Not only foreigners, but also native speakers have their problems with the English language. Quite often, teachers despair when reading their pupils texts. Most mistakes are made when words are pronounced the same, e.g. their/there, its/it's etc.
When worse comes to worse, some students simply shorten their texts to SMS. This is what a 12-year-old Schottish girl in her 7th year did in her composition about her last holiday.
How good is your SMS English? Try to read the text below.
- My smmr hols wr CWOT = My summer holidays were a complete waste of time.
- B4, we usd 2 go 2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 :-@ kds FTF = Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend and their three screaming kids face to face.
- ILNY, its gr8 = I love New York, it’s great.
- Bt my Ps wr so {:-/ BC o 9/11 tht they dcdd 2 stay in SCO & spnd 2wks up N = But my parents were so worried because of September 11 that they decided to stay in Scotland and spend two weeks up north.
- Up N, WUCIWUG - 0 = Up north, what you see is what you get - nothing.
- I ws vvv brd in MON = I was extremely bored in the middle of nowhere.
- 0 bt baas & ^^^^^ = Nothing but sheep and mountains.
- AAR8, my Ps wr
- they sd ICBW, & tht they wr ha-p 4 the pc&qt.. = At any rate, my parents were happy - they said it could be worse, and that they were happy with the peace and quiet. - IDTS!! = I don’t think so!
- I wntd 2 go hm ASAP, 2C my M8s again = I wanted to go home as soon as possible, to see my mates again.
- 2day, I cam bk 2 skool = Today I came back to school.
- I feel v O:-) BC I hv dn all my hm wrk = I feel very saintly because I have done all my homework.
- Now its BAU ... = Now it’s business as usual …
Would you like to send an SMS in English? Here is a list with useful characters and their meanings:
- & - and
- 0 - nothing
- 2 - two, to, too
- 2DAY - today
- A - a / an
- B - be
- B4 - before
- BC - because
- BF - boyfriend
- BK - back
- BRO - brother
- BT - but
- C - see
- D8 - date
- DNR - dinner
- EZ - easy
- F8 - fate
- GF - girlfriend
- GR8 - great
- HOLS - holidays
- HV - have
- I - I, it
- Its - it is
- KDS - kids
- L8 - late
- L8R - later
- M8 - mate
- NE1 - anyone
- PLS - please
- PS - parents
- QT - cutie
- R - are
- SIS - sister
- SKOOL - school
- SMMR - summer
- U - you
- WR - were
- A3 - anyplace, anytime, anywhere
- ASAP - as soon as possible
- B4N - Bye for now
- BAU - business as usual
- BRB - I'll be right back.
- BTW - by the way
- CUL - see you later
- CWOT - complete waste of time
- FTF - face to face
- FYI - for your information
- GMTA - great minds think alike
- HAND - have a nice day
- HRU - how are you
- ICBW - it could be worse
- IDTS - I don't think so
- IMHO - in my humble opinion
- IYKWIM - if you know what I mean
- JK - just kidding
- KOTC - kiss on the cheek
- LOL - laughing out loud
- LSKOL - long slow kiss on the lips
- LTNS - long time no see
- Luv U - I love you.
- Luv U2 - I love you too.
- MON - the middle of nowhere
- MTE - my thoughts exactly
- MU - I miss you.
- MUSM - I miss you so much.
- NP - no problem
- OIC - oh, I see
- PC&QT - peace and quiet
- PCM - please call me
- ROTFL - rolling on the floor laughing
- RUOK - are you ok?
- THNQ - thank you
- U4E - you forever
- UROK - you are okay
- WUCIWUG - what you see is what you get
- WYSIWYG - what you see is what you get
- XLNT - exellent
- smiling
- :-* kiss
- ) very happy
- :-0 shocked
- :") blushing
deja vu- (_x_) kiss my arse/butt
- <:3 )~ mouse
- :@) pig
- :’-) tears of laughter
stick tongue out
*) you make me sick- x-( you are mad
- :-" whistling
wink- :-@ screaming
- O:-) saintly
