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Thread: SMS language : What's your take?

  1. #1
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    SMS language : What's your take?

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    I've been observing a proliferation of SMS spellings being used in the forum and for that matter everywhere.

    Is this the standard written English nowadays or am I missing out on something?

    How do you folks switch between proper spelling and SMS-type of spelling in case you need to write in an official manner?
    And is this just within Singapore?
    If it is, there are folks whom are not from Singapore, so might be worth the effort to spell in 'old-style' so that everybody comprehends..

    Just an old guy not tuned-in to the modern world....
    It's NOT "Chee lick", NOT "Chee Chee Licks"!!! Cichlids is pronounced as "Sick Lids"!!!!!

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    I'm used to typing properly, I use sms shortforms very rarely. "brb", "lol", "lmao" and "cya" are probably the most often used shortforms I use.

    It's not just within Singapore, I've read the newspapers about it being prevalent in the UK. It's started appearing in teenagers' homework .

    It's definately not the standard english used nowadays. We don't encourage it here too I hope.

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    I share your concern. I hope AQ does not go the way of other SG forums where SMS language or local abbreviations begin to dominate discussion to the point where the broader international, possibly older educated audience is precluded from understanding and therefore participating. Spelling mistakes, grammatical and direct language translation errors are generally not an issue.

    I expect SMS language is a temporary feature of the technology that created it, but I have come across individuals that cannot “switch”, which probably indicated that the formative educational years where unduly impacted, this does not bode well for their employment prospects. I have always wondered if they talk the way they write?

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    SMS shortforms are just character savers. SMS has a 160 (IIRC) character limit and to save on the number of SMSes ($) to send for long messages, people resort to shortforms and mangled grammar.

    Some of the shortforms are adopted from internet chat room shortforms, where people resorted to short forms to avoid typing too much. For short-lived and trivial data like chats, it was acceptable, but it's not for data with longer lifespans like articles, forums threads, and so on.
    Vincent - AQ is for everyone, but not for 'u' and 'mi'.
    Why use punctuation? See what a difference it makes:
    A woman, without her man, is nothing.
    A woman: without her, man is nothing.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rupert
    I have always wondered if they talk the way they write?
    Haha, that'll be very bad.

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    But how does one say characters by spelling "me" as "mi"? Which is very commonly see in some of the sms languages posted here and in other forums...
    ~ Vincent ~ Fishes calm your mind...
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/valice/





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    We should use proper spelling whenever possible, it will be easier to understand what one try to say

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    yes, i agr w evry1, if i type like tht 4 much longr, don think any1 can undrstnd mi well enough to reply...hahaha

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    Quote Originally Posted by ranmasatome
    yes, i agr w evry1, if i type like tht 4 much longr, don think any1 can undrstnd mi well enough to reply...hahaha
    You forgot to use "tink" for think, "enuff" for enough and "2" for to. Then you have it, the perfect rubbish... *bleah*

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    Quote Originally Posted by valice
    But how does one say characters by spelling "me" as "mi"? Which is very commonly see in some of the sms languages posted here and in other forums...
    Acting cute.
    Vincent - AQ is for everyone, but not for 'u' and 'mi'.
    Why use punctuation? See what a difference it makes:
    A woman, without her man, is nothing.
    A woman: without her, man is nothing.

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    too bad they probably don't look as cute as they 'write'.

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    I think it's just plain rude to type that way. It's like telling the other person/people that you just can't be bothered to talk to him/her/them and you're putting in as little effort as possible to communicate with them.
    Call me Brian.

    P.S. This is what part of the alphabet would look like if Q and R were eliminated.

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    Interesting arguments presented here, well we have foreign members here who do not type perfect english as well but we say nothing about it... if SMS language is about bad spelling and inaccurate acronyms, then aren't we just abit too stiff to even speak when language itself is supposed to be flexible and adaptable?

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    We don't need perfect English at all... We all know that Singaporeans English is not top-notch... (Hope no flaming caused) If it is geniune spelling mistakes due to a confusion of languages, like Singapore become Singapour (for French) I think that is acceptable...
    ~ Vincent ~ Fishes calm your mind...
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/valice/





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    Quote Originally Posted by semota
    Interesting arguments presented here, well we have foreign members here who do not type perfect english as well but we say nothing about it... if SMS language is about bad spelling and inaccurate acronyms, then aren't we just abit too stiff to even speak when language itself is supposed to be flexible and adaptable?
    There is a difference between not being able to spell because you don't know the language well, and not bothering to spell because you're too lazy.

    As it is, these foreigners have a hard time with the language. Wouldn't it be harder for them when they encounter English words and sentences that are so mangled that it bears no resemblance to the real language?

    At AQ, we don't require perfect English, and we know there are users who just aren't good in English, local or otherwise. We just simply request that people try their best to write proper English. And when we say try, we mean within your current ability... you should not have to sweat over it. If you make honest spelling mistakes or grammar mistakes, we can tell, and we will not fuss over it.

    Anyway, for someone to be able to read or write SMS shortforms, they should have a working grasp of English in the first place. That means they have no reason not to be able to write in English.
    Vincent - AQ is for everyone, but not for 'u' and 'mi'.
    Why use punctuation? See what a difference it makes:
    A woman, without her man, is nothing.
    A woman: without her, man is nothing.

  16. #16
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    Broken English is about not having perfect English and putting in the effort to communicate via a common tool, i.e. English language.

    SMS language is not English language at all and is plain laziness.

    I have no problems with broken English but SMS language is something that is hard to stomach, not least to digest.

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    In forums such as this, why not take the opportunity to learn to write proper sentences to put your thoughts and ideas forward? It helps in our report writing for our studies or work. And probably more.

    By using sms languange, Singlish etc, I feel we will be practising the wrong things.

    Just my thoughts.
    koah fong
    Juggler's tanks

  18. #18
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    just like juggler said, hope to make AQ a better image . but maybe is i got used to MSN, SMS, kept keying out the sms shortforms, have to strike the 'Backspace' to alter. well, guess need ample time to adjust to it.

    Still it will be easier to read and understand using proper spelling, so everyone, lets work on it!

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    Talking

    good idea, before everybody thinks we're teenagers...
    You can if you dare to fail - Stan Chung

  20. #20
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    The Beng majority: wah! tok lik tis berry cool lehz...

    The unknown(possibly non-existant) mirority: Twats.

    Call me a prude, but there's just an undeniable "cool" that comes with knowing what you're doing. That and there's a difference between abbreviations and.. well.. toking lik tis.

    Though i think it's safe to assume we won't see any of that in here. C'mon people. This isn't Arofanatics! We measure pH down to a decimal here! Ok, some of us are but the point is: You can't have an understandable, in-depth discussion about CO2 - O2 conversion, if the sub-language you're using doesn't allow for anything more complicated than "wat you wan 4 dinner?" "go macz lorz"

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