Friday, May 27, 2011

Chatspeak/Textspeak

Chatspeak/Textspeak

This and other notes are available online @ smartcomputerclass.blogspot.com

Last week it came to my attention that some of us don't know chatspeak, or if we do we don't know a lot of it.  Since it's coming to the end of the term why don't we take a break from all that dense stuff and have a little fun getting to know chatspeak.  :)

Chatspeak (aka Textspeak) came into popularity around the time instant messaging (or IMing for short) was introduced to the world--but it really took off when more and more people started text messaging (or texting for short).  Chatspeak takes the first letter of commonly used phrases and makes it somewhat it's own word.  Those familiar with chatspeak are able to understand easily--but those that don't may be lost!  Since it takes time to text and also since some people aren't very fast typers chatspeak provides a quick and easy way to send out messages.  It is also the "language" of choice for avid twitterers (people who use twitter a lot...if you don't know what that is just ask and I'll explain haha...).

Okay so there's our little history lesson...now let's take a look at some chatspeak!

Just so you know this isn't a COMPLETE list...not even I know all the different chatspeak words...but these are pretty basic ones that will help out a lot.

ALSO--some of them refer to certain adult words.  For the sake of keeping this page PG I've blanked them out, but you're all smart, you'll figure it out haha...

!!THE LIST!!
(I put a * next to the most commonly used ones...or at least the ones I use the most. ** means I use it a lot.)


.... - awkward silence/pause


! - surprise


? - confusion or questioning

@ - at



A/S/L? or ASL? - Age/Sex/Location?

ALOL - Actually Laughing Out Loud (because some people type LOL and it isn't true!)


ASAP - As Soon As Possible

BBQ - Barbeque (Yum)

BC or B/C - Because

*BDay or B-Day - Birthday



BF - Boyfriend sometimes Best Friend



BFF - Best Friend Forever

BFFL - Best Friends For Life



BFFLNMW - Best Friends For Life No Matter What



*BRB - Be Right Back

BYO - Bring Your Own



BYOB - Bring Your Own Beer



*Cmon or C'mon - Come on


*Cus - Because


D/L or DL - Download or Down Low

Dunno - Don't know



Enuf - Enough


EZ - Easy


FML - F--- My Life

FYI - For Your Information


*G2G - Got to Go


GF - Girlfriend

*Gonna - Going to



GR8 - Great


H8 - Hate


HW - Homework


*IDC - I Don't Care

*IDK - I Don't Know

IH8U - I Hate you


ILU - I Love you

*ILY - I Love You



IM - Instant Message

IMAO - In My Arrogant Opinion



*IMO - In My Opinion

IMHO - In My Humble Opinion


IMNSHO - In My Not So Humble Opinion


ISLY - I Still Love You



*IRL - In Real Life


JIC - Just In Case


*JK or J/K - Just Kidding


K - Okay


L8R - Later


*LMAO - Laughing My A-- Off


LMBO - Laughing My Butt Off

**LOL - Laugh Out Loud or soemtimes used for Lots Of Love, but typically people will think you're laughing if you type this. (sometimes lolz)

MLIA - My Life Is Average 


Msg - Message


*NVM - Never Mind


**OMG - Oh My God (sometimes zOMG)


*ORLY - Oh Really

Pls/Plz - Please


PM - Private Message


POS - Parent Over Shoulder (added this one in case you're ever by your child/grandchild and you see them type this...hahaha...)


POS - alternative meaning Piece Of S--- (if it's not a kid typing then you can assume this is what they mean)


POV - Point Of View


Ppl - People


Prolly - Probably


RIP - Rest In Piece



*RLY - Really


ROFL - Rolling On the Floor Laughing


ROFLMAO - Rolling On the Floor Laughing My A-- Off

RT - ReTweet (Twitter reference)


RU - Are you


SMH - Shaking My Head


Sry - Sorry


STFU - Shut The F--- Up

Sup - What's up


Thx - Thanks


*TMI - Too Much Information


*TTYL - Talk To You Later

*TY - Thank You


*W/ - with


W/B or WB - Welcome Back


W/E - Whatever


*W/O - Without


*WTH - What The Hell/Heck


*WTF - What The F---

XOXO - Hugs and Kisses


ZZZZ - Sleeping or Bored


Someone sent you something not on this list?  Try checking out this page for more chatspeak http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/textmessageabbreviations.asp





!!SMILEYS and OTHER STUFF!!
(I use these more than anything else)


<3 - heart


</3 - broken heart


:)  - Smiley face


:( - Frowny face


:P - Sticking tongue out


P: - Something yummy....


:D - Big smile


D: - Big Frown

:O - surprise



XD - Laughing face


DX - Crying or angry face


>:D or >:) - evil smile

D:< - Really mad face



):< - Not happy


;) - winking/flirty


:') - Happy tears


:'( - crying


:* - kiss


^_^ - smiling cheerfully


-^_^- - blushing while smiling


>^_^< - cat smiling


O_O - surprise

OuO - Wide eyed smile


OwO - Kitty smile



X_x - Dead...

>_> - shifty eyes


= _ = - exhausted


-_- - annoyed/exasperated


@_@ - Dizzy or nerd with glasses (lol)

nlm - the middle finger

(_|_) - a butt or mooning


(>'-')> - Kirby or little ghost thing...


You can take a look at this list for more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_emoticons  or ask your kids/grandkids...kids are the ones that come up with most of these anyway, haha....


Sam's Comments on Chatspeak/Textspeak:


I don't use very much chatspeak/textspeak anymore.  I used to use it a lot when I was in elementary school and high school, but when I got to college I noticed that it had started to affect my grammar and writing skills.  Because of that I have made it a point to type "longhand" as much as possible and not use too much chatspeak.  IMHO kids today both benefit and suffer from chatspeak.  Since they are learning abbreviations and "shorthand" typing before they learn how to even spell they're never really allowing themselves to learn spelling and grammar--because they don't need to in order to get their point across.


It's also important to remember that when you are online or testing the way you type becomes your voice.  Someone who uses a lot of chatspeak and abbreviations is judged differently than someone who types "longhand."  Always consider who you are sending your messages to and how you want them to perceive you.  If it's your friend or sibling or some other peer feel free to type anyway that you want.  If it's someone you don't know or an employer or someone of other importance skip the chatspeak, use spell check, grammar, and punctuation--you want to look as professional as possible.  If it's your child, grandchild, niece, nephew, or some other young person make sure you really know the meaning of the chatspeak words your using before you use them, because they'll probably make fun of you if you get it wrong.  Although, they'll probably make funny of you anyway because young people are ageist.  



Anyway, now that we had a little crash course in textspeak/chatspeak it's time for our assignment for the day!


!!ASSIGNMENT!!


Part 1. Using mostly or only chatspeak/textspeak reply to this comment and write a few sentences.


Part 2. Think of phrases you like to use a lot and create your own chatspeak word.  Reply to this comment again and tell us all what it is and when you use it.




!!QUESTION REVIEW!!


1. What does LOL mean?
A. Lots Of Love
B. Laugh Out Loud
C. All of the above.


2. What does SMH mean?
A. Shaking My Head
B. So Much Homework
C. All of the Above.


3. You would use XD when....
A. Laughing really hard at something funny.
B. Talking about HTML and coding.
C. All of the Above.



4. Which one of these is the REAL chatspeak word when stating an opinion about something?
A. IMO
B. IMHO
C. IMAO
D. All of the Above.

No comments:

Post a Comment