By Laju Arenyeka & IKENNA AsOMBA
Imagine that it’s 1980 in the University of Lagos. And it’s someone’s birthday. His best friend knocks on his door with a birthday cake in his hands and screams. “HBD! MMY IJN! R U K? LWKMD! U TOT I 4GOT. LOL!” You can imagine the look of confusion on the celebrant’s face after he realises that his best friend isn’t joking.

I think that’s the same kind of look on the faces of most people above 30 when they receive text messages from youths or when they surf the unfamiliar waves of facebook and other social media.

A wise man once said “You cannot communicate.” Even animals and plants communicate. But something that is germane to humans is our ability to speak coherently; the thread of language that connects our cognitive ability to that of our fellow humans. Plenty grammar. Language over the years has evolved; thousands of years ago, humans stumbled between Latin and Greek. Today, it’s French, English and well…social media language!

I once read somewhere that over 10,000 of the words in the English dictionary today were seen for the first time in the works of Shakespeare. Ironically, the jet age must be really slow considering the fact that even Microsoft Word 2007 doesn’t have facebook in its dictionary.

I wish when this is printed, I could show the red line that the oversabi spell check has placed under facebook. Here, it goes again. I feel like typing facebook to infuriate it some more!

Even if I don’t type in the word “facebook” again throughout this article, this conservative-judgmental-spell-check will have more than enough to deal with as we explore the new realms of the English language as defined by the social media.

Just so that you don’t keep on pretending that you understand all the messages you get, when in fact, you don’t have a clue, here’s a list of the top social media words and their meanings:

2moro – Tomorrow

2nite – Tonight

BRB – Be Right Back

BTW – By The Way

B4N – Bye For Now

BCNU – Be Seeing You

BFF – Best Friends Forever

CYA – Cover Your Ass

DBEYR – Don’t Believe Everything You Read

FB-Facebook (spell check again!)

FUD – Fear, Uncertainty, and Disinformation

FWIW – For What It’s Worth

GR8 – Great

HBD-Happy Birthday (maybe you can understand the story now)

ILY – I Love You

IMHO – In My Humble Opinion

IRL – In Real Life

ISO – In Search Of

J/K – Just Kidding

K- Okay (how hard could it possibly be to type o.k?)

L8R – Later

LMAO – Laughing My Ass Off

LOL – Laughing Out Loud -or- Lots Of Love

LWKMD-Laugh wan kill me die

LYLAS – Love You Like A Sister

MHOTY – My Hat’s Off To You

NIMBY – Not In My Back Yard

NP – No Problem

NUB – it stands for a new person

OIC – Oh, I See

OMG – Oh My God

OT – Off Topic

POV – Point Of View

RBTL – Read Between The Lines

ROTFLMAO – Rolling On The Floor Laughing My Ass Off

RT – Real Time

RTM – Read The Manual

SITD – Still In The Dark

STBY – Sucks To Be You

SWAK – Sealed With A Kiss

TFH – Thread From Hell

THX – Thanks

TLC – Tender Loving Care

TMI – Too Much Information

TTYL – Talk To You Later

TYVM – Thank You Very Much

VBG – Very Big Grin

WEG – Wicked Evil Grin

WYWH – Wish You Were Here

XOXO – it means Hugs and Kisses

I know you have a few questions, like how xoxo translated to mean “hugs and kisses.” But that’s aside for now. Many scholars have argued that the language of the social media has negatively affected the way young people write and speak the English language.

And they are most likely right. Have there ever been times when you wrote “ur” instead of “your” in an exam? It’s even worse if you can’t remember.

On the other hand, however, many people believe that it enables people save time and get to the point in writing and discussions. The word “time” does seem like the key word here, reminding us of today’s fast-paced-adrenaline-pumping-microwaved-dinners-my-facebook-friends-are-my-best-friends-driven-world.

There’s always an easier, quicker way of doing things. And since language evolves to fit the pace of the world it finds itself, say hello to the easier, faster way of saying things.

Perhaps a balance may be needed in the midst of the chaos that the English language has found itself in. Insisting on keeping all the old rules that guide the language may seem like refusing to replace the “th” in “hath” with the “s” in “has”.

It’s like insisting that the earth is flat instead of round. On the other hand, do we speak and write bad English because of the times we live in? Do we forcefully erase the lines that society draws between what’s formal and informal or what’s acceptable and what’s not? The answer to these questions is one and the same; simplistic, but true -only time will tell. But for now, find out what other youths have to say about this. TTYL.

Muiz Ojulari, 300L Mass Communication student of Lagos State University affirmed:

The trend is not new, as it possesses its advantages and disadvantages. Socially, the advantage of these short codes is that they are used to transmit meanings especially between two parties, at the best possible time, students want to be fast when chatting with their friends online.

Meanwhile, this trend is common among youths because they need to improvise. Somebody introduced it, other people saw it was okay and it became the trend in vogue.

However, academically and psychologically, this trend affects students’ writing and spelling ability. I am of the view that the new English of our internet age possesses more disadvantages than advantages.

Williams Oluwaseun, 300L History & Strategic Studies, University of Lagos (UNILAG) said:

As it reflects the reality of the age, the fact remains that the new English of the internet age is really telling on students’ academic performances, when it comes to writing.

Most students shorten their sentences and term it short coding. They certainly get used to it and subconsciously repeat such things during tests, exams and for other official purposes.

I don’t use them either for informal or formal purposes. Lecturers don’t reckon with its usage, therefore fail students who mistakenly use them in examinations. However, I neither oppose students who are of the view that it is advantageous to them during copying of notes in class, even though they claim to be conscious of it during examinations.

Look, the fact remains that when you go the harder way, it’s better, because when you get used to writing in longhand, being fast enough to beat examination durations won’t pose problems for you as a student. The missing link is the age itself, because of the presence of the social media, therefore, I urge students to go by the way I do.

Abioye Adetunji, Pre-NCE student, Federal College of Technology, Akoka said:

There is a very big problem with this new trend of English. Take for instance, some students spell mathematics as MTHS, okay for ok and so on. Its advantage is that it saves time and energy, especially when copying notes in class.

However, its negative effect is widely seen in essays, official letters and theory exams written by students these days.