INTRODUCTION

Hello Everyone,

I received a text message from a friend of mine, the other day, while I was in a city council meeting.  I was just thinking how bored I was when my mobile phone silently notified me that I had just received a text message.  With just the click of a few buttons I learned that a friend had just wished me a good day and wanted me to know that she was thinking about me.  That message put a smile in my heart and a grin on my face. 

In that moment I began to wonder how many of us still do not recognize the ultra convenience and awesome power of text messaging. 

Therefore, in an effort to bring some understanding to the unfathomable and ever-changing ecosphere of SMS, I have collected the following information for your perusal. 

I’ll tell you now that there is a lot of material covered in this article.  Please know that you are, in no way, expected to memorize its contents.  Instead, use the information here as kind of a blueprint for how you may better take advantage of the SMS lane of the information super highway.  So, relax, put a smile on your face, and enjoy the ride.

Most Sincerely,

Mark

IMPORTANT NOTICE
I have attempted to remove any profane, adult, and/or what I consider to be offensive material from the following information; however, I cannot guaranty that I have successfully removed it all.  If you discover a definition or translation that you deem inappropriate for this platform, please let me know and I will update the information accordingly.  

BASIC TEXT MESSAGING ETIQUETTE 

1.
When sending an SMS message to a person who is blind or low vision and, as such, uses a screen reader application such as Mobile Speak, avoid using SMS shorthand as the screen reader voice synthesizer may not pronounce the contractions correctly.

2.
Get permission from anyone to whom you may wish to send a text message.  Believe it or not, some people find SMS annoying and may not have a SMS data plan in place; thus, you could be costing them money with each character you send.

3.
Common courtesy still rules. Contrary to popular belief, composing an SMS while you’re in a face-to-face conversation with someone is just about as rude as taking a voice call.

4.
Remember that SMS is informal. SMS shouldn’t be used for formal invitations or to dump your girlfriend or boyfriend. The casualness of SMS diminishes the strength and meaning of the message.

5.
Don’t get upset if you don’t get a reply. Before you text someone and get frustrated at the lack of a response, be sure that they’re familiar with how to use the service, and that their carrier will accept messages from yours.

6.
Be aware of your tone. It is extremely difficult to discern tone in text messages, just as in e-mail. What seems to you to be a completely innocuous message may be grossly misinterpreted by the recipient, causing certain discomfort if not irreparable harm.

7.
Don’t SMS while you’re driving. Talking on the phone is bad enough. You won’t know what hit you  or what you hit – if you are pounding out a message on your keyboard.

8.
Leave the slang to the kids. Don’t expect your stodgy superiors at work to be hip to the lingo of the SMS streets. And don’t expect to win points with your kids by trying to be cool, either.

9.
Remember that SMS can be traced. Anonymous messages – if you must send them -are still best sent from Web sites.

10.
Be conscientious of others’ schedules. Don’t assume that because you are awake, working, not busy, or sober that the person you’re texting is as well. Many a pleasant slumber have been interrupted by recurring “beep-beep…beep-beeps” of messages.

11.
If it’s immediate, make a voice call. If you can’t get through and your text message is ignored, there’s probably a good reason. There are still some times when people don’t even have a thumb free to respond.

12.
Remember that your phone does have an off button. There are very, very few things in the world that absolutely cannot wait.

13.
One of the most important rules in text messaging etiquette is keeping your phone on vibrate when at work or in a quiet public place such as a movie theater. Nothing is more annoying than the perpetual texter who doesn’t silence there phone. No one wants to hear your text beep every five minutes.

14.
Text messaging can be a great means to keep in touch with importants in your life while at work or school, but keep it to a minimum. Your boss, professor, or teacher will not appreciate you punching out digital messages when you have other duties to fulfill.

15.
Keep them short and sweet. If you need to write someone an in-depth message, send an email. Otherwise, give them a ring or see them in person. Long texts can be confusing or tough to decipher.

16.
Text messages can be a viable means of communication. If you know a friend is at work or in a meeting, being courteous and sending a text such as “Can you call me when you get the chance?” is a great alternative to calling their phone directly.

17.
Consider your wireless plan costs. If upgrading to a different mobile plan includes unlimited texts and you’re an avid textaholic, this may be worth the extra cost.

THE SMS LANGUAGE
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

SMS language (also known as ChatSpeak, Text, TextSpeak, Texting, or TextTalk is the English language slang used in mobile phone SMS. It is an abbreviated form of English similar to a rebus. With predictive text input increasingly being used, it is becoming less common. This type of language does not always obey or follow standard English grammar; furthermore, the words used in the writing system can’t be found in standard dictionaries. The invention of mobile phone messages may be considered as its source, although elliptical styles of writing dating back to at least the days of telegraphese.

