Folks-- business obligations require a reposting today, but I did have time to update it.
I have an embarrassing confession to make--I don't always know how to translate what someone has text-ed into English. I need a Text-to-English dictionary. This is just one more fact, added to an already long list of facts, that tells me I've gotten 'old'. We didn't 
have 'texting' when I was a teenager.
At first, I thought texting (aka "lingo") was simply X-treme Abbreviation. And then I thought it might be a combination of Vanity License-plate Language and X-Abbreviation. This thinking allowed me to read some of what I saw, but not all. I could decipher "gr8" and "l8r", but not "bb4n". It didn't help that I wasn't a "texter" myself (Use a cellphone and give myself ear cancer? Not this fella!).
And then it dawned on me-- these kids are using an Adult-proof secret code. They don't want me to decipher it. The world suddenly made a lot more sense. My friends and I had used code too.
Fortunately, there are resources available for those of us who are "lingo"-handicapped. If you see "A/S/L", but don't understand what it means, you can find out (age/sex/location?) -- and if you are a parent concerned about your child and what they're doing and saying on the Internet and in chatrooms -- I suggest you do.
If you're like me, and just want to try to increase your "hipness" quotient (or just avoid some terrible faux pas), you will also find these translation resources useful and interesting. My favorite is below, as the day's free link.
Parents (particularly parents of teenagers) it seems to me, are almost forced into learning texting, (What is the deal with teenagers anyway?) and a survey by Samsung has produced results that claim that text messaging is improving relationships between parents and teens. (Can you hear my skepticism?)
WiredParentPad has an interesting take on this, Do You Use Text Messaging to Stay Connected with Your Teens?
[a brief aside: has anyone else noticed a return of the "smiley"? What's up with that? They're lame, and I was glad to see them fade from popularity. Seriously. But.. it seems.. they're back. What's next, the Peace Symbol? :-D ]
Free link of the day: Lingo2Word. "Lingo2word is devoted to demistifying the new Internet shorthand language of Text messages, Chat rooms and Emails. We are devoted to the fun of text messaging in all forms, there is a whole new fun language out there just waiting for you!"
Copyright © 2007-8 Tech Paul. All rights reserved.
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