text messaging lingo

[Lynne Murphy]

There's an article in the Saturday magazine in the Guardian (UK)
newspaper about text-messaging on mobile phones and how its popularity
has exceeded expectations, mostly because it's good for flirtation.
Unfortunately, the web version of the article doesn't have the side-bar
glossary of text messages.

http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4024760,00.htm
l

A lot of the glossary involves things like emoticons and obvious things
like 'U = you', 1 = 'one' and '2 = to, too'  (but not two?).  But here
are a few of the less obvious or more texty ones:

ATB - all the best
BCNU - be seeing you
B4  - before
CU L8R - see you later
F2T - free to talk
Gr8, H8, L8, L8R - great, hate, late, later
Luv - love
Mob - mobile
NE - any
NE1 - anyone
NO1 - no one
OIC - oh, I see
PPL - people
RUOK - are you okay
SOME1 - someone
THNQ - thank you
WAN2 - want to  (but Gonna = going to)
Wknd - weekend

Lynne

Dr M Lynne Murphy
Lecturer in Linguistics
School of Cognitive and Computing Sciences
University of Sussex
Brighton BN1 9QH
UK

phone +44-(0)1273-678844
fax   +44-(0)1273-671320