TEACHING AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS
Texting’s Secret Language
Are you familiar with these widely used abbreviations?
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
Well, maybe I disagree. How else can you explain the likes of me writing and scrolling the internet?
Wasn’t I one of those young pioneers who originally learned to hunt and peck on a manual Royal typewriter?
More to the point, when I was a kid, we understood coded language.
That SOS meant rescue was needed.
That two fingers forming the letter L stood for “Loser.”
And if you were once a kid, you might understand why your own progeny or grandchildren might be using coded language on the internet to keep you in the dark about certain things.
It took me a while, but I eventually cracked the code.
IDC — “I don’t care.”
WYB — “Watch your back.”
PAW, BRB — “Parents are watching, be right back.”
G2G — “Got to go.”
Actually, as a lover of language, colloquialisms, and both classic and contemporary urban slang, as well as coded language, I find abbreviations or acronyms used to communicate on texts and the internet totally fascinating. Maybe you do as well.
It’s almost a bottomless barrel, so I’ll choose just a few internet acronyms.
Do you remember when the cool acronyms were FBI, USA, and NASA? Or IBM, GPS, FAQ, Wi-Fi, CIA, POTUS, and even AARP. Or BYOB (bring your own booze.)
Or when your bosses said they needed that report ASAP, and they really meant “yesterday?”
What’s your favorite internet acronym or abbreviation? I’m hoping it’s not LOL, but you never know. Or maybe a classic, nostalgic one comes to mind? I’d love to hear in the comments section.
© Connie Song 2024. All Rights Reserved.
