TEXT MESSAGES or TXT MSGS?
Text messaging, or texting is the common term for the sending of “short” (160 characters or fewer) text messages, using the Short Message Service, from mobile phones. The individual messages which are sent are called text messages, and more colloquially SMSes, texts, or even txts (in “text speak“).
Short message services are developing very rapidly throughout the world. In 2000, just 17 billion SMS messages were sent; in 2001, the number was up to 250 billion, and 500 billion SMS messages in 2004.
Popularity has grown to a sufficient extent that the term texting (used as a verb meaning the act of mobile phone users sending short messages back and forth) has entered the common lexicon. It is a very influential and powerful tool in the Philippines, where the average user sends 10-12 text messages a day. The Philippines alone sends on the average 400 million text messages a day or approximately 142 billion text messages sent a year, more than the annual average SMS volume of the countries in Europe, and even China and India.
I have always believed that Filipinos send abbreviated text messages (like “lab u” for “I love you” or “cul8r” for “See you later” or even “wru?” for “Where are you?”) due to their (ahem, our) desire to save on cost and characters per sent message. Imagine spending PhP1.00 (roughly US$0.02) to send a message of up to only 160 characters.
Although nowadays, text messages of up to 900+ characters can be typed all at once, they may be split by the provider before being actually sent. So shorter may be better at some point especially for those who have limited credits on a prepaid phone line.
So I myself would do some shortcuts to make sure my message is within the 160-character limit for a PhP1.00 charge.
Yesterday, I was sitting behind a younger male on the bus. He was quite busy sending a message to either a potential employer or employee. He was asking how much the other person was receiving as a basic salary.
Okay, call me nosey but he definitely caught my attention – long uncombed blond hair, one ear piercing, jeans… the younger generation.
We know Filipinos are generally courteous to those they do not know personally (and more so to those they do know). So the young man injected his message with the customary “PO” as a sign of respect.
Wait, he didn’t write “PO,” instead he wrote “PHO” – as in “How much pho is your salary? Pls txt bk.”
He got his reply. And he replied back with the longest sentence possible - ”k.”
Gasp!
What do we really want to accomplish when sending text messages? Are we really trying to save on cost? Or do we want to maximize the message by filling it up with whole words. Para sulit, diba?
So why add letters to words? The Filipino urge to put the letter “h” into every possible word and name such as Jheng, Mhatz, Mharc.
I though we’re trying to save on text space? Why add another letter when you could use that space for something more important?
And you reply back with a one-letter answer?
Maybe we could consider having the T9 dictionary on the mobile phones always turned on and used often. That would probably help improve our communication skills, somehow.
I have to run for now. Txt-txt nlng. K?
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