From Australia: Txt language here 2 stay:

Here is something just 2 give u apoplexy. Well that is if u hate the way texting is eroding the English language.

In both New Zealand and the UK texting abbreviations are now acceptable in final year school exams. The New Zealand Qualifications Authority has recently accepted the use of text language in the equivalent of our higher school certificate, following a similar move by the Scottish Qualifications Authority.

Probably it has something to do with the fact that every child with a mobile phone or who emails now uses it – and that would be every senior student in any given school. And rail against it and talk about the demise of the English language as we know it – but I believe the battle is over before the oldies could even muster a defence.

According to Language Log, all that's going on is that some misspellings based on text messaging are being given partial marks. These school boards have already been giving partial marks for misspellings, and it seems that no grading policies have changed.

Rumours of English's erosion are being exaggerated.

Well, that's a relief, Gooofy. It just goes to show the importance of not believing everything you read.

Yes. The article ends with this:
"And rly u do hav to hav sum rspct 4 yung ppl who cn xpres thmslvs n 100 chrctrs r les on a sml scrn – don't you?"

What a joy to read our daily papers over the cornflakes couched in such symbols. I imagine someone has already published a dictionary of text 'language'. But I am not about to look for it.

You know what text speak says to me?

"I can't even be bothered to write out the word in full for you." I'm more forgiving of it on a phone screen where space (and credit) may be short, but on e-mails and letters? Ugh.

It's ugly, and I hate it.

It's weird how the number of graphemes used to represent each word in English orthography can cause such strong feelings.

text messaging is not killing English

"Only a tiny fraction of teenage text messaging includes short forms, according to a new University of Toronto study, dispelling the myth their grammar is deteriorating."

quote:

Originally posted by gooofy:
It's weird how the number of graphemes used to represent each word in English orthography can cause such strong feelings.

What an 'enlightened' view, Goofy.

Back in the Age of Telegraph, the story goes, international correspondents would use txt to keep their telegrams short since they were charged by the word; one of the tricks was to eliminate "no" by using un-, leading to the following exchange between a reporter who had been on a three-day bender and his editor:

Editor: WHY UNNEWS?

Reporter: UNNEWS GOOD NEWS

Editor: UNNEWS UNJOB

Love your tale, neveu. I was googling it up, looking for other telegraphy stories, and I found one site claimng that the reporter had added one more message to the correspondence, writing back thusly to the editor:

Reporter: UPSTICK JOB REARWISE

This editorial was in the Chicago Tribune today.