SMS Speak

Text messaging back in the US is not a huge deal. Yes, we use it from time to time, some of us more than others, but nothing like people do on this side of the world. Honestly, you'd think people didn't know how to dial the phone. But, there are some reasons for this. For one, it is much cheaper to send text messages than it is to call someone. In the US it's the reverse. Secondly, in the US cellphone technology came about en masse, before text messaging caught on. Here it's roughly happened at the same time. Anyway, I'm just like everyone here these days. Always texting, rarely calling. But one thing that drives me nuts? SMS speak. It's the abbreviated way of writing, so as to save space and time. I've found that my American friends here also tend to be averse to the idea. Actually, it doesn't bother me so much in the form of a text message... where find it irritating is when it bleeds over into people's writing of emails, blogs and other such things. Things like writing bcoz and other such things that make the writer, to me, sound less intelligent. Those who use it most are teenagers, and over here it takes on a different form entirely because it's often a mix of English, Malay, and sometimes Chinese as well. Here's an example from a blog I stumbled on a couple of minutes ago...

n ternyata benar...dy ternyata tidur...dan gw hrs nunggu mpe dy bangun...tuz bli pizza..tuz ke gym...n Terry sms...nanya hr sbt gw ada waktu gak...tdnya gw mls kmn"....

This is actually Indonesian and English, but it works the same. I know I'm being just a touch judgmental here. I guess it's just my obsession with neat looking writing and well written English. But it does make me wonder at these kids ability to use language properly. And I wonder if someday you might recieve a letter from your bank via sms that says something like.

Dr.Mz.S
Rgrt 2 infrm u ur rmh rpssd bcoz u trlpa byr sewa fr 3 yrs.
Rgrds
Bnk of MY

(translation: Dear Ms. Smith - We regret to inform you that your house has been repossed because you neglected to pay your mortage for three years. Regards, The bank of Malaysia...)