Text Messaging

Given the diversity of Texas State University and the world, the Writing Center acknowledges and encourages the learning of other Englishes. Although university students are often required to write in Standard American English, doing so should not lead to intolerance of linguistic difference since all languages are complex communication systems.

What Is Text Messaging?

According to Jennifer Ramirez Johnson, "the detractors of IM do not understand the concept of multiple literacies. In their mind, there is a limited amount of literacy available to a student, and either IM or academic literacy will win out in a person, but there is no way for both to work cooperatively^.1 This assumption is false, as it does not take into account the large set of literacies a person can possess, ranging from formal to informal and mainstream to sub-cultural. . . . Much like stating the language of African-Americans is 'nonstandard English' and failing to take into account the huge cultural and historic underpinnings of the language, treating IM language as something to 'overcome' instead of the 'larger arc of language evolution trivializes the student's language of choice, and alienates them."²

¹Tudini, Vincenza. "Using Native Speakers in Chat." Language, Learning & Technology 7.3 (2003): 141-59, p. 125.
²Lee, Jennifer. "Nu Shortcuts in School R 2 Much 4 Teachers." New York Times (online). 19 September 2002.

INSTANT MESSAGING	TRANSLATION
@	at
B	be
B4	before
BRB	be right back
C	see
CU	see you
CUL8R	see you later
F2F	face to face
GR8	great
IC	I see
IMHO	in my honest opinion
J/K	just kidding
L8R	later
LOL	laughing out loud
NE1	anyone
NO1	no one
OIC	oh, I see
PLS	please
RU	are you
SPK	speak
TX	thanks
WAN2	want to
WKND	weekend
YR	your
2	to, too
2DAY	today
2NITE	tonight
3SUM	threesome
4	for

Chart adapted by Jennifer Ramirez Johnson from "Appendix 7" of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary.

Who Is Writing About Instant Messaging?

Hale, Constance. Wired Style: Principles of English Usage in the Digital Age. San Francisco:

Hardwired Books, 1996.

"IM, SMS, CMC, ESL and Other Acronyms That Should be Used Together: Reviewing the Feasibility of Using Instant Messaging to Teach English" by Jennifer Ramirez Johnson (PDF, 266.8 KB)

Visit the Writing Center Text Messaging Discussion Board:

Go to tracs.txstate.edu, and log in using your TSU username and password.
Click on "Membership" in the lefthand menu to see the sites to which you belong.
Click "Joinable Sites," search for "Writing Center," and click "Join."
Go to the Writing Center tab that has been added to the top of your TRACS website.
Click on "Message Center"