Welcome to the first post of what will become a regular series on this site, ELU Lessons! ELU stands for English Language User. This is an important part of a person\’s identity; even if you only know a few phrases in English, you\’re still an English Language User, just like people who are fluent in English!
From now on, posts on this site will be separated into posts for ELUs (which will be short lessons on English use), and posts for ELSs (English Language Specialists), who are people who teach English professionally, like me. But please go ahead and read whatever is most interesting to you!
In this first lesson, we\’ll look at the following topic:
Natural English Phrases for Text Messages
As you know, writing in a language is different from speaking in that language. There are words and phrases that we don\’t use in one format that we do in the other. English is no exception. Moreover, the style of language used in text messages and other digital communication changes very quickly– your style of messaging this year might make you sound old next year! It\’s a real challenge to keep up with all this change.
One important and easy-to-understand feature of text communication is punctuation. Most of us know how to use punctuation properly in traditional and formal writing, like in letters or essays. But in casual text messaging, punctuation follows different \”rules\”. There\’s no easy way to know what these rules are, as they\’re different depending on the situation and the person. All you can do is learn as you go and don\’t be afraid to make mistakes!
Point 1: Using a period is standard in traditional writing. But in text messaging, using too many periods will make you sound upset or frustrated with the person you\’re talking to. Try to avoid using periods too much (unless you really are angry at the person!)
Example: [Person 1] – What do you want for dinner tonight?
[Person 2] – I don\’t know. Maybe burritos. Maybe fish. I can\’t really choose.
[Person 1] – Either of those are okay? Are you sure?
[Person 2] – Yes. Anything is fine.
Point 2: Using exclamation points is more common and accepted in text messaging, and it makes your communication sound more natural. In traditional writing we rarely use exclamation points because they feel \”too intense\”, but watch how the previous conversation changes when we add exclamation points.
Example: [Person 1] – What do you want for dinner tonight?
[Person 2] – I don\’t know. Maybe burritos! Maybe fish. I can\’t really choose!
[Person 1] – Either of those are okay? Are you sure?
[Person 2] – Yes. Anything is fine!
Point 3: When in doubt, not using any punctuation at all is fine too! While not using punctuation usually makes sentences ungrammatical, it\’s actually quite common in text messaging. People sometimes do it because it sounds more neutral than using a period, which can seem too harsh, as we saw above. Look at the example again:
Example: [Person 1] – What do you want for dinner tonight
[Person 2] – I don\’t know
Maybe burritos, Maybe fish I can\’t really choose
[Person 1] – Either of those are okay? Are you sure
[Person 2] – Yes, Anything is fine
When it comes to text messaging, everyone has their own personal style that reflects their personalities. It\’s good to be aware of how people \”hear your voice\” through text messaging, because it will make people react to you differently. Think about the same situation in your own language; how does your native language deal with text messaging?