Permit me to be blunt for a few precious moments here as I have something I need to get off my chest: To all the people who type in dis fashn n tink itz kewl, you’re asking to be assaulted with a dictionary.
Kindly extend those few precious moments a little longer while I confess:
Firstly, I also typed in that (awful) manner once upon a time when I was in high school.
Secondly, due to confession no.1, I understand the ‘reasons’ behind typing in that (awful) manner.
Thirdly, I am not free of grammatical errors and spelling / typing mistakes.
Now that I’ve made my points and confessed, I admit, I feel so much lighter. And the day looks a little brighter.
Here’s why I despise such spelling / typing (purely my opinion but I have come across many who share the same view as me): It simply doesn’t look good, in many ways. It’s a poor reflection of your level of understanding of English, as well as portraying your level of maturity in a downward direction. If you cannot type out full sentences that are grammatical, you give someone little reason to believe you can speak properly. This often leads people to think you are incompetent and incapable when in fact that isn’t the case at all.
While typing in ‘short forms’ may help you minimize the characters in your text message, ultimately saving you a few extra cents cramming your sms into one rather than letting it spread into two, you’re doing yourself a priceless mistake. First impressions count. And often last. How disappointing, and upsetting no doubt, would it be to sms a prospective employer about something and sounding that way? Think you’ll be held in the same respect? Same honour? Hmmm…
What if you don’t rid yourself of that habit in due time and you’re forgetting how to spell the simplest of words? Yep, it can happen. It’s happened to me before. It’s a scary feeling and makes you feel, well, dumb. That was a turning point for me – what if I just cannot recall how to spell common words? What if I always sound this stupid over text? Will I ever be able to redeem myself?
As drastic as my last question sounds, it’s a reality. And one of the best ways to snap out of it, apart from making a conscious effort not to type that way, is to read. Whether it’s novels or newspapers, bombard yourself with content that’s well-written and has the least likelihood of containing spelling errors. Your mind will automatically take notice and remember the spelling, grammar, syntax and semantics which will overpower the ‘natural’ way in which you type lyk dis, making you sound exactly what you’re worth 😉
I would have apologised for my rant earlier on those who type in that (awful) manner, but that sin is simply unforgivable.
sgs2
Valid points made, great article, something I need to take note of
cnt w8 2 read ur nxt post 😛
Saajida
Thanks 🙂 You usually don’t type in that (awful) manner, so don’t stress too much.
… Unforgivable!
YellowCable
I hope you have room for those who do not intend to write in such manner. I mean the ones who make mistakes rather. 🙂
Saajida
I do 🙂 That’s understandable as mistakes are bound to happen. My post is intended for those who choose to type that way over typing and spelling the correct way.
Frank Garcia
HAHAHAHA
This is freaking awesome!
Saajida
Thanks Frank 🙂
andy1076
This is too funny! XD 😀
Saajida
Thanks 🙂
Conor Cullen
A hardback dictionary 🙂
Saajida
lol, certainly!
Nick
I understand shorthand. Especially when texting with a 160 character limit, you can’t always fit every word into your text, so you might just type “u” instead of “you.” That’s simply practical. What I do not understand is why people intentionally misspell words with the exact same number of letters. For example, why would someone type “dood” instead of “dude?” They both have four letters and are equally convenient to type, so what’s the point?
Saajida
I agree with you: at times it is practical and unavoidable, but for the part where it is avoidable – I am just not sure what kind of kick people get out of doing it.