Online and text abbreviations have their place in our modern era, and in the right situation (a chat room or text message) they are relatively acceptable.

However (I am going to be quite unpopular for saying this) I don't think it is wise for English learners to use many of these 'lazy words'.

Acronyms like LOL (laugh out loud) and BRB (be right back) are okay, as long as everyone is aware that they have no place outside a chat room or a text message, and they certainly don't belong in formal writing.

It is the lazy typing and phonetic shortening of words that can create bad habits for learners of English.

Some examples of these are:

Thnx/thx = thanks.
Lyk/lke = like.
Plz = please.
Ppl = people.
Jst = just.
Coz = because.

Maybe those of us who are native speakers, or advanced level learners, should avoid sharing our lazy online habits with Learners in the EC chat rooms, a beginner might mistake these 'abbreviations' with correct spelling.


I'm sure many of you might not agree, please go easy on me!
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Comments

  • I soooo agree with you! I also don't like reading text messages like these. I often chat with native speakers from a community I joined after my classes at Preply.com ( http://preply.com/en/skype/english-native-speakers ) and this is a common pet peeve. It's lazy and annoying, too. 

  • Thanks, _(Mary)_ :D

  • Finally someone has told aloud that :-) I totally agree with you. It can be  very annoying and make confusion  and bad feeling with interlocutors.

  • Onee-chan, :) :D

  • Okay, Dayne. :)

  • Onee-chan, please feel free to just call me Dayne :)

  • Oh, Sir Dayne.. Fortunately I don't have that habit even when I am chatting.

    I hope more member will realise this. Very important point! Thanks for reminding us.
  • Mishaikh & setareh, thanks a lot for the feedback!

  • I do not like such shortening of words especially in text.

    Thanks for sharing your views on the topic Dayne.

  • I don't like them either. I even consider them somehow inappropriate. See so many people have approved what you said and it makes you even more popular.:D
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