Txt Msg N English Language Literacy

Abstract

This study investigated the students’ perspective on the use of abbreviations in Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) and the effect of such practice on the students’ English language competence. Forty undergraduate students from different academic programs participated in this study. These participant volunteers were interviewed in a semi-structured face-to-face interview. According to the findings all of the participants reported using text messages in CMC and confirmed its negative effect on their language proficiency. The analysis of data showed that the participants used textism because a) it saves the time, b) makes typing easy , c) saves credit, and d) its using is a kind of prestige among friends. The analysis of data also indicated that textism impacts formal writing assignments, the way the students speak, students’ grammatical skill, and recalling the correct form of the words. One of the remarkable results of the present study is the fact that the abbreviations which are special to CMC scenario are presently common in oral conversations within the Net Generation. This phenomenon is the reverse of what happened in text messages i.e. using spoken features in written texts.

Keywords: textism, abbreviation, language literacy, CMC, shortened words, English language proficiency