The document discusses how technology has changed the meanings of some common words: - "Stream" now refers to media delivered continuously online rather than a flowing body of water. - "Thing" in the context of the "Internet of Things" means a smart connected device rather than a generic object. - "Feed" is now more associated with RSS feeds for blogs and news rather than food for animals. - "Tag" in computing refers to HTML tags, keywords for information tagging, rather than price tags on products. - "Viral" describes rapidly spreading online content rather than biology and viruses. - "Troll" online means someone provoking arguments for fun rather than

1. Hillingdon U3A
Linguistics Group
Texting and Internet Acronyms

2. Apologies to Rudyard Kipling..

3. Texting
Texting is “an electronic message sent over a
cellular network from one cell phone or
similar device to another by typing words,
often in shortened form…on the phone’s
numeric or alphanumeric keypad (added in
1997)”
In other words, instant messaging using a
phone

4. • Texting is the number one reason why teens
say the got a phone, with 43% claiming it was
the primary reason to get one
• 31% prefer texting to talking on the phone
• Close to 10 trillion text messages were sent
in 2015

6. How do they fit study in?
• Mobile owners between the ages of 18 and
24 in the USA exchange an average of 109.5
messages on a normal day
• On average girls typically send and receive 80
messages per day
• On average, boys typically send and receive
30 texts a day

7. Why?
Texting first became big in Europe and Asia
because to send a short text message is
cheaper than making a phone call, especially
between countries. In the US, texting became
big because of the 13-17 year age group
sending on average about 1,742 texts a
month

8. Social Media
The use of audio and visual conversational
messaging has become more commonplace with
the soaring popularity of social media and instant
messaging apps such as Instagram, Vine and
Snapchat.

9. Moving forward...
Since the first text message, texting has
evolved on mobile phones to see back and
forth conversations on one screen, and group
messages are available on phones now so
more than two people can hold a
conversation at one time.

10. In with the new, out with the old
• "The limitation of characters on old handsets were
a key factor in the rise of acronyms in text
messaging such as TXT, GR8 and M8.
• "However, technological evolution has meant that
these words are now effectively extinct from the
text speak language and are seen as 'antique text
speak'.
• Modern "Smartphones give people a much a wider
range of communication options which means we
are no longer restricted to a limited numbers of
characters.

12. Internet acronyms
• In 2011, the acronyms 'LOL' (laugh out loud) and
'OMG' (oh my god) were elevated to the status
of real, genuine words when they gained
inclusion in the Oxford English Dictionary.
• Both phrases were categorised as being
“strongly associated with the language of
electronic communications”, and their addition
marked a seismic event in the world of
language.

13. Internet acronyms
It seems that we can no longer move for the
sheer number of acronyms and Internet slang
words now used in society. They creep into
serious business emails and the younger
generation even have a tendency to say 'LOL'
in face-to-face conversation. For the
uninitiated, this new digital realm can be a
confusing, bewildering place.

14. Internet acronyms
• The language of the Internet is fascinating
and its prevalence in modern day society and
ability to cross cultural divides means that
even web developers have to keep their LOLs
and OMGs in mind when preparing a website
for multiple audiences.
• Here are some Internet acronyms and slang
words that you really should have in your
vocabulary.

15. What about this?
AMA

16. AMA
• Ask Me Anything
• Definition: stems from Reddit, a website
positioned as a hub for multi-threaded
conversations on virtually any topic. AMAs are
generally held by public figures or celebrities
and should be thought of as public Q&A
sessions.
• And what about DM?

17. DM
• Direct Messages
• Definition: Direct messages are available on a
number of platforms - most notably on
Twitter. They are simply a way of sending a
message to someone directly, thus hidden
from public view. “DM me” is therefore a
common phrase used when private matters
need to be discussed.
• And what about ELI5?

18. ELI5
• (Explain Like I'm 5)
• Definition: Need something explaining in
layman's terms? Using 'ELI5' will ensure
people dumb down technical or scientific
waffle!
• And what about Facepalm?

19. Facepalm
• Definition: Done something silly? 'Facepalm'
should conjure up images of someone
planting their face in the palm of their hand,
shocked at the mistake they've just made; if
you feel like doing the same, you can use
facepalm to express disappointment in
yourself.
• And what about IMO/IMHO?

20. IMO/IMHO
• In My Opinion
• Definition: Another Internet stalwart, IMO is a
safe way to express one's opinion without
sounding like a know-it-all. Add in 'humble'
and you can do so whilst appearing humble
about whatever opinion it is you're delivering.
• And what about IRL?

