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.


massacre said...
on May. 26 2011 at 8:23 am
massacre, Lakewood, Washington
0 articles 0 photos 29 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Hate is a word for somebody you love but no longer believe in."

Well, I'm afriad that I'd have to respectfully disagree. I am an A student, have an extensive vocabulary, and like to text. And ys, i txt lyk dis. I choose not to use a large vocabulary when texting, because the point of a text messege is to get your point across in as few words as possible, but just because I don't use it doesn't mean that I don't have it. As I write this, I'm texting. It's become part of America's culture.

on May. 26 2011 at 7:11 am
WritingSpasms, Los Angeles, California
0 articles 0 photos 121 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Devils run when a good man goes to war."
- River Song from Doctor Who (Ep. A Good Man Goes to War)

Like about two years ago, when texting day and night became "in" at my school, I too was a text addict. Then my parents interfered when they saw the phone bill. I still send texts, but only in absolute emergencies. If people want to talk to me, they have to call me, or wait to talk to me at school. I am in no rush, and I don't care if what was new news ten minutes ago is now old.

A lot of my other friends text frequently. To them I can "txt lyk dis", but I usually respond to everyone else with a grammatically correct sentence. Maybe it's because I write too much and I have somehow become stuck in my ways, or maybe I'm just a nitpicky Grammar Na.zi.


on May. 9 2011 at 3:15 pm
P03tryPunk BRONZE, Delray Beach, Florida
3 articles 0 photos 15 comments

Favorite Quote:
At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet. -Plato

I can write and speak in perfect english, thank you very much. You can take your pompous comment and just leave. I choose to write in text lingo; that is my choice, not yours. If you don't like it then get out of here.

ArcaneGhost said...
on May. 5 2011 at 7:22 pm
ArcaneGhost, Hendersonville, Tennessee
0 articles 0 photos 43 comments
Thanks, Miss Grammar. I don't know what I'd do without you.

KateeInCali said...
on May. 5 2011 at 12:12 pm
I'm not trying to cut in or anything but MissGrammar2011 I think that it isnt polite to cut into an argument that isn't yours to start out with. It would be ok if you were trying to stop the argument, but in this case you are just causing more drama. I know this argument isnt any of my business but that is just my opinion on the whole thing. -Katee

on May. 4 2011 at 8:28 pm
StayClassy1 SILVER, Stockton, California
5 articles 1 photo 40 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Buy me food so i know it's real"

Excuse me?!?! What can i expect from someone with MissGrammar?? Ohhh you're the perfectionist type or are you more of a teacher kind of person?? Well either way you can go mind your own business... thanks a bunch...

Ehwaz11 BRONZE said...
on May. 4 2011 at 8:16 pm
Ehwaz11 BRONZE, Hopkinton, New Hampshire
4 articles 0 photos 17 comments

Favorite Quote:
"It's important to remember that we all have magic inside us."
- J.K. Rowling
“Oh, dead man, you’re dead wrong,” I tell him. “The world goes on stupid and brutal, but I do not. Can’t you see? I do not.” -Andi Alpers, Jennifer Donnelly

Ugh, I hate that! It's almost like taking out a book or writing a letter while someone is telling you a story and you feel like their mind isn't on you.

on May. 4 2011 at 8:01 pm
Vieve, my lovely, you can't expect that much spelling accuracy from someone named 'amzazin' Lily. It sounds like a type of monkey.

on May. 4 2011 at 7:58 pm
Oh, my poor lovely, you need to remove yourself from your phone for at least one month and hopefully your basic English skills will return to you. You poor, poor thing. We do not 'speak like this nowadays'.

on May. 4 2011 at 7:56 pm
Just correcting the spelling of my last username, my lovely. Forgive the unwanted E.

on May. 4 2011 at 7:55 pm
Sorry, my lovely, but you meant 'keep texting to a minimum'. :)

on May. 4 2011 at 11:01 am
EverlastingMe BRONZE, Shamrock, Texas
2 articles 0 photos 1 comment
I have a phone, I text, but I use proper grammar when I do. It's a huge pet peeve of mine to use shorthand-my grandmother uses it and I don't. But I love texting, so the only thing I don't necessarily like about this article is that it kind of puts up an assumption that if you text, you use shorthand, making your spelling horrible. Almost everyone I know thinks I'm going to be an english teacher because I'm always correcting grammar and spelling. My superintendent has me proof-read notes and such before they get sent out. And I spend a huge amount of my time at home texting my friends.

on Apr. 12 2011 at 8:50 pm
writerofmusic SILVER, Eaton, Colorado
6 articles 0 photos 13 comments

Favorite Quote:
\"The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say.\" ~Anaïs Nin

Personally I think that texting is a really bad habit. I have a phone but I hardly ever text on it and when I do I try and use proper grammar. 

