Tell me something, have you ever sms to some one? Yes? Of course you do! But wouldn't it be cumbersome to write in full sentence, word by word. Yes! Or writing it on short forms where the other party can understands. The later rules...
On top of this, writing on IM (Instant Messaging) on Yahoo, MSN, Skype etc... has also become part & parcel in our day to day work too. Who bothers to write a full sentence of "Can you please help me to request something .... " To write it short, it becomes " Can u pls ...."
Here are just some of the shorties...
You = u
See = c
Tomorrow = tml
Probably = prolly
Thanks = thx
Welcome = welc
Okay = k
Enjoy this article
SHORTIE, CU L8r @ *$ k?
If you can translate this string of symbols into a grammatically correct English sentence, you have probably never lived without air-conditioning, and have no clue who Pat Boon (a singer) is.
You, pal, are part of the millennium generation - people born from the mid-1980s till now.
For the uninitiated, the above reads: "Girlfriend, see you later at Starbucks, okay?"
It is such new-generation IT lingo that has spawned Transl8it.com, a site that makes sense of text-messaging slang, converting them into proper English. And codes normal English words into text-messaging gibberish.
For one, the site has managed to translate - or destroy - poetry from Elizabeth Barrett Browning in less than five seconds. "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways" has morphed to: "Ow do I luv thee? Lt mi count d ways".
Sort of takes the romance out of poetry, doesn't it?
But for many teenagers, using these symbols or abbreviations is second nature. (Yes, English teachers, shudder).
So, smpl da flva (read: sample the flavour):
» Slang No. 1: Sup
Once ghetto language, it was brought to the fore by advertisements.
Like the Budweiser ads which feature a group of people screaming the greeting "Whassup". It was the ad that made the word popular among Americans, observed many media experts.
Even the greying are using it.
And in Internetville, the Whassup greeting has morphed into the shorter snappier version of "Sup". Meaning "hello" or "how are you?", Sup is used in text messages or online chat rooms as a form of friendly "Hi".
Like so: "Yo, sup, bro?"
» Slang No. 2: Srsly
A bastardised version of the term "seriously", and often used by teenagers who are just too lazy to type the word out in full. So, srsly simply means "really". Most teens attach the word at the end of a claim for effect.
Like so: "That latest hit single from R&B babe Rihanna is da bomb. Srsly."
» Slang No. 3: TMTH
Fans who caught every episode of American Idol Season 7 would have heard this slang by now - TMTH or Too Much To Handle. Contestant Danny Noriega said it after judge Simon Cowell made a caustic remark on one of his performances during the semi-finals. TMTH usually refers to an event that makes you wish the earth would swallow you up.
Like so: "My friends pushed me down the stairs in front of the entire student body. That was just so TMTH."
» Slang No. 4: Fo Sho
This term drips from the lips of youths togged out in low-rise baggy jeans, baseball shirts and a whole lot of neck-tangling bling."Fo Sho" is a term found in the hip-hop dictionary, and it simply means "definitely" or "certainly".
Like so: "Yo, u beach partyin' tonight?" "Fo sho!"
» Slang No. 5: PIR
Every parent should know this lingo. It stands for Parents In Room, the alert that teenagers use to warn their friends to stop an online chat, or to quickly change a conversation topic (probably indecent or illegal). Such as when he's is planning to cut class. Variations include: POS (Parents Over Shoulder), PAL (Parents are listening) and P911 (Parents Alert).
Like so: "PAL - I really enjoy my mathematics lessons, I can't wait to go to school every day!"
» Slang No. 6: Fly
The words "cool" and "happening" are so not "fly" anymore. The term originated from hip-hoppin' rappers who used it in the American ghettos.
Like so: "Saw the car that David was driving? New tires, polished ports and oversized turbos! Totally fly."
» Slang No. 7: Subprime
For businessmen and market analysts, subprime refers to the act of lending money to borrowers who do not have the means to return the cash. Youths understand it as "substandard" or "lacklustre".
Like so: "The service standard of that clothing store - subprime, man! Don't buy anything from that shop ever again!"
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