Do U nEd txt hlp?

Thu May 24, 2007 9:04PM EDT

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wnt 2 knO wot yor kds R sAN wen dey txt U o f?

That would be: Want to know what your kids are saying when they text you or friends?

A friend of mine remembers the first note her daughter left her in text speak before they started texting each other on cell phones. She didn't know what it said, so she had no idea she was at a friend's house nearby. Now, she's a pro, texting with the best of teen texters. But if you're a neophyte text-message receiver and sender, here's a quick reminder that there is some decoding help available on the web.

First, you can find a lengthy list of common text abbreviations at techdictionary.com. Better yet, if you're stumped about what a text message says or want to figure out how to translate grammatical English phrases into text-speak, there are some web-based translating tools:

Transl8it - Type in your text, emoticons, slang, and hit transl8it to convert it to regular English. Or vice versa. You can translate from lingo to English or English to lingo. Where do you want to meet tonight? converts to, whr do U wnt 2 MEt 2nt?

Lingo2word -- Has a nice feature that allows you to hover over the text-message translation words with your cursor to see what they mean.

Noslang.com translates slang into English only.

We won't get into what this all means for the language right now. In the short term, at least, it will help you communicate with your teen on the fly. Personally, I have a hard time shortening words, but that's because I've spent lots of years making sure my words are correctly spelled and my punctuation is in the right place. Have your kids gotten you into texting mode?  

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  • 66 Posted by missxriss on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:22PM EDT Report Abuse

    okay seriously, no one types like that except for a Small group of Kids. And for those of you who said you do it to fit everything in One text , i suggest you pick up the phone and just Call the person.

  • 67 Posted by tinker_heartbreaker on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:10PM EDT Report Abuse

    ernestmac13 i think you over reacted about that!! im bi and it doesn't bother me! and i agree with doin12volt im a teen and it really bothers me when they say that cause it's not true!

  • 68 Posted by saddleupjep on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:59PM EDT Report Abuse

    I get so sick of these adults that stereotype teens in everything, and don't even talk to anyone. besides, everyone is different, you can NEVER just make generalizations like this. I'm 15 and if you think you can stereotype teens, you better hope there's someone that can un-brainwash you or whatever, because that's all articles about teens usually do.

  • 69 Posted by twtybird08 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:25PM EDT Report Abuse

    i type just about everything out. i admit i sometimes use numbers but as lana8291 mentioned, its alot faster just typing it out.

  • 70 Posted by saddleupjep on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:59PM EDT Report Abuse

    I get so sick of these adults that stereotype teens in everything, and don't even talk to anyone. besides, everyone is different, you can NEVER just make generalizations like this. I'm 15 and if you think you can stereotype teens, you better hope there's someone that can un-brainwash you or whatever, because that's all articles about teens usually do.

  • 72 Posted by al740930 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    languaje is evolving! Ha ha! Like everything else in life. I am not sayi0ng it is ok, but language as everything is evolving too, it is constantly changing... Would you like to still use latin, greek or old english as your regular language?

  • 74 Posted by lokisk2002 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:56PM EDT Report Abuse

    Even the Webster's Dictionary is adding new words. I wonder, in a few years, how many of them will be in text or online speak?

  • 75 Posted by ecl10 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:51PM EDT Report Abuse

    i refuse to read text lingo. You might as well write in arabic. Not that I cant figure it out, I just think it's juvenile. Also, unless it's in a noisy place, what's wrong with speaking and listening?

  • 79 Posted by bane1190 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:02PM EDT Report Abuse

    I hate chat lingo. I'm a teen, which doesn't really matter does it? Anyway, I absolutely HATE text lingo. It's the stupidest, laziest way to talk.

  • 80 Posted by siti.noraisha on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:25PM EDT Report Abuse

    ya.. and sometimes different ppl have different way of shortening their words.

  • 81 Posted by littleangelsaren on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:54PM EDT Report Abuse

    I am 13 and I don't text like that and none of my friends do either. Frankly, it is harder to text like that than to just use "predictive texting". That way of texting is so OLD SCHOOL.

  • 83 Posted by markryan06 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:08PM EDT Report Abuse

    in our country, text messaging is very common and we do text that way because as mentioned earlier, we can only put so much characters in a single text message and a single character makes the difference in the price of a single text. lets say a 160 character text message cost 1ph, an additional letter which makes it a 161 characters will cost 2ph. now it wouldn't be so wise to type all complete words and sentences in a single text message because it would be so darn expensive. plus it saves time to write 2nyt instead of tonight in a text message, it's called SMS or short messaging service in the first place. though i'm not condoning it either.

  • 85 Posted by patriotic_gurl_18 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:01PM EDT Report Abuse

    ok i do text a lot to all my friends, but i do not use all the lingo, i do use U, R, 2, but does not take that long for me anyhow. This article is stupid because its true not everyone text like that, i know i don't and none of my friends text in that much abbreviation. We may shorten up words a little, but can still understand them, anyone could understand it. I text to keep in touch, or see if there busy, instead of calling, then i will call when there not busy or what not. Ok im done stating my opinion now.

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