And now to continue our bad habits omg has been added to the dictionary.


ArcaneGhost said...
on Apr. 12 2011 at 7:52 pm
ArcaneGhost, Hendersonville, Tennessee
0 articles 0 photos 43 comments
Yay for you! I also hate it when you're talking to someone and then they take their phone out and turn away to text something. I try to keep texting to a minimal when I'm with people.

ArcaneGhost said...
on Apr. 12 2011 at 7:49 pm
ArcaneGhost, Hendersonville, Tennessee
0 articles 0 photos 43 comments

Eh, harsh. I'm a good speller, but there are people who just can't spell to save their lives.

I'm good as long as they don spel rely dum and sound redarded, lolololol, like that.

And then you have to think of dyslexic people who may make honest mistakes often.

And you spelled "typos" wrong.


on Apr. 12 2011 at 7:41 pm
P03tryPunk BRONZE, Delray Beach, Florida
3 articles 0 photos 15 comments

Favorite Quote:
At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet. -Plato

absolutely...at least someone understands...wanna come explaine that 2 my parents and teachers cause they won't listen 2 me lol :)

on Apr. 12 2011 at 7:39 pm
P03tryPunk BRONZE, Delray Beach, Florida
3 articles 0 photos 15 comments

Favorite Quote:
At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet. -Plato

I also luv 2 text...in certain situations its good...thats the whole reason 4 texting...its 2 make it easier and faster 4 ppl 2 communicate! i mean some of the words are no longer words, but even tho my punctuation isn't completely correct you can still understand what i'm saying! i tend 2 use "lol" and "2 & 4" a lot especially 2morrow...it make seem like it doesn't take a long time 2 type out the letters t and o but by the time i've written those i could've been on my 3rd word after that...texting is a great invention and not everyone uses all the slang that there is out there...you just have 2 watch when you use txting lingo and when you use "grammatically correct" language...my english teacher recently told me 2 "Speak english!!!" on my paper that i wrote (a journal not an essay) and i told her that this is the way we speak nowadays...we might write differently but txt lingo such as lol and ttyl have become part of our speech and is the same as ain't too...our elders have 2 realize that times change and they can either stay behind or catch up with us...but either way they can't criticize us if they don't try it...txting actually is fun and i do understand that if we talked in a business place the exact same way we talked we would get fired, but we should be able 2 do it everywhere else cause it really doesn't matter anywhere but there... i luv 2 txt!!!!! :) :] :P :D

on Apr. 12 2011 at 7:38 pm
P03tryPunk BRONZE, Delray Beach, Florida
3 articles 0 photos 15 comments

Favorite Quote:
At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet. -Plato

I also luv 2 text...in certain situations its good...thats the whole reason 4 texting...its 2 make it easier and faster 4 ppl 2 communicate! i mean some of the words are no longer words, but even tho my punctuation isn't completely correct you can still understand what i'm saying! i tend 2 use "lol" and "2 & 4" a lot especially 2morrow...it make seem like it doesn't take a long time 2 type out the letters t and o but by the time i've written those i could've been on my 3rd word after that...texting is a great invention and not everyone uses all the slang that there is out there...you just have 2 watch when you use txting lingo and when you use "grammatically correct" language...my english teacher recently told me 2 "Speak english!!!" on my paper that i wrote (a journal not an essay) and i told her that this is the way we speak nowadays...we might write differently but txt lingo such as lol and ttyl have become part of our speech and is the same as ain't too...our elders have 2 realize that times change and they can either stay behind or catch up with us...but either way they can't criticize us if they don't try it...txting actually is fun and i do understand that if we talked in a business place the exact same way we talked we would get fired, but we should be able 2 do it everywhere else cause it really doesn't matter anywhere but there... i luv 2 txt!!!!! :) :] :P :D

on Apr. 12 2011 at 6:01 pm
AthenaBook SILVER, Arlington, Virginia
5 articles 0 photos 36 comments

Favorite Quote:
You should not live the way the world asks, but the way that you ask of yourself.

A really fantastic article! It is really relevant as most of my friends text across the table to one another; I'm so glad you brought this point up!

on Apr. 12 2011 at 5:14 pm
PaRaNoRmAl627 GOLD, Mountainside, New Jersey
15 articles 0 photos 296 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Do what you want. If it's something you'll regret in the morning, sleep late."

"sentences" boze44