I read a letter in The Star today about the unwanted influence of SMS language in written work. I have to say that even though I myself text on the phone and chat online a lot, I also hate reading such lingo because I cannot make out what the writer means sometimes. I always feel that we write to convey a message and we have to do it as precisely as possible to avoid miscommunication.
I remember years ago when I was chatting online with a guy who asked me for my photo. I don't really remember how our conversation went anymore but until today, I still remember him writing, "waiting 4 yrs" which I mistook as "Waiting FOUR years" when he actually meant "waiting for yours" after he sent me his photo and I had yet to reciprocate.
For a while there, I was shocked that he waited for my photo for four years already and I wondered how it could be when we didn't even know each other for that long yet! LOL Until today, I never get the hang of reading short forms like that. It's a whole lot worse for text messages in Malay which I could hardly make out. And yes, those Malay short forms have been transferred to written text as well, unfortunately.
I remember years ago when I was chatting online with a guy who asked me for my photo. I don't really remember how our conversation went anymore but until today, I still remember him writing, "waiting 4 yrs" which I mistook as "Waiting FOUR years" when he actually meant "waiting for yours" after he sent me his photo and I had yet to reciprocate.
For a while there, I was shocked that he waited for my photo for four years already and I wondered how it could be when we didn't even know each other for that long yet! LOL Until today, I never get the hang of reading short forms like that. It's a whole lot worse for text messages in Malay which I could hardly make out. And yes, those Malay short forms have been transferred to written text as well, unfortunately.
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