Luv 2 Txt | Teen Ink

Luv 2 Txt MAG

January 29, 2009
By Christina Costello BRONZE, Hopedale, Massachusetts
Christina Costello BRONZE, Hopedale, Massachusetts
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

You need to send a quick text to your mom to tell her soccer practice is canceled. In an effort not to get caught, you reach ever so slowly, skillfully, and one-handedly into your backpack. Drawing your bright purple handheld lifeline from the front pocket, you are careful not to press any button that will reveal your mission to Mr. Boring, who is yapping away at the front of the room. With the phone in your lap, you try not to look down as you type: “sccer canceled! pick^ @2 thx <3.”

Sent. You slip it into you pocket, fearing you will not be able to discreetly get it back in your bag. But wait … your BFF Lucy’s hair looked utterly ridiculous when you passed her in the hall on your way to bio. It’s unthinkable to wait until lunch to tell her. Only a horrid friend would let her saunter around with a mortifying hairdo! So, you repeat the sneaky process of texting: “Fix ur hair, its sticking ^!!!!” Now, not only have you just missed two whole possibly important minutes of Mr. Boring’s lecture, but you have furthered the decline of your spelling and vocabulary.

Could you understand the title of this article? Anyone who has ever texted or used instant messaging can. Most teens love to text. What our English teachers, parents, and future employers would prefer us to say is “I love grammar,” which most of us don’t. There are times when we have to use proper grammar and times when we don’t. The problem is that the line between when to spell-check and proofread and when to just type and send is becoming blurred and almost invisible.

The way we type when we use virtual communication devices affects the way we spell – not just when we’re in a rush, but on school or job assignments too. Ever caught yourself writing u instead of you in an ­essay for school? What about tho instead of though? In a world where instant gratification is everything, we simply do not take the time to add the few extra letters. Although teens today will eventually become the ones who set the standards for spelling and grammar, our elders are calling the shots now, and they tend to look down on spelling and grammatical errors. This could easily affect one’s grades or job opportunities.

Notice it or not, the words we choose, or rather don’t choose, when we use informal communication have significance. Rarely in a text message will a teen use the extensive vocabulary preached by our educators. Seldom do we see the word exultant for happy, morose for sad, querulous for annoyed, or ecstatic for glad in a text. We must reawaken this vast glossary of obscure and unused words if we expect to succeed on exams like the SATs that affect our future.

So, go ahead, work your fingers to the bone texting, but before you hit send, think about what you have written. Consider the words you chose and the way you spelled them and maybe, just maybe, you will retype your message.



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This article has 306 comments.


niesh13 SILVER said...
on Jun. 8 2010 at 3:03 pm
niesh13 SILVER, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
6 articles 0 photos 54 comments

Favorite Quote:
Love Me, Hate Me. I Really Don't Care .
Truth Is...Life Goes On , With or Without You

Undastandable. But still, i luv 2 txt 2.! lol, nd i do it alot 2. But i kno 2 not use txt language while writin a essay nd/ or nething has has 2 do w/ skool work. I guess yu jus hav 2 kno how 2 juggle both nd 2 kno wen nd where to use it.

ANGELSTAR14 said...
on Jun. 8 2010 at 12:59 pm
texting is the BEST THING EVER!!!! it's very cheap to text to people anywhere so you can't disagree on anything

on May. 17 2010 at 10:19 pm
imperfection GOLD, Gilroy, California
17 articles 9 photos 45 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Dream as though you'll live forever, live as though you'll die today."
~James Dean (1931-1955), American Motion Picture Actor, symbol of rebellion

A boy in my class didn't know "coulda" was slang for "could have"...

on May. 17 2010 at 9:02 pm
amelia.adams246 BRONZE, North Richland Hills, Texas
2 articles 0 photos 12 comments

Favorite Quote:
In the end, a friend is someone that cares and doesn’t judge. A friend loves, laughs, and helps you through the hard times with hugs and smiles. A friend comforts with words or sometimes just an ear.

This is really accurate...our generation is losing the ability to use proper grammar and vocabulary. I use to be really horrendous at it, but now...I have gotten better. So I think that texting is awesome (I do it all the time) but I think that kids should text somewhat correct grammar... 

on May. 17 2010 at 7:19 pm
StarlightStormcloud, Pasadena, California
0 articles 3 photos 34 comments
I didn't quite understand your reply... I do agree with the article, but only to a certain degree.  I would say that when texting, (especially with a traditional flip phone) abbreviations are practical because they save time and effort.  That's what texting is afterall - a quick way to send a brief message.  I personally don't understand it when people have long conversations solely through texting.  D txtspeak grmr was jst srcastic :) 

on May. 17 2010 at 5:17 pm
laptoploser1220 GOLD, Deltona, Florida
12 articles 0 photos 8 comments

Favorite Quote:
“Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT'S relativity.”- Albert Einstein

When I text or IM at all, I'm normally very grammatical. It's just a habit. But it does get on my nerve when people wrt lik dis da hole tim. Ehh.

on May. 17 2010 at 1:58 pm
featheredfreefall BRONZE, Simsbury, Connecticut
4 articles 17 photos 21 comments

Favorite Quote:
Live and let live. Be free and let be free.

