I was confused today. Now some might think this is not unusual, after all I do switch off the heating and then switch it on two minutes later thinking I am switching it off don't I? However this was real confusion! I received a message and could not understand it. I looked at it wondering if a drunk had found a keyboard, or if it was some sort of secret code that had come from the Russian Embassy by mistake. I unravelled the mystery by the simple technique of looking at the senders name, why had numpty not thought of that before you ask, well because, just because! When I noticed the name it all fell into place. She has to talk in text speak because of her kids or they don't understand her! This habit is continued when talking to normal folk rather than teens. Text speak! What a great invention. Now it is possible to speed up the communication between kids sitting five feet apart as they communicate with one another – while talking to the person they are texting at the same time! Being young they are able to swear at the teacher while under English instruction and still text correctly afterwards. This capability reduces as time passes, I find, as does the ability to understand just what on earth someone offering 'l8r' means. ('Later' it seems!) Knowledge of the 'text' language can speed up sending messages by text, and there is many times 'texting' can be useful – if you have a friend to text of course – but it can surely be dangerous! Where does it stop? For instance I heard it said that had the apostle Paul used text we would never had obtained much of a new testament. Instead of two long letters to the Corinthians it would be a short ' plz luv al ttyl.' 'Please love one another, talk to you later.' I hesitate to suggest that this would not be as effective as writing in Greek has been.
But where will it lead? Shall we return to hieroglyphics? Instead of poetry and prose will we just have line drawings of birds and a big fish with a sun above? A few squiggly lines and a jar next to a fox maybe? What would this do to bloggers? I am aware that on message boards some young brats appear now and again and insist on using such 'talk.' The gentlemen there are swift to inform them, without the need for text speak, as to what exactly they can do with this terminology. Such suggestions are not possible to put into text speak surely?
For those with a desire to disturb their mentality I suggest a site or two where you can learn this gobbledygook for yourself.
Good luck!
