Short takes: INITIALISM

Wed Mar 31 23:48:27 UTC 2010

Thanks, Garson.  If I hadn't been forced to a Starbucks this
afternoon because my Verizon land line phone service (and thus DSL
connection) was down (perhaps under water?), I would have done a
little searching in the archives myself.  Presumably I would have
found something from moi with "texting" in the Subject line!  :-)

And of course I was speaking of the "long 18th century" (and "broad
conception"), which starts somewhere around the 16XX's and extends
into the 18XX's.

(There is more discussion of the meaning of these initialisms in the archives.)

Joel

At 3/31/2010 06:22 PM, Garson O'Toole wrote:
>There is a posting from Joel Berson that fits this topic broadly
>conceived. An 1813 article using a texting-style communication
>strategy. Most of the abbreviations are not inititialisms, and it is
>from the early 19th century, but I hope you find it interesting.
>
>http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0904C&L=ADS-L&P=R1705
>
>Subject:         Early texting?
>From:   "Joel S. Berson"
>Reply-To:       American Dialect Society
>Date:   Sat, 18 Apr 2009 11:51:21 -0400
>
>While looking for "P's and Q's", I came across the following early
>example of texting.  I doubt not that there are other examples,
>perhaps back to Roman times; but I was amused.  I've inserted an *
>where I cannot decode the message or am uncertain.
>
>Earliest in Olio [NY, NY], published as The Olio; Date: 05-22-1813;
>Volume: I; Issue: 17; Page: 136, but I take it from the
>better-printed American Advocate [Hallowell, Maine]; Date:
>12-17-1814; Volume: V; Issue: 48; Page: [4]:
>
>Ingenious Conceit.
>
>COME listen to my DT, all those that lovers B;
>Attune your hearts to PT, and read my LEG.
>A bachelor of AT, my brains are racked with KR;
>Of love you'll find the data, if you give serious ER.
>When twenty summers I had CN, with Kate in love I fell;
>A CT wench with black I's keen my EZ heart did sell.
>For ten long years I courted her, 'twas KT DR & DRE;
>And when she frown'd my heart it bump'd, my eyes grew wet and TRE.
>I never once had kiss'd the maid, she was so sly and coy;
>Nor never grasped her RM nor waist, to snatch the blissful joy.
>One day, without much KR or form, my *ID's fill'd with love,
>I slipped into her room and saw what made *H passion move.
>A favorite beau in *TP dress was kissing her quite free;
>To love her after this, says I, a great fool I must B.
>To XMN then her love I tried, and found it all a whim;
>To hate her then, I tried my best, and not to NV him.
>Her FIG in paper cut, I tore and threw away,
>Resolv'd some way to find a QR, at least make one SA.
>Of absence then the FIKC I tried, but all in vain;
>My MT head, and too full heart, felt hard the aching pain.
>My throbbing heart, would not be EZ, to see her scoff and GR;
>Till DZ I did get myself with drinking punch & BR.
>  From love's fever and *AQfortie free, since I've ever BN,
>Nor am I plagu'd with curs'd relapse, for which I sing TDM.
>Should NE one wish love to shun, 'tis plain as ABC,
>That he must mind his Ps and Qs, or he's fix'd to a T.
>Then live a jolly bachelor, let Cupid sing to thee,
>"YYs UR, YYs UR, I C U R YYs for me."
>
>* ID's = ideas?
>*H = each?
>*TP = ?
>*AQfortie = ?
>
>Joel
>
>
>On Wed, Mar 31, 2010 at 5:15 PM, false <berson at att.net> wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       false <berson at ATT.NET>
> > Subject:      Re: Short takes: INITIALISM
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > IIRC, there are other "laconics" dating back to the 18th century,
> including a poem (?) I posted here some time ago.  (I have no idea
> what to search the archives for, however.)
> >
> > Joel
> >
> > --- On Wed, 3/31/10, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU> wrote:
> >
> >
> >> To expand a bit--this is the context for the alphanumeric
> >> B4 code,
> >> courtesy of AWR's papers on the shootout at the "O.K."
> >> corral
> >> appearing as Chapters 10-15 of PADS [Publications of the
> >> American
> >> Dialect Society] 86, and discussed in my ads-l posting of
> >> 6/28/02
> >>
> >>  From a poem reprinted in 1832, "To Miss Catherine Jay, of
> >> Utica":
> >>
> >> Oh KTJ is far B4
> >> All other maids IC;
> >> Her XLNC I adore
> >> As a lovely NTT.
> >>
> >> Other "laconics" AWR cites from the popular press of the
> >> 1830s
> >> (besides "K.Y." for 'know yuse' and "O.K." for 'all
> >> korrect') were
> >> "K.G" for 'know go', "O.W." for 'oll wright", and "N.S."
> >> for 'nuff
> >> said.' The first appearance of the three R's (for Readin',
> >> Ritin',
> >> and Rithmetic) also stems from the 1830s.  And this
> >> was before txt
> >> msgs became popular...
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
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