I agree with the article... Although i suppose that is you can manage to actually have good grammar when you want to, it is all good!

on May. 17 2010 at 4:46 am
xAllegria BRONZE, Singapore, Other
1 article 2 photos 112 comments

Favorite Quote:
Ça fait tellement du bien d’aimer les gens qu’on aime, que ça finit par faire mal. Je sais pas comment on survit a ça. Non franchement, je sais pas. LOL (laughing out loud) ®, Lola.

PEACE!!... haha nevermind i'm being annoying :P

on May. 17 2010 at 12:11 am
StarlightStormcloud, Pasadena, California
0 articles 3 photos 34 comments
i dun got de dang time 2 b txting my bf w/ rite gramer!!! get offa my back grl lol

on May. 13 2010 at 10:26 pm
Lollipop2012 SILVER, Las Veags, Nevada
5 articles 0 photos 27 comments
i understand what your saying, but i think your wrong. I txt evrdy nd it dsnt mess ^ my grade.  My grammer and spelling is completly fine even though i txt like this evrydy.

on May. 13 2010 at 9:04 pm
silverbookslayer GOLD, Upper Marlboro, Maryland
11 articles 0 photos 7 comments

Favorite Quote:
"To know my deed, t'were best not to know myself"-Macbeth

Okay I love to text and I do use text language such as c u l8r when I text but that is because I am trying to reduce the space I am using in my text.  Also when I write papers and do homework I use proper English.  Just because you text does not mean you write horribly all the time unless you can't switch.  As you said texting is an INFORMAL way of communication so people will often use INFORMAL language.  

~straight A student~


Hoodie BRONZE said...
on May. 13 2010 at 12:30 pm
Hoodie BRONZE, Tucson, Arizona
3 articles 1 photo 27 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Small minds think people, average minds think events, but great minds, like mine, think ideas"-unknown

Wait, I'm not replying to you, wildcat. It's to whoever wrote the article.

on May. 12 2010 at 9:51 pm
wildcat DIAMOND, Hopkinton, Massachusetts
64 articles 0 photos 15 comments
see this is a respectable way to portray your opinion good job author!

kanga said...
on May. 12 2010 at 1:04 pm
kay so i text and stuff...still get good grades? i can still spell but okay.

on May. 12 2010 at 10:14 am
singdance7 SILVER, Davenport, Iowa
8 articles 4 photos 31 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Do what you can with what you have with where you are" Teddy Roosevelt i think
"I love life because what more is there" Unknown
"Remember, the future comes one day at a time" Unknown

I dont have a phone so i don't have to worry about this! but when i do text i might use 2 instead of two, to , or too...

on May. 2 2010 at 8:16 pm
dxrider27 SILVER, Howard Beach, New York
6 articles 0 photos 27 comments

Favorite Quote:
NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!!!!

Yeah I know; I don't use it in school

on May. 1 2010 at 9:05 pm
Lanna8o9 BRONZE, Medina, Ohio
2 articles 0 photos 16 comments

Favorite Quote:
We can do whatever we want to do whenever we want to do it
~Anonymous

I'm not very good at this, am I? What I was saying was, yeah, I use text language. It's fast, it's efficient, it's a great invention. But you don't use it in school, and you don't get SO extreme with it that nobody can understand what you're trying to say.

on May. 1 2010 at 9:58 am
dxrider27 SILVER, Howard Beach, New York
6 articles 0 photos 27 comments

Favorite Quote:
NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!!!!

No txt language is quicker and easier than regular grammar.

on Apr. 28 2010 at 10:28 pm
Lanna8o9 BRONZE, Medina, Ohio
2 articles 0 photos 16 comments

Favorite Quote:
We can do whatever we want to do whenever we want to do it
~Anonymous

I think Jenni's making the perfcet point that I don't think I managed to make at all! =) I admit that I overuse smiley faces, and I don't use text speak for laziness but for efficiency. Still, it's ridiculous to spend forever trying to figure out what someone has typed in text speak when they could have just typed out their message and been done with it.

Jenni_M said...
on Apr. 27 2010 at 9:23 pm
Um. 1) I didn't even say anything resembling "Do you like text messaging with proper grammar?" or even "Everyone likes to use proper grammar." What's with the "no"? 2) Using chat language in day-to-day conduct makes you look inept, so how is it better? 3) I send about 30,000 messages a month and the closest to chat language I ever get is smiley faces. I'm not pro at reading "txt spk" because I don't talk to people who type like that, because I can't take things seriously when somebody types lazily, or esspecially when they use the same amount of letters the wrong way as they would the right way.