# SMS language/ chatspeak in English



## AlxGrim

I can understand that writing "b4" instead of "before" saves time, but this Italian youngsters'  habit of writing "ke" for "che" or "nn" for "non" really bothers me...
Can anyone give me more examples of English shortcuts like "b4"?


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## jupa

AlxGrim said:
			
		

> This drives me crazy, anyway... I can understand that writing "b4" instead of "before" saves time, but this Italian youngsters'  habit of writing "ke" for "che" or "nn" for "non" really bothers me...
> Can anyone give me more examples of English shortcuts like "b4"?



We have a bunch of these, (mostly acronyms)! 

Later = ltr
Talk to you later = ttyl
By the way = btw
Laugh out loud = lol
probably = prolly ( I HATE this one!)
I don't know = dunno
because = cuz or cos
pictures = pix or pics
you = u


That's all I can think of off the top of my head. However, I found these comprehensive lists here and here. I've actually never seen some of them, but I guess it varies from person to person.


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## ElaineG

I h8 any abbreviation involving substituting "ate" with "8", but I see them all the time. C u l8ter. Yuck.


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## DesertCat

And, gr8.  

But I don't care for these abbreviations either because it cre8s poor spelling and grammar habits.


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## shamblesuk

ne1 (anyone)
Wd (Would)
Cd (Could)


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## lsp

@ for "at"
cya = see ya (careful, it also means "cover your ass")
u r = you are
ppl = people
pls = please
rgds = regards
2 = to (also: 2day, 2moro, 2nite)
tx or thx = thanks


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## Willi

Here are some in Italian:

nn=non
ke=che
qs=questo, questi, questa etc.
xò=però
xché o x'= perché
cmq=comunque
tvb=ti voglio bene
tvtb=ti voglio tanto bene
cbcr=cresci bene che ripasso (usato anni fa, non so se si dice ancora)
c=ci
c 6?= ci sei?
t tel= ti telefono


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## AlxGrim

Willi, quel "cibbicierre" mi ha riportato indietro di QUALCHE anno... )
Per la cronaca, io ogni tanto lo dico ancora.


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## Willi

AlxGrim said:
			
		

> Willi, quel "cibbicierre" mi ha riportato indietro di QUALCHE anno... )
> Per la cronaca, io ogni tanto lo dico ancora.


 
HIHIHIHI


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## aqidah

xche' (Perche') (why)

XXX (baci) (kisses)

U (you)

TVB (Ti voglio bene) (I love you)


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## lsp

aqidah said:
			
		

> xche' (Perche') (why)
> 
> XXX (baci) (kisses)
> 
> U (you)
> 
> TVB (Ti voglio bene) (I love you)


RTWT = read the whole thing (I was reminded of this one because many in your post are duplicates )


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## valy822

QNDO= quando (when)
KME= come (how, as...)
UNI= università (university)
MM= mi manchi (I miss you)
TA= ti amo (I love you)

Valy


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## luke_77

Great post! I'll write these abbreviation down..   ... CYA guys! eheh


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## Alxmrphi

I think one of the most used ones in English has been left out, weirdly:

brb! = Be right back!


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## AmoL'italiano

also-
whatcha doin: what are you doing?
and all the ones I had in my original post.

oooh, and 
bbl: be back later
bb in a bit: be back in a bit (in a little while)
yo!: hey!
wtf!: <warn> what the fuck!
stfu!: <warn> shut the fuck up! (rude, rude way of saying be quiet!)


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## Victoria32

jupa said:


> We have a bunch of these, (mostly acronyms)!
> 
> Later = ltr
> Talk to you later = ttyl
> By the way = btw
> Laugh out loud = lol
> probably = prolly ( I HATE this one!)
> I don't know = dunno
> because = cuz or cos
> pictures = pix or pics
> you = u
> 
> 
> That's all I can think of off the top of my head. However, I found these comprehensive lists here and here. I've actually never seen some of them, but I guess it varies from person to person.


A couple of others...
TTFN - ta ta for now,
and here, later = l8r! Yes, it's disgusting.. The only one I have ever used is 'u'... 

Vicky


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## utente

YMMV -  your mileage may vary

RTFM  -  read the (f...in') manual

IMO  - in my opinion

IMHO  -  in my humble opinion

NTTAWWT -  not that there's anything wrong with that (used as a politically correct phrase whenever somebody says that a person is gay )


Come gli altri, non mi piace gr8 e i sui cugini.


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## marcop_fr

Hi all!
Is there anybody who thinks that would be nice/interesting just to speak about using and abusing of all such stuff? Are they definitely a danger for any language? I know that in the past they where used and abused… b_u_t it was ONLY in a very restricted context.
Anyway, also I wouldn’t be stressing…. I use sometimes sms and related… BUT “con molta parsimonia!” J

Ciao!
marcop


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## Victoria32

Alex_Murphy said:


> I think one of the most used ones in English has been left out, weirdly:
> 
> brb! = Be right back!


My son uses that, and the other son uses TTYL (talk to you later.) Against my own expectations, I've started using textspeak, because my son writes novels, and if I want to reply in kind, and I often do, abbrev., is logical.

Some abbreviations I 've used all my life are impossible to use in text... 

Vicky


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## Paulfromitaly

I've just learnt a new one:

4t = thought

Needless to say people who write that must have some problems pronouncing the "th"


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## Blackman

OMG oh my god
LOL Lots of Love


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## Paulfromitaly

> *Please check this page BEFORE posting a new message:*
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_language


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## Marita101

If anyone's interested, though, I've found a complete list of English chatspeak words here.
Although I doubt that all of those are actually used...


