Text Talk

by Duffy McMahon on February 1, 2012 • No comments

I have a confession to make. I’m an Internet jargon illiterate. I hate to admit it, but when I get text messages or e-mails with words like AAMOF (as a matter of fact), CMIIW (correct me if I’m wrong), BFN (bye for now), G2G (good to go) or any of the infinite number of other Internet acronyms, I break out into a sweat. I used to think it was a spelling error. But after minutes of checking the dictionary…the one used for words…I finally had to give up, hang my head in shame and call the person to ask what they wrote. I know there has to be a support group somewhere to help me.

I’m not the only person who has to suffer this humiliation. After doing some research on the Internet to see if there is an IJ (Internet jargon) dictionary, I’ve found I’m not alone. While it’s mainly people over 40 that suffer from IJI (Internet jargon illiteracy), I’m astounded that no one has ever considered making this a cause. Maybe we could get Diane Keaton to become our spokesperson…she’s over forty. We could produce commercials that depict the despair of having IJI. Or possibly, do a telethon to promote the suffering of people with IJI.

OK, I’m being facetious, but there is a problem with parents not being aware of what their kids are texting and e-mailing and that’s not funny. A number of Internet sites now have acronym lists to help parents decipher what their kids are writing. But, it’s not only the kids who have become acronym doyens. Young parents are equally guilty of acronym-speak. I say speak because word condensations are becoming a part of our daily verbal communication.

Perhaps, it’s because I’m a writer and writers have a tendency to use actual words, you know, words (those verbal utterances made when you combine letters together to form a definition of something) that I’m not fond of acronyms. There is absolutely nothing wrong with shortening a phrase; but it would help dramatically if everyone else with whom you communicate knew the translation.

I believe that keeping our language is important. And unlike some countries, I have no problem adding slang to our dictionary. My complaint is that many businesses have to retrain young graduates from college because they can’t write a letter or do a verbal presentation without using acronym-speak. And that’s not a good reflection on our educational system or our country.

I no longer complain about IJ. As a psychotherapist, I naturally wanted to come up with a viable treatment to overcome my feelings of inferiority about not being well versed in today’s Internet vernacular. Now I don’t worry about what the acronym stands for…I just make up my own definition. It may not be correct, but it’s fun and makes for lol (lots of laughs).

TTFN
(Ta Ta For Now…or whatever you want it to mean)

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