1.6. Sms

Text messages, chat room messages and sometimes emails can be writ­ten using the smallest number of letters possible. Pronouns, prepositions and articles may be omitted and abbreviations are widely used. Basic rules:

1. Make words as short as you can, e. g. wd = would.

2. Use a letter instead of a whole word where possible, e. g. u = you.

3. Use numbers instead of letters where possible: gr8 = great, w8 = wait, 2 = to, too, 4 = four, for…

4. Use symbols — they look so beautiful in the middle of a word! The percentage sign can be used for “oo” sound — sk%l = school, and c%l = cool. A dollar sign ($) can be used instead of double s.

5. Use abbreviations for longer phrases: LOL = Laughing Out Loud, ROFLMYHO = Rolling on the floor laughing my head off.

6. If in doubt, write as you please, ignoring all the rules of grammar and spelling.

7. You can show how you are feeling by using symbols to represent a face. These are called emoticons.

Some examples of how words might be shown in a message

2DAY — today.

2MORO — tomorrow.

2NITE — tonight.

@ — at.

AFAIK — as far as I know.

AND — any day now.

ASAP — as soon as possible.

ATB — all the best.

ATM — at the moment.

B — be.

B/C — because.

B4 — before.

B4N — bye for now.

BBL — be back later.

BTW — by the way.

C — see / sea.

CID — consider it done.

CUL8R — see you later.

Esp — especially.

F2F — face to face.

FWIW — for what it’s worth.

FYI — for your information.

GR8 — great.

H2 — how to.

HAND — have a nice day.

ILBL8 — I’ll be late.

ILU — I love you.

IMHO — in my humble opinion.

KIT — keep in touch.

LMN — let me know.

LOL — lots of love / luck / laughing out loud.

M8 — mate.

M8O — matey.

MSG — message.

MYOB — mind your own business.

Ne1 — anyone.

NO1 — no one.

NMP — not my problem.

Ntl — nevertheless.

NVM — never mind.

OIC — oh, I see.

PCM — please call me.

PLS — please.

Pobl — possible.

Ppl — people.

R — are.

RUF2T — are you free to talk?

SOM1 — someone.

SPK — speak.

Tho — though.

Thnq — thank you.

Thru — through.

THX / TNX — thanks.

U — you.

Un4gtebl — unforgettable.

UOK — you OK?

UR — your / you’re.

Usu — usually.

W/ — with.

WAN2 — want to.

W8ing — waiting.

WKND — weekend.

W/O — without.

X — kiss.

XLNT — excellent.

XOXO — hugs and kisses.

YR — your / you’re; yeah, right.

Task.

Can you decipher this?	Here is the translation
HOW R U? OK N U? OK CU2DAY? NO 2MORO WER? @J’S. CUL8TR LOV B	How are you? Ok and you? Ok. See you today? No. Tomorrow. Where? At John’s. See you later. Love, Bill.
WUBMV ILUVU LUWAM<3 XOXOXOXO	Will you be my Valentine? I love you. Love you with all my heart. Hugs and kisses.

 Expressing opinion.

AFAIK — as far as I know.

AFAIUI — as far as I understand it.

ILBT — I will be able to.

IMO — in my opinion.

IMS — I must say.

TBO — to be honest.

 E-motions.

BK — big kiss.

FDROTFL — falling down rolling on the floor laughing.

Gr8 — great.

JK — just kidding.

TGIF — thanks God it’s Friday.

<G> — grinning.

<J> — joking.

<L> — laughing.

<O> — shouting.

<S> — smiling.

<Y> — yawning.

 Virtual kisses.

ILOVU— I love you.

ILU / ILY — I love you.

MAY — mad about you.

X — kiss.

XOXOX — hugs and kisses.

 Any questions?

F2T — free to talk?

HUH — have you heard?

RUOK — are you OK?

Wot — what?

Wadya — what do you…

 Answering back.

CB — call back.

IC — I see.

IK — I know.

PCM — please call me.

Sry — sorry.

SWDYT — so what do you think?

 Not impressed with what you’re hearing? Tell the sender where to go.

LMA — leave me alone.

MYOB — mind your own business.

OTL — out to lunch.

PMFBR — pardon me for being rude.

SWYP — so what’s your problem?

 The last word.

ATB — all the best.

B4N — bye for now.

HAND — have a nice day.

Rgds — regards.

TIA — thanks in advance.

Ti2GO— timetogo.