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## Ethel_34

Interesting thread - just for everybody's information, this type of abbreviations were not invented by lazy youngsters trying to fit a whole text in one sms. The great Queen Victoria herself used to write "cld" (could), "shd"  (should) or "wld" (would) and many others like eveg (evening), etc. in her letters. Guess laziness definitely rhymes with royal highness!


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## chipulukusu

That's true, but even the ancient Romans used to use a lot of abbreviations, then... but they were writing in stones!!!
The funny thing with SMS chatspeak is that, with the automatic completion systems like T9 and others, most of the times is quicker to write the real word than the abbreviation!!


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## Ethel_34

Ah ah that is very true indeed!


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## tsoapm

The S in SMS stands for "short", and there certainly used to be a character limit. It needn’t be a question of saving _time_…


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## chipulukusu

I understand Mark, but try to write "_tok 2 u l8r_" and "_talk to you later_" with a modern keyboard and then you tell me! I mean, most of the time it's just plain show-off in my opinion, a "_you didn't know this,did you?_" thing...

P.S. I still owe you a beer!


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## curiosone

"X" for "per" is a pre-SMS abbreviation, in Italian ("+" for "più" and "-" for "meno" also derive from how mathematical symbols are pronounced).  I've also seen "xké" (instead of "xché") and "tf" for "telefono" or "tel".

And in English, let's not forget LMAO ("laughing my ass off"), ROTFL ("rolling on the floor laughing") and PML "pissing myself laughing".


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## AlabamaBoy

I disagree with the time saving or showing off hypothesis.

When text messaging was first introduced, the phone companies tried to make a lot of money from young people with text messaging by charging per character. This was a complete scam because texting uses much less bandwidth than voice.

It was considered extremely rude to send a longer than absolutely necessary text message because the recipient had to pay for the extra characters.

It is not unlike the old days when you sent a telegram and paid by the word. I would mix English and Italian words when sending a telegram to get the minimum word count.

Showing off would be texting in Leet. (133+ or 1337 ) LOL (I use xk all the time for perché.)


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## Alessandrino

Blackman said:


> OMG oh my god
> LOL Lots of Love


Isn't this supposed to mean _Laughing out loud_?



			
				Paulfromitaly said:
			
		

> 4t = thought


This one's brilliant. Too bad it only works in BrE, where the final 'r' in _four_ is barely audible and has the effect of prolonging the sound of the preceding vowel. Also, the mispronunciation of th (/θ/) is a distinctive feature of cockney and Estuary accents. Interestingly _4t  _could also serve as an abbreviation to _fought._


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## chipulukusu

AlabamaBoy said:


> I disagree with the time saving or showing off hypothesis.
> 
> When text messaging was first introduced, the phone companies tried to make a lot of money from young people with text messaging by charging per character. This was a complete scam because texting uses much less bandwidth than voice.
> 
> It was considered extremely rude to send a longer than absolutely necessary text message because the recipient had to pay for the extra characters.
> 
> It is not unlike the old days when you sent a telegram and paid by the word. I would mix English and Italian words when sending a telegram to get the minimum word count.
> 
> Showing off would be texting in Leet. (133+ or 1337 ) LOL (I use xk all the time for perché.)



Thank you Bill, this is very valuable information, thanks! I didn't have any idea that in the US you are supposed to pay also when you are on the receiving side; it is something I have learnt in this forum. It is totally out of Italian (and I think European) culture. We only pay for receiving text if it is a premium service (like weather reports or credit card alerts). We pay for receiving calls when on roaming, but _not_ for receiving _texts.
_I miss all of this experience... I pretend to be a geek but I'm only an old grumbling fart...


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## AlabamaBoy

Unless you have a very poor mobile phone plan, today you have unlimited text messaging. Chatspeak is now technically obsolete. It lingers on as a kind of CB radio lingo of the 21st century.


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## chipulukusu

AlabamaBoy said:


> Unless you have a very poor mobile phone plan, today you have unlimited text messaging. Chatspeak is now technically obsolete. It lingers on as a kind of CB radio lingo of the 21st century.



So things have turned upside down! In Europe (at least Italy and the UK) unlimited text is still an allowance in most cases (e.g. you top up 10 pounds and you have unlimited text for the next month) unless you have a rather expensive plan. This both if you are on contract or Pay As You Go; contracts with unlimited text are on the expensive side.

Misteries of marketing science...


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## Paulfromitaly

Good list

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/it/parole/sms-abbreviazioni-inglesi


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## pabla1983

Ciao a tutti. 
Prima cosa mi scuso per la "stupidità" della domanda...ma vorrei sapere il significato di "lov ya" scritto da un ragazzo con cui ho una storia leggera. 
Grazie

Hi guys! 
Sorry for the question so stupid..but I'd like to know the meaning of "lov ya" ..txd by a guy I'm having a easy relashionp!
Thank you!


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## Paulfromitaly

Non serve molta fantasia..comunque

Lov = Love
Ya = you


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## pabla1983

Ahahahah grazie! Fin li ci ero arrivata anche io...intendevo sapere se fosse uno slang con un significato più leggero di "ti amo"!


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## Paulfromitaly

pabla1983 said:


> Ahahahah grazie! Fin li ci ero arrivata anche io...intendevo sapere se fosse uno slang con un significato più leggero di "ti amo"!


L'argomento è già stato discusso molte volte e non fa parte del topic di questo thread.
Puoi leggere qui

Love you bunches!
Love You Forever and Then Some
Love you madly
Love you VS love ya


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