Angie ChengーWeek 1: The Power of Acronyms and Texting
Angie Cheng
Benedetti
English 11AP
Wednesday, January 19, 2021
Blog #1 Semester 2
Week 1:The Power of Acronyms and Texting – 1/19/2022 [10:29 AM].
We all use acronyms unconsciously now especially when we are texting, tweeting, and messaging others. For example, “I rlly enjoy this idea of urs maybe we can incorporate smt to make it look extra col! lets start on our wip” or “whagt is happening rn fr lol pls tell me ong” (I am not saying I text or tweet like this please, maybe sometimes as a joke, yeah sure.) Regardless, we know that social media does influence the way we are messaging others. And even with so much acronyms, most people just…understand it as if it is another language(woah I did something there frfr!) Even with the insane amount of acronyms that are used everyday, there are always more that appear out of nowhere and once you pick it up either from the internet or a friend that consistently uses it, it becomes part of your own habit too.
And sometimes, those very acronyms that are used when texting others end up being verbally spoken too. Obvious example being lol. Nobody just says “laugh out loud,” it’s just “lol” or “lm*o.” Currently am trying to remember other examples but nothing is popping up sighs. (Time to check Twitter moment and I cannot find anything.)
Of course, the uses of contractions do not exist in the way things most things are texted now (cant, wasnt urs, aint, etc.) Although texting is so much easier, the attitude of texting without or with punctuations can really change the tone of the text. For example, most people prefer caps off because it seems like the text is slightly in a nicer tone. However, with a capitalized letter and then including a period, it makes you sound serious and maybe even…angry making the people who text you worry that you have done something wrong. (I have been scared multiple times in the past good times…) And oddly, all caps can go both ways. Either they are very mad at something, or are very excited about something.
Oh how texting and acronyms change tones of the message.
When I was convincing this person here to turn off caps…
Comments
Understanding tone through text is something that I and many people have struggled with. Sometimes it’s just difficult figuring out if someone is joking or not because we all have different texting styles. For instance, when people end their sentences with periods (i.e. “Yes.” as opposed to “yes”) it sounds more serious. I personally adore using emotes (thanks, Discord) when messaging to get my point across and to make sure people know whether I’m just joking or I’m being 100% serious. Ultimately, I prefer talking to people face to face.
-Angel Susantin
I think that it's really hard to convey tone within text messages. Especially since most texts are sent in a rush, most people don't stop to reread their texts before sending them. Intentions can be easily misconstrued, and typos are misunderstood. I think it's a really interesting toopic to think about how acronyms came to be. Subconsciously, I will respond to someone by saying "lol, but I never really think about how weird it is to hear when you say the literal words that make up the acronym. It's also really difficult to figure out what acronyms mean at times. Occasionally, I will get a text from a family member with an acronym that I do not know. Instead of saving time, I have to ask them what the acronym means. I suppose it's not a total waste of time, but it's really interesting to see the shortcuts we take in language these days.
I feel like the internet is fun because of how it connects a multitude of people through their own "language." Language constantly evolves, but with the invention of the internet, these new words and acronyms are spread quickly and easily, unifying the nation. I agree with everyone's points saying that it is difficult to establish your tone over text. Sometimes when I text, I rewrite it over and over again because I don't want it to come off as rude by accident. This is one of the reasons I started using emojis again, because this way, people have a clearer idea of my feelings.
I will admit that I liked reading your blog a lot because I have the same kind of humor haha. This goes back to what you said of using a word becoming a habit because someone else starts using it. I know of someone who uses your lingo and this allows me to understand how fast people can catch on to words. For example, tiktok (or at least what I think) introduced the fact of having a period after a word to make the text more funny or serious (usually funny). I started using it and then my friends did and it just goes on and on. Acronyms sometimes are kind of annoying when you have no idea what they are and suddenly EVERYONE is using it. For example, i had no idea what "tbh" in freshman year and it just got super frustrating.
Sincerely,
Mrinmayee
I honestly don’t know how I would text without acronyms. At first, I didn’t really care about acronyms much until my friends started using it all the time whenever we texted. Like you said, it unconsciously becomes your habit, and it became my habit to understand every acronym texted and put it to use as well. I also catch myself saying acronyms like “lol” out loud and cringe, anyways that’s not the point. As much as I love using acronyms while texting since it’s shorter and simpler, I have a hunch that soon every word is going to be replaced with acronyms. Hopefully we still continue to use some words!
Sincerely,
Faith Tong
I feel like a totally different person talking online in this "language" as you call it then when I usually talk irl. (see what I did there?) I personally am not a caps lock kind of person unless I am really excited with what I have to say. Every day I have been seeing newer and more contractions pop out as I barely used any form of social media to chat with anyone, so I type sometimes in paragraphs but mostly I try to stay consistent and type shorter messages.
I love communicating online, it’s way easier and people understand me through fun slang and even when I badly misspell a word; people still able to comprehend what I am trying to say. I love saying “I’m pushing 🅿️“ and “LMAOOO,” on text. It’s so fun and people just know to respond better. However for me its is difficult to tell what tone the person is using, I just just assume they are mad at me. So for me I use emojis like 😸, 😿, 😾 at the end of my texts so people know what kind of tone I am using.