Or maybe they have told you they thought you were ACORN, pardon me?????
If your student or child wrote a message for you with these
letters in it would you know what it means?
Would you know a quick easy way to find out what it means?
Texting and IM (instant messaging) are now so commonly
used by teens that it is important to have a basic understanding of what some
common codes mean.
I know the first time I received a text that ended with
mwah, I wasn’t sure I if I should be offended or pleased that the person had
sent this to me. Luckily I was able to
quickly find out that the person was sending me a text kiss (mwah,
the sound you make when you kiss).
My husband was convinced for months that his teenage nephew
loved him lots because he kept ending his text messages with LOL, which he
presumed meant lots of love. He was a
bit miffed when he found that that LOL actually meant Laugh Out Loud and he was
actually laughing at him.
Bands are even using this shorthand for their names, eg. LMFAO,
sounds like a cool name but is the translation appropriate for my young
son? No, turns out it’s not. It translates to Laughing My Fu*#ing Ass Off.
Teachers and parents need to be aware of what common
shorthand codes are in order to work out if what children are writing is
appropriate or if it something that they should be concerned about.
A handy online tool to help you decode texting and messenger
shorthand is http://www.netlingo.com/acronyms.php,
this site is not suitable for younger children but is certainly a
handy tool for teachers and parents.
Maybe we are all a little ACORN at times!! Certainly the
makers of this video Texting for Seniors are. Enjoy ;-)
Image credit on blog post -
I once heard of a story of an elderly lady etching the letters LOL to her late husband’s gravestone. Similarly, she thought she was using modern lingo to pledge her undying love (no pun intended) to her husband with the words Lots Of Love. I guess he died laughing (okay, that pun was intended). LOL.
ReplyDeleteIt is important to keep up with the student’s language. I once watched a colleague drop the papers he was carrying and exclaim in frustration “mfl”!!! Of course, teachers who are familiar with Trish’s ‘netlingo’ site will be LOL-ing right now. My colleague had heard his students referring to the highly inappropriate website and iPhone app www.fmylife.com; however, he’d made an ‘epic-fail’ insofar as muddling up the acronym.
Don’t worry, we all LOL-ed together later.
As part of what could be considered the digital generation (I am still in my early 20s) I am forever astounded my the mainstream use of text-language. Not long ago I was marking narratives on Space for a year one teacher, and one particular child used the term 'OMG'. Clearly she had heard the term used before, but what was astonashing was that is was used in context.
ReplyDeleteThe increased use of acronyms in speech and writing (apart from actual texting and IM-ing) is something that saddens me a little. I am a self confessed grammar nut, and love language and its intricacies. I think that teachers and parents have a responsibility to educate children about when it is appropriate to use it.
I whole heartedly agree with Trish's statement that:
"Teachers and parents need to be aware of what common shorthand codes are in order to work out if what children are writing is appropriate or if it something that they should be concerned about."
If teachers and parents are able to completely understand what their children are saying, it means that these younsters may gain a better grasp of the appropriate use of texting language.
TTYL!
I remember seeing an interview with the Bondi Vet (TV guy) and he was recounting a story about the time he had just put down a family's dog. They were distraught when they left him so texted them to pass on his concern and signed off LOL! He too, like your husband, thought it meant lots of love.
ReplyDeleteI have a year 12 student who doesn't laugh in class. He just says LOL. It will be interesting to see if text speech will become more and more a part of our everyday language. I'll need to load netlingo on my mobule! CFMG, hope I spelt everthing right!
It was interesting to read about everyone's experiences with texting short hand. Since I posted the blog I have found a great book in the library called 'It's a Book'. There is a section in the book where 150 letters are shortened into a 23 letters with texting shorthand.
ReplyDeleteFor those interested - this is it:
"Arrrrrr," nodded Long John Siler, "we're in agreement then?" he unsheathed his broad cutlass laughing a maniacal laugh, "Ha! Ha! Ha!" Jim was petrified. The end was upon him. Then in the distance a ship! A wide smile played across the lad's face.
LJS: rrr! K? lol! JIM: :( ! :)