Name: Risn Flynn

28/03/2011

I.D: 10128379

Name: Risn Flynn

I.D: 10128379
Course: Applied Languages (LM044)
Module: Linguistics (LI4242)

Task:
Analyse the language of the last ten text messages you received. Do you notice any
patterns that can be explained in terms of your relationship to the person, similarities
in age-group, gender etc.

Name: Risn Flynn

28/03/2011

I.D: 10128379

Name: Risn Flynn

28/03/2011

I.D: 10128379

Language and Technology

Technology is always evolving and expanding (Paulsell, 2010) allowing us to

communicate with each other in new and inventive ways. This can be seen in the
recent phenomenon of the last decade, with the development of the mobile phone, and
the introduction of SMS (Short - Messaging Services) into the domain of the general
public, as a new mean of communication. SMS allows one to have whole
conversations with another person without the need to be face-to-face. There are
certain limitations to this form of communication, e.g. word count, which have
resulted in new words forms and abbreviations which help to minimise characters and
maximise communication available. There are also advancements, such as emoticons,
which allow one to convey emotions and feelings to another which otherwise would
only be an option in face-to-face contact.
Over the course of this study I will examine the use of language in the last ten
SMS I have received, taking into account my relationship with each individual and if
this has any baring on the language used. I will also examine the effects of word count
and the use of text speak and emoticons, as well as other social factors such as age
and gender, that may influence the pattern of language use. As my study is very
limited, the results cannot be taken to be complete and final, and are open to reinvestigation from other sources.
It is often stated that males tend to have more direct speech patterns (Holmes,
2008), and as a result you would expect their SMS to be short, brief and to the point,
being

used

in

functional

mean

to

communicate

facts

and

confirm

appointments/engagements (Geser, 2006), looking for little response or input from the
other party. On the other side of the spectrum, many believe that women use

Name: Risn Flynn

28/03/2011

I.D: 10128379

communication as a means of confirming solidarity and maintaining relationships

(Holmes, 2008), therefore they should be more likely to send longer SMS, with many
seemingly unnecessary details and questions to engage the other party into responding
and giving their opinion on the subject matter. However, over the course of my study
I found many SMS that opposed this idea. Males were just as likely to send long
SMS, and engage in what many consider gossip, seeking input and approval from
the other party, a typically female pattern of communication (Geser, 2006) &
(Holmes, 2008). Women were equally as likely to engage in typically male patterns
of communication, by sending shorter SMS and often cutting a conversation short by
signalling that they were too busy to engage in a full conversation with the other
party, and were just seeking information or confirmation of details, disregarding any
need for solidarity or relationship maintenance.
When considering the influence of word count on the length of the SMS and
the type of speech used within each SMS, i.e. whether acronyms, clippings or
number/letter combinations were employed, I found that word count had very little
baring on the length of SMS. In recent times, due to greater competition in the
telecommunications industry within Ireland, many mobile networks are offering deals
which allow the sender to send free SMS to other members of the same mobile
network or even to members of other networks. As a result, the sender has little need
to take into account the length of the SMS and is free to type out full words, with
proper spelling and punctuation throughout. However, the use of techniques
traditionally used to shorten the length of SMS, while still communicating the
information that was desired, are still present in many of the SMS that I examined.
One way of explaining why these techniques are still being used could be SMS
maxim of speed (Thurlow, 2003), as SMS are supposed to be a quick way to keep in

Name: Risn Flynn

28/03/2011

I.D: 10128379

contact, while not distracting from ones busy schedule (Geser, 2007). Examples of
these techniques found throughout my study included;
Contractions
Unconventional Spellings

spk = speak
bizzy = busy

stri = story
thanx = thanks

Accent Stylisation
Acronyms

tanite = tonight
wbu? = what about you?
FB = Facebook
btw = by the way,
tbh = to be honest,
ttyl = talk to you later,
tnyt = tonight
OMG = Oh My God,
LOL = laugh out loud,
LMAO = Laughing My Arse Off
ROFL

Rolling

Clippings

Laughing
Il = Ill

G-Clippings
Letter/Number Homophones

feckin = fecking
K = okay
U = you
4 = for

On

The

Floor

B = be
R = are/or
l8r = later

It seems that body language has transferred over to SMS in the form of
emoticons (Geser, 2007). Emoticons served several functions, however the primary
functions were to convey humour and for relationship maintenance. Emoticons
depicting someone winking, sticking out their tongue and even a shocked face, were
all used to emphasis when the speaker was employing humour, especially sarcasm, as
this is difficult to detect in written form. In this way, the sender was able to save face
5

