When tweens write in techspeak, they often use shortcuts¹, such as homophones（同音异形异义词） , omissions³（疏忽，遗漏） of non-essential letters and initials, to quickly and efficiently⁴ compose a text message.

 

"They may use a homophone, such as gr8 for great, or an initial, like, LOL for laugh out loud," said Cingel. "An example of an omission² that tweens use when texting is spelling the word would, w-u-d."

 

Cingel, who worked with S. Shyam Sundar, Distinguished⁵ Professor of Communications and co-director of the Penn State's Media Effects Research Laboratory, said the use of these shortcuts may hinder a tween's ability to switch between techspeak and the normal rules of grammar.

 

Cingel gave middle school students in a central Pennsylvania school district a grammar assessment⁶ test. The researchers reviewed the test, which was based on a ninth-grade grammar review, to ensure that all the students in the study had been taught the concepts.

 

The researchers, who report their findings in the current issue of New Media & Society, then passed out a survey that asked students to detail their texting habits, such as how many texts they send and receive, as well as their opinion on the importance of texting. The researchers also asked participants to note the number of adaptations in their last three sent and received text messages. Of the 542 surveys distributed, students completed and returned 228, or 42.1 percent.

 

"Overall, there is evidence of a decline in grammar scores based on the number of adaptations in sent text messages, controlling for age and grade," Cingel said.

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