REPORT #1700
"It’s short. It’s informal. It’s abbreviated. So they have short, abbreviated sentences in their written work.”
Meghan Rowlands
English Teacher
Columbus, OH
TODAY'S LESSON: TEXTING
BACKGROUND: Texting is the common term used for sending short (usually 160 characters or less) word messages from a mobile phone. It's also referred to as short message service, or SMS. The most common application of the text message is person-to-person communication, however it can also be used to interact with automated services, order services for mobile phones and participate in contests or polls.
HISTORY: Text messaging was initially designed for the deaf and hard of hearing people. Many companies have claimed to have sent the very first text message, but according to a former NASA employee the first text was sent in 1989 via a Motorola beeper using upside-down numbers that could be read as words and sounds. The first SMS text was sent in the United Kingdom in December of 1992. It read "Merry Christmas". Today, text messaging is the most widely used mobile data service on the planet with 72 percent of all mobile users worldwide actively using the service. In countries like Finland, Sweden and Norway, 90 percent of the population uses texting. About 85 percent of Europeans use texting and the United States is quickly catching up with over 40 percent of the population texting. The country with the largest average usage of texting is the Philippines where mobile phone users send an average of 15 texts per day.
LINGO: Text messaging has left a mark on the English language creating a new sub-language or shorthand and abbreviations. Here are some of the most popular:
- 2: to/too - u: you
- 4: for - r: are
- brb: be right back - k: okay
- g2g: got to go - w8: wait
- ttyl: talk to you later - l8: late
- btw: by the way - thx: thanks
- idk: I don't know - omg: oh my god (or gosh)
- lol: laugh out loud - w/e: whatever
SMART WOMAN CONTACT:
Heather Thompson
Bishop Hartley High School
Columbus, OH
hthompso@cdeducation.org
(614) 237-5421 ext. 228
