Texting N America

Txtin n America

As Americans, we try to say everything we want, and need to say in 160 characters or less, including punctuation. Americans rush around as though they are late for everything; this puts our conversations under time constraints, which in turn shortens almost every phrase that we write, type, or say. We try to fit our entire lives into 160 characters by doing so we shorten words and make new acronyms to accommodate ourselves. These acronyms and abbreviations are now spilling over into our speech patterns and everyday lives. Some of the most common acronyms and shortenings are: lol, btw, l8r, gb, rotfl,b4,ttyl, idk, gf, f2f, h8, luvu, sec, sry, n, w/o, wayd, thx, ur, yr, xoxo, and zzzz. That is just an abbreviated list of the ever growing text messaging language.

Where did all of these terms originate? They were already in place before texting, or cell phones for that matter, ever made an entrance into our world. The hit movie sensation "You've Got Mail", which arrived on the stage in 1998, gives the best example of where to trace these terms to; and it gives us an in depth look at how these terms evolved through messaging. We can trace these terms back to their origins in instant messaging of the 1990s. Most of the people using this new language grew up watching their parents use it through instant messaging. Many of the people text messaging today were young during the 1990s; they watched their parent's use the instant messaging and they learned at young ages how to use this language. This language was bred into them at an extremely young age, and now it is intrinsic in their lives.

Our culture is now almost pushing these terms into everyday life. Many teens and young adults have grown up with this texting "slang", and now those same young people feel that it is acceptable to use that language in formal writings and settings. It is not acceptable. School is no place for "slang" language, especially not in formal writings. A few other places that these terms are making themselves apparent are e-mails, instant messages, blog posts, and on other online sites.

One in every three teachers has seen an increase in this new language in the past three years. Young children are now growing up and learning these terms before they learn proper English. Some English Professors say that this new language will inevitably take over our world; a professor at a university in New England says if we put an end to this language now we will avoid a catastrophe. We will avoid having to reteach our children and/or grandchildren proper English. Some college students and professors believe that this new language could revolutionize our world. They believe the new texting language could make our lives simpler, and it would allow us to get through life quicker.

What happens to the dictionary and everything that Webster has offered us over the last 170