Textspeak

MamaCaz, I'm with you there - I still try & cut down long texts to fit in a single message. I do try and use what I would call standard English abbreviations though - like & for AND, people's initials rather than full names, cutting out commas if they aren't required for the meaning.

And I do note that most younger people don't use extreme txtspk these days - they agree it's not necessary with modern phones. The only person I know who does is a friend of my own age.

Gracie - in the Rebekah Brooks trial it emerged that Cameron also thought ‘Lol’ was ‘Lots of love’.
My DGS tells me I’m the worst emoji user ever. ?

I'm not keen on some of these abbreviations such as m8 but I've no problem with MIL, BIL, FIL or SIL, DD etc, as who wants to write these out in full every time? It's far too much of a faff.
It's nice to see the word 'thrice' - it's not used often enough IMO and I feel that 'twice' seems to be going the same way - 'two times' seems clumsy by comparison.
Yes, I know - I'll go and sit in Pedant's corner.

Loopy - are you looking forward to SSR and the LPO at the BC? I shall miss the MoL being there!
Fascinated that OMG is 100 years old, originally a pun in a letter from the Admiral of the Fleet to Churchill!
TTFN everyone, as we said long ago ...
S

Stella14 with you all the way on your post, I will not be moved!

S is a FLF thing, not a word!

My father used to use text speak, I had great difficulty understanding what he was saying, he died aged 89, he had three mobile phones when he died, the noisier they were the better!

So, this brings me to part 2 of my OP(oops!)
If we accept that language is going this way, when is it acceptable and when not, to use it?
Text to friends or family? Fine
Facebook post? If you must!
Thank you letter to granny(as if)? Maybe not
Letter to the Bank? Probably not
Card or letter of congratulations or condolence ? Not comfortable with that either.
Isn’t it complicated?

I am 74 and still use fully correctly spelled words and hopefully correct grammar

As a secretary I took shorthand dictation, and find text speak's brilliant, fast, easy to learn to write & read. Would you write, for example, thirteen or 13? See Grans you're already half way there. Just learn a couple of new words a day. Keep your brain young.

I'd rather use proper language than text speak, though it doesn't bother me if people txt me. The best thing for me is that little audio button where I can speak longer texts, though I have to read it through as sometimes I wonder what it thinks I said.

We all adapt our language, both written and spoken according to audience and context. Iwhen I write a note to myself eg a shopping list I don't write in full - I might put 100g spuds or lge tin toms ! But we need to know when to write in full eg in formsl letters. I see no problem with testspeak when texting to friends but when pupils used it in their exercise books I didn't allow it as it was my job as a teacher to see they knew how to write 'properly' . (I wouldn't use eg in a formsl letter either!)
When I was a child Iin tge 1950s, thought this rhyme, in a form of text speak, was very amusing!
YY U R
YY U B
I C U R
YY 4 me

(Too wise you are, too wise you be, I see you are too wise for me)
It's been around a long time!

Btw (by the way) I also find DH , DD etc annoying and would prefer to omit the D!

Bother - too many typos on this tiny keyboard. By formsl I mean formal.

In the 1950s!

I'm now getting used to the terms used on GN, SiL, have to read the thread to know whether it's Son, or Sister-in-law.
As for OH, I thought you were refering to your husband,(Old)...!!! I now think that's Other-Half.?
I am rather out-of-date/old.

Just recently my son sent me to a farm shop with very specific request for a certain muesli. I had wonderful assistance from almost every staff member trying to find 'fidelity' brand. Turns out his phone does the dreaded predictive after the first two letters!!!!! I did the unthinkable and applied a bit of common sense. Success! (without even calling him back for confirmation)

I refuse to use the abbreviations that are fashionable when texting on my phone, and I still decline the verb as I always have declined verbs, so I texted someone yesterday. Illogical, I admit, as until quite recently, I would have hotly denied that "text" could be anything than a noun!

If the fashion for mobilespeak doesn't die out soon, it will affect our everyday English. Teaching Danish children English, I have already fought the battle about whether they may or may not write "How R U?" in a composition, or not. The pupils were hurt and annoyed when I said they might only do so, if the theme of the composition was to write a mobile phone text message.

And yes, I belong to the generation of schoolgirls who were not allowed to write "okay", "OK" or even "All right" in school essays, unless in reported speech- and even then if the conversation was part of an entirely imaginary composition, it would be corrected to something more erudite.

Polly - in the '50 that was often written in autograph books.
Grandtante - 'All right' was unacceptable? How very surprising, I think my school would have accepted it in the '50s so maybe it was unique to yours!

That is surely better since text is bithba noun and a verb but texted isn’t actually a word at all

My MiL told us this one that she got from her dad:

If the B MT put coal on;
If the B.

It's minimalist. Does anyone else know it? It translates as:

If the grate be (pun on great B) empty put coal on;
If the grate be full, stop (fullstop).

I always use the full word or words on my phone and on here I never abbreviate. My children do not abbreviate when they text me either. Come to think of it grandchildren don't either....hahaha.

I say texted. It's applying the rules of correct grammar. In the (new)verb to text the past tense is surely texted.
For example 'bandage' is both a noun and a verb but the past tense of to bandage would be bandaged.
Past tense of to fax is faxed as in I faxed him.
I can't cope with 'I text her' - it just sounds wrong!

My daughter (note no acronym!) once sent me a text saying “Cumin home by cup”
I was wondering if it was some sort of recipe, but apparently it was meant to be “coming home by cab”.
Predictive text has a lot to answer for, but now it’s a family saying that we’ll take a ‘cup’ home!

Double Dutch to me. Only a landline here, no mobiles.