Text-Speak processing

Abstract

Chapman University Orange, United States of America There has been a steady shift from more traditional means of communication (e.g., hand written letters) to more electronically based (e.g., text messaging) (Crystal, 2008). This shift in communication style has influenced both civilian and military occupations (Turkoski, 2009; Finomore, et al., 2010). The current study investigated whether text-speak (method for shortening words or phrases) provides semantic value. A text-speak proficiency scale was also created in order to determine if the extent of text-speak use correlates with behavioral performance. Eighty-seven university students completed a masked priming experiment coupled with an 8-item text-speak scale. The masked priming experiment yielded significant priming indicating that text-speak primes are semantically meaningful, because they facilitate responding to their word counterpart even when the prime is processed unconsciously. The 8-item scale yielded a correlation between willingness to use text speak and magnitude of priming. These findings suggest that the 8-item scale may be useful in assessing text-speak behavior and aid in a better understanding of the role of text-speak proficiency and performance.