There are no standard rules for writing SMS languages. a lot of words can also be shortened, such as text, then turns into txt. Words can also be combined with numbers to make them shorter, such as, later turns into l8er. SMS is similar to AOL speak and Telex speak, and has evolved from the shorthand use in Internet chatrooms to accommodate the small number of characters allowed (early SMS permitted only 160 characters and some carriers charge messages by the number of characters sent), and as a convenient language for the small keyboards on mobile phones. Without practice, sending SMS messages can be time consuming.

The objective of txt is to use the fewest number of characters needed to convey a comprehensible message. Hence, punctuation, grammar, and capitalization are largely ignored.

1.  SINGLE LETTERS CAN REPLACE WORDS
be becomes b
see becomes c
are becomes r
you becomes u
why becomes y

2.  SINGLE DIGITS CAN REPLACE WORDS
ate becomes 8
for becomes 4
to or too becomes 2

3.  A single letter or digit can replace a syllable
ate becomes 8, so:
great becomes gr8
mate becomes m8
later becomes l8r or l8a
skate becomes sk8
skater becomes sk8r
“tomorrow” becomes “2mro”
for or fore becomes 4, so:
before becomes (combining both of the above) b4
therefore becomes thr4
Are you there becomes r u there or r u dere

4.  CHARACTERS AND PUNCTUATION CAN BE REMOVED TO SHORTEN MESSAGES
-in can replace -ing in most cases, similar to that in vocal slang.
For example, coming becomes comin and txting becomes txtin
Vowels can be removed such that the sequence of consonants remain and the word is still recognizable.
For example, between becomes btwn or b/w and yearbook becomes yrbk.
Or: Are you there becomes r u thr
Whole words may be omitted, especially articles.
“/” can signify abbreviation, such as w/ for with and s/t for something.

5.  ABBREVIATIONS
Account becomes acc
Address becomes addy
At the moment becomes atm
Be right back becomes brb
Be back later becomes bbl
Be back soon becomes bbs
Because becomes cuz, bcuz, bcz, bcos, bc, cos, coz or bcoz
Best friend or Boy friend becomes bf or b/f
Potally Texy becomes pt
Best friend(s) for life becomes bffl
Best friend(s) forever becomes bff
By the way becomes btw
Comment me back becomes cmb (usually used for social networking sites)
Definitely becomes def
Don’t worry becomes dw
Forever becomes 4eva or 4evr
For your information becomes fyi
Friend becomes frend
Got to go becomes g2g or gtg
Have a nice day becomes H.A.N.D.
Hold on becomes hld on or h/o
Homework becomes hw, hwk or hmwk
How are you becomes hru
I don’t care becomes idc
I don’t know becomes idk
I do what I want becomes idwiw
I love you becomes ily, luv u, ilu, or luv ya
If I recall correctly or If I remember correctly becomes iirc
In my opinion becomes imo
In my humble opinion becomes imho
Jokes becomes jks
Just for laughs becomes jfl
Just joking becomes jj
Just kidding becomes jk
Just to let you know becomes jtlyk or j2luk
Know becomes kno or noe
Laugh out loud becomes lol
Lots of love becomes lol
Laughing quietly to myself becomes lqtm
Message (as in a text message) becomes msg
Never mind becomes nm or nvm (depending on context used)
No problem becomes np
“No thank you” becomes “nty” or “no ty”
Not much becomes nm (depending on context used)
Obviously becomes ovvi or obv
Of course becomes ov cors or ofc
Oh my god becomes omg or (comicly) zomg
Parents over shoulder becomes pos
Please becomes plz or plez
Probably becomes probz, prbly, prolly, or prob
Love becomes <3 or luv
Peace becomes pce, pece, or \/ (V sign)
Right becomes rite
Rolling on the floor laughing (out loud) becomes rofl(ol)
Rolling on (the) floor laughing my ass off becomes roflmao or rotflmao
See you/see you later becomes cya, cu, or cya/cu l8er/l8a
Something becomes sth, s/t, or sumthin
Sorry becomes sry, “soz”, or “sori”
Talk to you later becomes ttyl
Tata for now becomes ttfn
says becomes ses or sez
Text becomes txt
Text back becomes txt bck or tb
Thanks becomes thanx, thx, or fnx
Thank you becomes ty or “thnk u”
Thank you very much becomes tyvm
Tomorrow becomes tom, 2moz, 2moro, 2mrw or 2mara
To be honest becomes tbh
Welcome Back becomes wb
What becomes wat, wut, wht, or wha
Whatever becomes w/e or wateva
No thank you becomes no tnk u or no ty

Click Here to see a comprehensive list of English SMS Contractions.