Understanding texting Language - 180 Technology Tips #150

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Technology Tip Number 150
DY undRst& dis msg?

It's called "Texting" or "IMing" or more formally "SMS Language" and it refers to the sometimes complex language of abbreviations and acronyms that teenagers and others use to communicate via cell phone Text Messages and online Instant Messages.

Here are some examples:

lol	=	laughing out loud	RUOK?	=	Are you OK?
dis	=	this	BRB	=	Be Right Back
whr	=	where	xlnt	=	excellent
ASL?	=	age, sex, location	gr8	=	great
MOS	=	Mom Over Shoulder	any1	=	Anyone
5o	=	Police	9	=	Someone's watching me

This is the language of chatrooms, cell phones, instant messaging and digitally connected teenagers everywhere. It's function is to minimize the number of key strokes and punctuation needed to communicate a message. It's officially called Short Message Service or SMS Language and here's a link to more information about it's development:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Message_Service

Wikipedia also has a pretty good list of these abbreviations:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_SMS_abbreviations

There's even some online translators that can help you communicate in this language. Try one of these translators:

transl8tit | lingo2word | TxT Speak Translator

And for parents and educators who need help understanding this new language try this website for help:

NoSlang.com
Features a translator, dictionary, a great guide for parents as well as many good links to more information.

So what does the title of this technology tip mean?

DY undRst& dis msg?
Do you understand this message?

Finally, purely for entertainment purposes, you can try this translator which takes English and translates it into "12-Year-Old-AOLer":

http://ssshotaru.homestead.com/files/aolertranslator.html

PRACTICE ACTIVITY: Go to one of the online translators listed above and try translating something to see what you get.

TO KEEP ON LEARNING: To find out more about SMS Language try searching the internet for:

SMS Language
txt translators
textspeak & chatspeak
teenspeak

Have a nice day!

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