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Local or global phenomenon?
Written By archangelchuck on Apr. 26, 2008.
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There is a growing trend among teenagers who have just learned the ins and outs of (god damned) cell phones and text messaging. Have any of you ever seen extra, pointless letters attached to a word or number of words?
Let's say I write a half-paragraph:
Iii wennttt 2 thaah parkkk 2dayy. Itt was a lott offfh funnnm.
Now, of course I admit that I'm not the best writer in the world, but I have to ask...
First: Where the hell did this bullshit come from?! When I started out as a teen with instant messenger and chat rooms, admittedly I used the common abbreviations and shorthand like "lol," "brb," and "afk." While I no longer consider them acceptable for my own use in any line of communication, they did have a purpose... IMing was considered a lowly form of communication, wherein lazy spelling and grammar were considered acceptable, somewhat like a private chat room (where the shorthand ideas originated in the first place). Computers were new, people weren't used to typing so much. The shorthand made chatting quick and easy. Why make it inefficient and WRONG? With chat shorthand, there was a system. There was an accepted set of acronyms used to express different words or phrases. There is no rhyme or reason to this. "Iii jussttt decidedddh 2 typpeeeh lyk a moronnh one daaay." Ah-HYUCK!!!
Second: Is it a global or a local phenomenon? I really want to know whether I should lay down the proverbial hammer of justice or dismiss it as one of those phases.
Mike
Written Apr. 26, 2008 / Report /
I gotta tell you that I just laughed out loud when reading your first example because it was so ludicrous. I don't think I've seen that before, but then again I haven't been a teenager in awhile so I don't really know what they're up to. It sounds like something that might be a fad though.
eXctrik
Written Apr. 26, 2008 / Report /
I've never seen that, but maybe you ment...
archangelchuck
Written Apr. 26, 2008 / Report /
Hahaha. Okay so I exaggerated a little bit for the sake of "satirical angry rant," but I only wish I meant, "i wnt 2 da prk 2dy, was fun." Why? Because it's short, sweet, and if someone was typing on a phone, I could certainly see the point. I choose to type properly, but can accept shorthand like that.
I did mean exactly what I typed, and am starting to think "Only in Missouri would an abomination like this occur." :P
auburn
Written Apr. 27, 2008 / Report /
No, I never saw it. I really hope it's local and not contagious. Please, please don't bring it to NY State!
shadowsun7
Written Apr. 28, 2008 / Report /
It's used where I come from, but not to the extent of your first example. Repeating the letters in a word denote dragging it in your speech, for emphasis. For instance the following is more reasonable:
I do suppose italics and bold lettering would help give the word the same sense of emphasis, but in IM and SMS we don't have style options. So we repeat the letters.
Gnorb
Written Apr. 28, 2008 / Report /
Note to self: stay off archangelchuck's lawn.
archangelchuck
Written Apr. 28, 2008 / Report /
@shadowsun7: I dunnooo about yoouu, but I doon't streeetch out every oother wooordh! :D Rather, that's reasonable, but the extent to which it's used isn't.
@Gnorb: Har har. Very funny. ;p