Gr8t news! SMS and english language...

Here is on for the purists. It seems "texting" (SMS) and instant messaging (IM) is not as damaging to the language of Shakespeare as previously thought. After studying 1.5 million words taken from SMS and IM (72 subjects), University of Toronto researchers have found that only 3% of the words were abbreviated. Moreover, the word YOU was preferred over U nine times out of ten. Surprising isn't it?

"Contrary to popular belief that IM is breaking down English language, we found that online shorthand is actually not detrimental. Our study shows that while kids use words like 'gotta' and 'gonna' in IM, they do use 'shall' and 'will' while communicating formally. I would encourage my child to use IM simply because it means using a fluid language. This automatically hones their skill with English."

Reference: The Times of India
Image source: Filckr CC