 |
||||
Wut r u sayng? As text-ese worms its way deeper and deeper into the English lexicon, parents would be wise to learn translations for this new e-language 
To most adults, the shorthand writing kids use on instant messaging services and text message chats is a simply a confusing collision of numbers and consonants. But for parents desperate to stay in contact with their children's lives, understanding just what they mean by all those abbreviations can provide a window into their worlds. Here are ten terms we think you should know. By the end of this list, you may even be able to interpret what your kids actually mean when they speak. 1) Luv, <3: This is a word you want to see in relation to your cooking or family vacation. Note the vowel use of how the "o" in "love" sounds like a standard "u," as in "bug." Also, be aware for those non-alphanumeric symbols popping up in vocabulary. 2) Hw, hmwk: If home is where the heart is, homework is hopefully where their minds are. If you walk into the room and find an instant message ending with "g2g, hw," you can rest assured that your kid has left the Internet to attack some schoolwork. 3) Bff: Sometimes pronounced "biff," this abbreviation for "best friends forever" was born so that, heaven forbid, someone should think your best friend is actually your boyfriend. A primarily female usage on this one. 4) Idk: What you won't be saying anymore after trying to read textese. "I don't know" is an effective tool to get some kid in algebra class to stop pestering you for the answer to number seven. 5) Iirc/im(h)o: These two often find their way into conversations where a sense of history and thought are required. "If I remember correctly," for instance, "ninth grade was much easier than tenth, in my honest opinion." 6) Lol: Perhaps the king of textese, "lol" usually isn't telling the truth. Occasionally offered to mean "lots of love," this term claims its user is laughing out loud when in fact they're probably wondering about their chat buddy's questionable sense of humor. Its dual meanings make it a homographic slang term, an arrangement that drives critics like BBC's John Humphrys mad. "If the recipient of the message has to spend ten minutes trying to translate it," Humphrys wrote in a 2007 London Daily Mail column, "those precious minutes are being wasted. And isn't the whole point to 'save' time?" 7) Pos: If you see this one, give your kid some space. It stands for "parents over shoulder," and assuming you know to whom your children are talking, they're just waiting for you to leave before they can continue their conversation. You can always ask about it later. 8) Plz and ty: Saying please and thank you, because politeness still matters, even in shorthand. 9) Ttyl: Signing off with a pledge to continue the conversation at a future date is a common practice - talk to you later. With so many more ways to communicate, don't think of it as goodbye. Think of it as a break. 10) K, thx 4 rdg, c u l8r! |
||||
|
||||
