and yes SMS messages did influence it (Atleast in Holland), also there are many quides to chat-shorthand, so one could say it's a special language. (does not matter if you play ie. poker or chess on the net, you will see it anywhere)

When this language slow's down chat, it's most likely because one of the chatter's has little internet chat experience, which again does not say much of their general experience.

wot?

Don't diss acronyms, they've been around since the Romans.
And believe it or not, a lot of English learners actually USE and UNDERSTAND that bloody "txt spk"- and the teacher has a hard time making them understand that no, it's NOT cool or makes you write like a "native"....
I almost die every time I use "LOL", so I use it extremely sparingly in conversations. But then there is a difference between txt spk and "real" computer/Internet acronyms.

When Shakespeare wrote HIS plays he used the equivalent of text speak - developing a language out of the old Middle and early Renaisaance English. Read Romeo and Juliet and notice how many times he uses the word "get" (which means F*** to an Elizabethan) and the acronyms and hidden meanings and short-cuts he uses are exactly what we do today. U may think txtspk is the end of lang but it prolly start of sumting new. Kewl, eh?

/me darts into the thread, looks around, sees what it's about, and darts back off again.

I tend to use complete sentences and proper punctuation when communicating in-world but then I type fast and it's not difficult for me. Not many of my conversations have been with people doing likewise and then it's only in smaller groups. I get a chuckle out of looking at chat histories and seeing my own posts standing out as longer lines within a column of one or two word posts. The thing that really does make me LOL is when I've said something and my friend is seen standing there typing and typing and typing and the box pops up with "yes."

I believe that if the meaning is conveyed it's not that big of a deal. But I will admit that I do make a subconscious judgement about the other party's interest in putting any effort into the conversation when they use textese abbreviations.

You are also assuming the read does not have any sort of reading disability. Reading just half of that was painful for me. Yes I could read it but it took me much longer to do so and understand it then it normally would. For that reason I try to use proper english so that others with a reading disability can clearly read what I mean and not have to constantly stop on every second word to figure out what I am saying.

I'll use abbreviations and "txt" conventions if I have to communicate in a hurry and feel sure the other person will understand, but otherwise usually spell everything out. (Exception: When something works well as a rhetorical device. Nothing seems to express extreme amusement or hilarity in response to someone's comment than ZOMGWTFLOLROFLCOPTERBBQ!!! and it is universally understood, in my experience.)

I don't mind such usages, but L33T Speak (or worse, SP33K) needs to be hunted down and its practitioners eliminated with absolute ruthlessness. Absolutely intolerable. D3TH 2 L33T!!

I use lazy acronyms for words quite often, but only with friends who know I dont really communicate that way, and usually only when I'm tryin keep up with the flow of a faster moving conversation (cuz I dont type that fast). I don't spew that stuff into open chat. Usually the 'how r u" and type stuff doesn't bother me that much, and I dont prejudge people for using it. It's not the length, spelling, or complexity of the words they use that matters to me... It's what they say using those words that counts.

u wnt sex nw?

Before I came to SL I hadn't done any chat room stuff, and never text on my phone, so all the abbreviations annoyed the hell out of me. Except for the basic LOL's, OMG and few others I still try to avoid them. Sometimes not successfully....

Im working on corrupting her. Give me another 6 months


Sides shes cuddly.

That would be to simplify it too much...he used slang terms and stuff, but not exactly txt spk. And acronyms do NOT equal txt spk.


He actually used a lot of different expressions for other rude stuff, too...

WTF OMG LOL. Why yes, now that you're mentioning it....

I see that in WoW more than SL, actually, and I grit my teeth every time.

Like I said, I don't like the shorthand, but I can tolerate it in real time interactions like SL chat. I do NOT, however, understand why people insist on using it in forums and blogs, et cetera. No one is awaiting your immediate response, you have plenty of time to think about what you're saying, so why not actually use all the letters of the words you're typing?

I actually text a lot on my phone, but in normal language...I missed the whole switch to txt spk as well.

I think it is just another adaption of the English language. English is incredibly flexible that way, adapting to new cultures and mediums.

thx 4 brng ths up

These are from my mother's old autograph book - from the 1950's

11 was a racehorse
22 was 1 2
11 1 1 race
22 1 1 2

Translates to :

One-One was a racehorse
Two-Two was one too
One-One won one race
Two-Two won one too

---- and -----

2 ys u r
2 ys u b
I c u r
2 ys 4 me


Translates to:

Too wise you are
Too wise you be
I see you are
Too wise for me



It seems like there is nothing new under the sun, hehe

I loved reading this paragraph...had no problem...amazing, and I am a pretty persnickerty about spelling too. Although I am a lousy typist, my typos bother me.

I talk to ESL people all day as part of my job, and the crucial point of contention I find, is understanding tense. ESL folks can't convey tense with the alacrity of native English speakers: ie, I have rented a car, I am renting a car, I will rent a car, I rented a car...its all " I rent car!" all the time, and that causes confusion.

Language changes and chat like wot we use is helping in that process. What are words like didn't, can't etc. if they are not lazy shorthand from previous generations?

I have notived that French SLers sometimes leave out apostrophes so that l'escargot would be written lescargot. So it's not just the English sepakers who are at it!

The point is communication. If the rules help that, great. If the rules interfere with that, fuck the rules.

Pedants may feel free to differ.

As in First Bling....?

?

I personally wouldnt touch "designer" personal adornment with a fork attached to the end of a remotely controlled forklift. First Bling does NOT dso it for me.

But SL as the leading expression of the Next Big Thing?
That does it for me, big time.

What about abbr words like Rez, Prim, TP etc????

Crossing language barriers and the use of color (colour) etc??

Any new form of platform, like the internet, will bring a raft of jargon, new words are being added all the time.... anyone 20 years ago heard of email, webhosts, appletes, pluggins etc?

dno wot ur askin 4 rly.

n e one no?

i wud jst dlete um k? let um try agin wen thy cn spel. thx.