Texting in the Academic
Context: Pros and Cons
Irina Averianova, Nagoya Business
University, Japan
Instant MessagingDevelopment
1995 -0.4 messages per customer
per month
2006 - 72% of all mobile phone
users worldwide use Short
Message Service (SMS).
Finland, Sweden, Norway - 90% of
the population
The European average - about
85%
2010 -2.4 trillion
Texting as Electronic
Discourse: Written Speech
Spoken Writing
(Hybrid, A new computer style, Internet Slang,
Internet language, Net speak, Chat Room
Shorthand, Tech-talk, Nu English)
DISCURSIVE DRIVES
 Economy of writing
Linguistic relaxation
Maintenance of orality in the absence of
direct auditory interaction
Electronic Discourse
ABBREVIATION
Initialisms: ASAP, TTYT, ISTM, KISS,
PICNIC, HAND, POS, TUL
Clippings: Pic, Peeps, Attn
Homophonic coinages or
Logograms: 2dA, 2u2, UC, Qt, Y
Electronic Discourse
SIMPLIFIED SYNTAX
Incomplete sentences: Need 2 go;
been watching ya
“Contracted” contractions: dont,
whats, thats
Electronic Discourse
EMOTICONS
(SMILEGLYPHS, SMILEYS)
:-) “smile”
:-O “surprise, shock”
:-D “laughing”
>:-O “angry/yelling
>:-( “angry/grumpy”
:’-( “crying”
:-* “kiss”
:-@ “screaming”
Texting – Linguistic Profile
Abbreviation
Initialisms
 Words
N – no Y – yes W – with W/O – without
W/E – weekend GF - girl friend
 Phrases
NP - no problem FTF – face to face
 Sentence
OMG – oh my God! SWDYT – so what do
you think CMB – call me back
Texting – Linguistic Profile
Abbreviation
Cf. – Initialisms in Email
KISS - keep it simple stupid
 PICNIC – problem in chair not
computer
 RTM – “Read the manual”
RTFM (BCK2Skol, 1999)
Texting – Linguistic Profile
Abbreviation
Letter Omission
Contractions
attn, rgds, sb, sth, it’s
Clipppings
lab, rep, Jan, Sat, pic
 Vowel omission
Gd – good, pls – please, xlnt -excellent
Logograms
29t (tonight), cu @ 8, 4u
Electronic Discourse in SMS
il b kmg dar 2 mor 2 c S cz I need 2 giv
her dr buk kmg wif P vl meet 2 k g’n8 (-:
(I’ll be coming there tomorrow to see S,
because I need to give her the book. Coming
with P. We’ll meet too ok? Good night.’)
YYSSW - yeah, yeah, sure, whatever
SWYRT - so what do you think?
BHME@2 - I will be home at 2 o’clock)
Txtng: The Gr8 Db8
(D. Crystal, 2008)
My smmr hols wr CWOT. B4, we used
2go2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 :kids FTF. ILNY, it's a gr8 plc
(In translation: "My summer holidays were a
complete waste of time. Before, we used to
go to New York to see my brother, his
girlfriend and their three screaming kids
face to face. I love New York. It's a great
place.") (BBC News, 4 March, 2003)
Texting in academic writing
xs cmpnstn fnds wl b nvstd 4
srvvng fmly mmbrs
(In translation: “Excess
compensation funds will be
invested for surviving family
members.”) (I. Berman, 2006)
Texting in academic writing
Common disclaimer phrases (called
“parantheticals”) ofn contract in2
ACRONYMS – they tend to occur @
certain points in a sentence which
can facilitate decoding. Some e.g.s.:
IMHO – In my humble/honest
opinion…
Lol, btw, b/c (N. Baron 2009)
@, $, &
Texting – Other problems
 Cheating
 2002 - University of Maryland, College Park, 12
students
 2002 - Hitotsubashi University, 26 students
 2004 - England, 287 school and college students
Multitasking
Disruption
Texting – Benefits
 Teenagers read and write more
(B. Bass, Maryland Writing Project, 2002)
Additional experience in writing
(D.Crystal, 2009)
A new generation of teenage writers,
accustomed to translating their every
thought and feeling into words
(H.Helderman, 2003)
 Revising and editing (G. Jacobs, 2005)
Texting – Concerns
 Code-switching
 Knowledge of traditional writing
conventions
 Communicative awareness
 Texting etiquette
 Differentiation between creativity
and normative language use
What is texting?
 “Linguistic decline”, “Crisis”
 Nu English, language of the future
PURISM OR FLEXIBILITY?
2b or not 2b th@ts ?

Innovative strategy!