LOL ROFL, LMAO, BRB! Does Shorthand Texting Hurt Our Language Skills? By BuzzFarmers from Providence & Tampa (On the phone. Uploaded by JohnnyMrNinja) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Online acronyms can be confusing
Online acronyms that became popular once the use of the Internet really took off have now made their way into the cell phone world, and sometimes they can be confusing.
For example, if a person writes “LOL” in a text message, that means the person is “Laughing Out Loud” at what the other individual said. “ROFL,” on the other hand, means that the person is laughing even harder, as he or she is “Rolling On the Floor Laughing.”
Other acronyms that have made their way into pop culture thanks to cell phone and Internet use include “BRB” or “Be Right Back,” “THX” for “Thanks” and “TTYL” for “Talk To You Later.”
Many language experts say such shortening of phrases is hurting the English language, and contest that cell phone use – or over-use – is contributing to today’s society learning less about spelling, reading and writing appropriately. Well according to a new study, that may not be the case.
Coventry University pulled together a group of 88 children between the ages of 10 and 12, in attempts to study texting’s effect on communication skills.
The results, which were published in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology in 2009 were actually largely pro Texting.
According to the report, “Children’s use of textisms is not only positively associated with word reading ability, but it may be contributing to reading development.”
Speaking to the BBC, the study’s lead author, Dr. Beverley Plester added that texting didn’t have any averse effect on children’s spelling ability, either. “What we think of as misspellings, don’t really break the rules of language and children have a sophisticated understanding of the appropriate use of words.”
