Textese
Textese (also commonly referred to as TXT speak, Textisms, Chat Speak, or SMS language) is the formal linguistic term for the electronic paralanguage used in digital communication. It's an efficient dialect characterized by the use of abbreviations, acronyms, and emoticons.
It functions as a hybrid format offering the speed, intimacy, and immediacy of spoken conversation, but mediated through the limitations of text-based interfaces.
Etymology
The word "textspeak" was coined in a 2001 book Language and the Internet by David Crystal (along with the term "netspeak").
This was followed by "textese" in 2002; the word was created by adding the suffix -ese to "text," which is traditionally used to described languages (Japanese, Chinese) or distinct jargons (legalese). This gave writers and linguists a term that acknowledged texting had become its own dialect with its own grammatical rules1.
Both terms were added to mainstream dictionaries in 2003 and by 2005, Oxford, Merriam-Webster, and other major dictionaries officially began indexing labels for the language style, such as "textisms" and "texting." In 2011, the Oxford English Dictionary began adding textisms, beginning with LOL, OMG, and IMHO2.
History of Shorthand Communication
The true evolution of shorthand communication begins with the earliest forms of written expression but this article focuses on the linguistic evolution of shorthand communication via machines. This will need to be fleshed out with global perspectives. Additional events, like invention or advancement of machinery, also aren't represented here.
- 1859: Numerical Shorthand - 92 Code
- Western Union standardizes a numerical shorthand system to reduce bandwidth congestion on telegraph lines. Operators transmit numbers to represent complete phrases.
- Examples: 17 - "Lightning here." 30 - "No more - the end." 73 - "Best regards." 88 - "Love and kisses."3
- Machinery: Landline telegraphy, copper wire networks
- 1879: Alphanumeric Shorthand - Philips Code
- Walter P. Phillips compiles a system for Associated Press that serves as a massive shorthand dictionary for news reporters. Phrases are compressed into tiny shortcuts to maximize words sent per minute.
- Examples: thu - "the house." wam - "ways and means." hf - "half." goh - "Guest of honor." potus - "President of the United States."4
- Machinery: High-speed commercial telegraphy
- 1912: Standard Three-Letter Codes - Q-Code
- The International Radiotelegraph Convention formalizes three-letter codes beginning with Q. This bypasses global language barriers.
- Examples: QRA - "What ship or coast station is that?" QRL - "Are you busy?" QRN "Are the atmospherics strong?"5
- Machinery: Spark-gap wireless radio telegraphy
- 1920s-1980s: Morse Code Abbreviations - CW (Continuous Wave)
- Amateur ham radio operators adapt telegraph codes into conversational speech. Casual conversational acronyms are popularized to prevent hand fatigue ("telegrapher's cramp") because sending Morse code requires serious physical effort.
- Examples: abt - "about." b4 - "before." ref - "reference; refer to." tmw - "tomorrow."6
- Machinery: Shortwave vacuum tube radio transceivers
- 1990s-2000s: Acronyms and Abbreviations - Textspeak
- Textspeak is pushed into mainstream use due to limitations of mobile phones: 160-character limit of early SMS protocols and the physical friction of phone keypads. Early mobile phone textese inherited shorthand culture from chat rooms, which were built by ham radio hobbyists.
- Examples: Amirite - "Am I right?" BRB - "be right back." </3 - "broken heart." IRL - "in real life." sum1 - "someone."7
- Machinery: 9-key numeric phone keypads
Links
- The History of Shorthand and Evolution of Shorthand Machines
- A Chronology of Communication History
- Wikipedia: History of communication
Notes
2 OMG! LOL: Internet Slang Added to Oxford English Dictionary
