Meryl's Notes Blog

Learned 2 talk like this yrs ago: l8r, u2, ttfn, ttyl, fwiw, btw, pita, rotfl, etc. (help for those who aren’t up to speed on SMS talk), but I never let it impact my IRL (in real life) writing.

This article says such talk is taking its toll on our grammar knowledge. Apparently, some students didn’t know about apostrophes. In SMS speak, speakers leave off the ‘ since it’s one less keystroke.

Dump the apostrophe altogether? No way! What would Lynne Truss think? (New York Times article - requires free registration). I’m currently reading her book, Eats, Shoots & Leaves. It’s fast and fun reading especially for sticklers like me.

Maybe we should threaten to take away IM and SMS access until students pass their grammar and spelling tests. I know… in America, that would never fly. Instead, let’s get em a copy of the book. Who says grammar has to put kids to sleep?