"Oh sA wt?"

"busy am. Thirunarayanan"

Texting is becoming a way of life in modern societies for those who are young in order to stay in almost constant touch with their friends. Many who are young at heart have also taken to texting as a way of communicating with others. For parents and grandparents, texting offers a convenient way of staying in touch and communicating with their children and grandchildren. Digitally savvy and mobile children use language in abbreviated forms that would have been unthinkable and unacceptable in schools and society a few years ago.

However, texting language is now also beginning to find its way into school term papers and reports. IDK if this is tru, but I even vaguely recall reading somewhere that in the country of New Zealand, the use of texting lingo to answer questions on high school exit exams is now considered acceptable practice. My initial reaction when I came across this information was 'SAL' and 'YYSSW."

In a few years, texting will certainly become more widespread that it is now. As the practice of texting spreads to other areas of human activities, and IMO it will spread, many currently literate people will probably have to train themselves to be literate in the new lingo. Those who have mastered texting lingo will, in the future, be the new literates and will be 'lol'ing their way to successful careers and lives. Others will probably be left behind and will have to train themselves in the new lingo before they can BRB to claim their rightful places in society.

Imagine doctors sending you information about test results and instructions for taking medications in texting lingo. Imagine a judge rendering his or her opinion in texting lingo. Imagine the constitution being translated into texting lingo. Imagine a sacred document such as the national anthem of this country being translated into texting lingo. BION, I did just that. What you see below is the US national anthem translated into texting lingo.

(NOTE: The following text was translated from "english to lingo" on August 6, 2008, using the "transL8it!" service available at: http://www.transl8it.com/cgi-win/index.pl?convertPL)

Oh, sA cn U c,

By d dawns earlE lite,

wot so proudly we hailed

@ d twilight's lst gleaming,

whuz broad stripes & brite **,

Thru d perilous fite,

Oer d ramparts we watchD

wer so gallantly streaming?

& d rockets' red glare,

d bombs bursting n air,

Gave proof Thru d nyt

dat our flag wz stil ther.

O, sA, duz dat

Star-Spangled banR yt wAv

Oer d land of d frE

& d om of d brave?

Imagine listening to the texting version of the US or any other country's national anthem being played during the Olympic Games every time someone from that country wins a gold medal. Will athletes still be as proud as they now are, to represent their countries? Will they still cry when they hear a texting version of their country's national anthem is played?

Here is the original version of the national anthem of the United States:

"Oh, say can you see,

By the dawn's early light,

What so proudly we hailed

At the twilight's last gleaming,

Whose broad stripes and bright stars,

Through the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watched

Were so gallantly streaming?

And the rockets' red glare,

The bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night

That our flag was still there.

O, say, does that

Star-Spangled Banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free

And the home of the brave?"

(NOTE: The original text was retrieved from the Web on August 6, 2008: http://www.whitehouse.gov/national-anthem/usa-full.html)

(NOTE: I referred to the book "TOtlTxt: The Big Bk of Ltle Txt Msgs" published in 2002 by Castle Books, Edison, New Jersey, to find out what some of the abbreviations that I use in this article, such as 'SAL' mean.)

What will it be like if people start talking to each other in texting lingo? Can all the words that currently exist in different languages be translated into texting lingo? Will texting lingo allow human beings to express the broad range of emotions that we are capable of expressing? How about being able to convey profound thoughts and knowledge in various disciplines using texting lingo?

Is texting an evolutionary, revolutionary, or devolutionary trend? You be the judge.