"text" = pp of "tex"

[Arnold Zwicky]

On Aug 26, 2013, at 8:37 AM, Mailbox <mailbox at GRAMMARPHOBIA.COM> wrote:
>
> I wonder if anyone else has noticed this.  A reader of our blog, a math instructor at Brown Mackie College's northern Kentucky campus in Fort Mitchell, says young people in the Cincinnati area construe "text" as the past tense of a verb "tex." He offered examples: "Yeah, I'll tex him in a minute. ... Did he tex you back yet? ... Uh-huh. He text me back a few minutes ago." He says this pronunciation is "ubiquitous" and "very clear." Possible analogy with "ask"  and the one-syllable "asked"?
> Incidentally, we've had mail before from people wondering about the past tense of "text," apparently unwilling to accept that it's "texted."
> Pat O'Conner, grammarphobia.com

http://arnoldzwicky.org/2008/12/25/whats-the-past-tense-of-the-verb-text/

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