Textism Use Research Articles

Text‐message abbreviations and language skills in high school and university students

This study investigated the use of text‐message abbreviations (textisms) in Australian adolescents and young adults, and relations between textism use and literacy abilities. Fifty‐two high school students aged 13–15 years, and 53 undergraduates aged 18–24 years, all users of predictive texting, translated conventional English sentences into textese using two methods: writing messages down and typing them into mobile phones. Participants produced a variety of textisms, and in both translation methods, adolescents and young adults used textisms in nearly identical ways. This was true for the proportion and types of textisms used, textism categories produced and consistency with which textisms were spelled. The use of textisms was negatively correlated with scores for reading, nonword reading, spelling and morphological awareness, but some of these relationships were accounted for by participants' usual text‐messaging frequency. For these age groups, concerns that frequent texting may mask or even contribute to poor linguistic skills cannot be dismissed.

The Relationship Between “Textisms” and Formal and Informal Writing Among Young Adults

The Net Generation has adopted textisms as shortcuts in electronic communication. Two studies investigated whether the reported use of textisms in daily electronic communication is related to the quality of writing. Seven hundred and eighteen young adults were queried about how often they used linguistic and contextual textisms, instant messaging, monthly cell minutes, and monthly text messaging. In Study 1 they wrote a formal letter to a company and in Study 2 they were asked to write both a formal letter and provide an informal writing sample on happiness. Textism use was quite low, a finding that was consistent with previous research on texting and instant messaging. The data reflected negative associations between reported textism use in daily communications and formal writing and positive associations between textisms use and informal writing. These relationships varied by gender and level of education, varying most strongly among those without a college education. The results are discussed in terms of Low-Road/ High-Road Transfer of Situated Learning Theory.

Texting versus txtng: reading and writing text messages, and links with other linguistic skills

The media buzzes with assertions that the popular use of text-message abbreviations, or textisms (such as r for are) is masking or even causing literacy problems. This study examined the use and understanding of textisms, and links with more traditional language skills, in young adults. Sixty-one Australian university students read and wrote text messages in conventional English and in textisms. Textism messages were faster to write than those in conventional English, but took nearly twice as long to read, and caused more reading errors. Contrary to media concerns, higher scores on linguistic tasks were neutrally or positively correlated with faster and more accurate reading and writing of both message types. The types of textisms produced, and those least well understood by participants, are also discussed.

Exploring the relationship between children's knowledge of text message abbreviations and school literacy outcomes

This paper presents a study of 88 British 10-12-year-old children's knowledge of text message (SMS) abbreviations ('textisms') and how it relates to their school literacy attainment. As a measure of textism knowledge, the children were asked to compose text messages they might write if they were in each of a set of scenarios. Their text messages were coded for types of text abbreviations (textisms) used, and the ratio of textisms to total words was calculated to indicate density of textism use. The children also completed a short questionnaire about their mobile phone use. The ratio of textisms to total words used was positively associated with word reading, vocabulary, and phonological awareness measures. Moreover, the children's textism use predicted word reading ability after controlling for individual differences in age, short-term memory, vocabulary, phonological awareness and how long they had owned a mobile phone. The nature of the contribution that textism knowledge makes to children's word reading attainment is discussed in terms of the notion of increased exposure to print, and Crystal's (2006a) notion of ludic language use.

Txt msg n school literacy: does texting and knowledge of text abbreviations adversely affect children's literacy attainment?

AbstractThis paper reports on two studies which investigated the relationship between children's texting behaviour, their knowledge of text abbreviations and their school attainment in written language skills. In Study One, 11–12‐year‐old children provided information on their texting behaviour. They were also asked to translate a standard English sentence into a text message and vice versa. The children's standardised verbal and non‐verbal reasoning scores were also obtained. Children who used their mobiles to send three or more text messages a day had significantly lower scores than children who sent none. However, the children who, when asked to write a text message, showed greater use of text abbreviations (‘textisms’) tended to have better performance on a measure of verbal reasoning ability, which is highly associated with Key Stage 2 (KS2) and 3 English scores. In Study Two, children's performance on writing measures was examined more specifically. Ten to eleven‐year‐old children were asked to complete another English to text message translation exercise. Spelling proficiency was also assessed, and KS2 Writing scores were obtained. Positive correlations between spelling ability and performance on the translation exercise were found, and group‐based comparisons based on the children's writing scores also showed that good writing attainment was associated with greater use of textisms, although the direction of this association is nor clear. Overall, these findings suggest that children's knowledge of textisms is not associated with poor written language outcomes for children in this age range.