Name: Risn Flynn

28/03/2011

I.D: 10128379

(Yule, 2010) & (Geser, 2006), by indicating they were not being serious and therefore
not insulting the other party, thus contributing to relationship maintenance. Emoticons
could also be used to depict feelings, as explained in the table below.
Sadness

:(

=(

:-(

Crying

:(

=(

:-(

Happiness

:)

=)

:-)

Anger

>:(

>=(

>:-(

Excitement

:D

=D

:-D

Hunger/Teasing/Disgust

:P

=P

:-P

Fear

:S

=S

:-S

Awkwardness/Disapproval

:/

=/

:-/

Flirting/Approval

;)

;-)

Kissing

:x

:-x

Love

<3

XD

xD

Both men and women used emoticons equally however it was noted that
younger people were more likely to use emoticons than older people and that
emoticons were not used in professional relationships. It is obvious from the wide
selection of emoticons available, and with same conveying more than one meaning
that the choice and style of emoticon used was entirely up to the individual. The
personal style found in SMS (Thurlow, 2003), which varies with each person and
which can allow people to identify who is talking to them based on cues such as
lack/use of these new linguistic forms within their messages has recently been used in
forensic linguistics as a means of convicting criminals (Aston University, 2008).
Whether or not I have a personal/professional relationship with the sender of
the SMS was one of the more influential factors in determining the type of language
used within the SMS. It was found that the more professional the nature of the

Name: Risn Flynn

28/03/2011

I.D: 10128379

relationship, the shorter the SMS tended to be and the language used tended to be
more formal, with greater use of proper spelling and punctuation. As expected, the
more personal the relationship between myself and the other party, the longer the
length of the SMS and also the more informal speech patterns were employed, with
overall greater use of acronyms, clippings, emoticons and slang. However, although
my relationship with members of my family would be considered a personal
relationship, the longer and more informal SMS seemed to be sent by friends, peers
and members of my own age group. This highlights the influence of age on the use of
language, as the majority of the members of my family that I keep in contact with by
SMS are older than me, and the younger members of my family tended to use the
language patterns associated with members of my own peer group.
It is clear from my study that SMS communication is becoming more and
more popular and as a result examining the domain of mobile communications is a
valuable resource in the field of sociolinguistics. It allows us to easily examine the
influence of social factors such as age, gender and solidarity in the development of
new language patterns. Interestingly, while many consider SMS to be contributing to
damaging the (English) language, stating that it is thin and unimaginative.bleak,
bald, sad shorthand (Thurlow, 2003) there are many who recognise the value and
innovative nature of SMS and its growing influence in society, including the Oxford
English Dictionary, which has recently added terms such as OMG and FYI into
their official Online English Dictionary (Albanesius, 2011). Just as technology is
always evolving, so too is language and its uses, so further investigation into this field
is vital for greater understanding of how society and language interact and influence
each other.

Bibliography

Name: Risn Flynn

28/03/2011

I.D: 10128379

Mary Paulsell (2006) Communications Technology Industry Always Evolving (Online)

available: (28/03/2011)
Janet Holmes (2008) An Introduction To Sociolinguistics (3rd Edition). Essex: Pearson
Longman.
Hans Geser (2006) Are Girls (even) More Addicted? Some Gender Patterns of Cell
Phone Usage (Online) available: http://socio.ch/mobile/t_geser3.htm (28/03/2011)
George Yule (2010) The Study Of Language (4th Edition). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Hans Geser (2007) Patterns of Multi-Channel Communication Among Older Teens
(Online) available: http://socio.ch/mobile/t_geser4.htm (28/03/2011)
Crispin Thurlow (2003) Generation Txt? The Sociolinguistics of Young Peoples
Text-Messaging.
What Is Forensic Linguistics? (2008) Centre For Forensic Linguistics at Aston
University (Online) available: http://www.forensiclinguistics.net/cfl_fl.html
(28/03/2011)
Chloe Albanesius (2011) LOL, OMG, FYI Added to Online Oxford English
Dictionary (Online) available:http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2382620,00.asp
(28/03/2011)