Not just words Communication

B
file

101 ways to

exchange short messages

A INTERACT. In groups of three answer the following questions. Report your answers to
the rest of the class and then read the text below.
1. Do you exchange short written messages? 2. What type of messages do you usually exchange (e-mails, text messages, post-it notes, etc.)? 3. Do you use any abbreviations in your messages? (e.g., xk meaning perch) Which ones?

:)
Shortcuts are quicker and sometimes easier ways of writing something. They can be: acronyms as in asap (as soon as possible) BTW (by the way) abbreviations as in pls (please) h&k (hugs and kisses) substitutions as in 4 (for) CU (see you) Sometimes you substitute only a part of the word, like in L8er meaning later or thanx meaning thanks. The English language seems to adjust (a) very well to the use of shortcuts. Why? Well, probably because the same sound or combination of sounds (e.g., /si /) can correspond to many different combinations of letters (e.g., C, sea, see).

The use of short written messages, like in notes, e-mails or telephone text messages, is significantly changing the way people communicate with each other, and this is especially true among young people.

SHORTCUTS AND EMOTICONS

Emoticons are combinations of text symbols designed to show an emotional state in a text message. Over time they have turned into an art form as well. In most cases, emoticons are combined to be viewed by tilting (b) your head left or right. For example, this combination of symbols :-) , made up of : = colon, - = dash, and ) = closing round bracket, is similar to a happy face if you look at it sideways. There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of emoticons, but only a very few are commonly used, and they are the same ones in all languages! Most of the common ones involve some form of smile :-) or frown :-( giving emoticons the secondary name smilies. Here are some common emoticons:

:-) :-(

Basic smiley face; used for humor and sometimes sarcasm. Basic frowney face; used for sadness or anger. Half-smiley or winkey face; more often used for amusement and sarcasm. Face used for a mixture of humor and disappointment.
(a) adattarsi; (b) spostare.

REMEMBER! Dont overdo it if you use emoticons or shortcuts! Dont use more than one in a paragraph and three in a message.

;-) :-/

B INTERACT. Do you know of other emoticons or shortcuts (in English and/or your own
language)? In pairs, prepare a list of 10 of them. Give your list to another pair and ask them to write the full meaning of each.

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