21. IRL
• In Real Life
• Definition: The internet is an ethereal,
intangible place in which to socialise, and,
occasionally, we all need reminding that a
world exists beyond. Enter 'IRL', which is used
to initiate a digital conversation about
something In Real Life.
• And what about MFW?

22. MFW
• My Face When?
• Definition: This is intended as a reaction to
something that has caused enough surprise,
anger or joy to warrant a visual depiction of
that particular emotion. 'MFW' is usually
partnered with an image or animated GIF that
illustrates the emotion.
• What about NSFW?

23. NSFW
• Not Safe For Work
• Definition: We won't dwell for too long on
this one, but if a piece of Internet content
must be shared and is, shall we say, not
appropriate to be viewed at work, 'NSFW' is
usually used as a pre-warning. Very useful to
know!
• What about SMH?

24. SMH
• Shaking My Head
• Definition: A little bit like 'facepalm', SMH is
used to convey disappointment, but this time
directed at someone else's mistake.
• What about TBT?

25. TBT
• Throwback Thursday
• Definition: If you want to post an old photo or
video and gain plenty of views, it pays to hold
on until Thursday, when 'Throwback Thursday'
becomes one of the most popular tags on
social media. Post that photo of your old
school mates and add 'TBT' to the message
and it is guaranteed to garner plenty of
attention.

26. • Being 'on fleek', meaning 'looking perfect' is a
popular term young kids are using that
parents don't understand,
• as is 'bae' short for babe or meaning 'Before
Anyone Else'.
• 'fear of missing out' - commonly abbreviated
to 'FOMO' - also leaves parents scratching
their heads

27. • ICYMI In case you missed it
• LMK Let me know
• RN Right now
• IKR? I know you, right?
• ROFL Rolling on the floor laughing
• CU / CYA See you

28. • XOXO Kisses and Hugs
• IDK I don’t know
• LMK Let me know
• NM Never mind

29. • We are moving to a more pictographic form
of communication with the increasing
popularity of emoticons. This harks back to a
caveman-form of communication where a
single picture can convey a full range of
messages and emotions.
• "In the future less words and letters will be
used in messaging as pictures and icons take
over the text speak language."

30. Summary 1
• It's easy to dismiss the above as simply products
of a social media-obsessed generation with an
unbelievably short attention span, but look at it
another way and the language of the Internet is
actually rather beautiful.
• It is simple, no frills and, quite often, very
inventive. Chances are, you're using elements of
it already, but if you've ever received a text
message from a loved one that has left you
scratching your head, it is recommended to keep
the above list close by your side.

31. Summary 2
• Fame is a fleeting thing, and like hula hoops,
pogo sticks, Rubik’s Cube, Football stickers,
leg warmers and Transformers, words and
acronyms can quickly fall out of favour, so
some of the items covered may not be in
favour by the time we look at this
presentation.
• (But they can come back in favour some time
later!) TTFN!

32. Technology Changing the
meaning of
Familiar Words

33. Language change with technology
Sometimes old and familiar words
unexpectedly acquire new meanings, often
overshadowing original ones. And
technology is one of the most important
agents of change in this respect. Here we’ve
gathered examples of words of this kind from
the information technology field.

34. Stream
“Stream” used to denote any rapidly flowing
body of water; today, however, the word is
more likely to be associated with
media continuously delivering data to the
end user in unedited form (usually video or
audio).

35. Thing
The word “thing” has often been noted to be
one of the vaguest and polysemic words in
the English language – in various contexts it
can mean almost anything. However, when
used as a part of “Internet of Things”
expression it denotes a ‘smart’ device, a part
of a network of such devices capable of
performing activities without human
interaction.

36. Feed
“To feed” means “to give someone food”,
and a noun converted from this word is what
this food is called (usually when referred to
animal’s food). Today we probably more
often use this word in relation to RSS: a
format that is used to publish frequently
updated content like blogs or news.

37. Tag
Traditionally, “tag” means either a children’s
game or a piece of paper on a product in a
shop that shows its price. In modern
computing, this word has a host of meanings
in different areas, ranging from HTML
tags (an element of HTML language used in
formatting web pages) to keywords assigned
to pieces of information so that they can be
easily found later on.

38. Viral
“Viral” used to be simply an adjective
meaning “related to a virus, having
properties of a virus”. Today it is almost
exclusively used to describe a situation when
something – usually an Internet meme or an
advertising campaign - rapidly expands,
becomes known to large numbers of people
and acquires immense popularity more by
itself than due to the efforts of its
originators.

39. Troll
Contrary to popular opinion, this modern
word defining a person luring unsuspecting
individuals into pointless arguments for his
own amusement is most likely derived not
from the species of ugly mythical creatures,
but from “trolling” – a method of fishing
involving slowly dragging a lure from a
moving boat.