Lost in translation

07 Aug 2008

Linguistic experts in Europe are calling the new language associated with SMS texting in Spain 'the biggest revolution in the language ever' and French President Nicolas Sarkozy has lamented on what texting is doing to the French language.

With a desire to minimize message size and avoid expensive voice calls, the Spanish have thrown themselves into the world of texting with a passion. Their shorthand is truly a language unto itself - ie 'NT1D' ('I don't have a cent') , '>o

Jennifer Mazerato, writing for pbs.org, found that after living in Spain in the early 2000s and then returning to the US that many of her American friends did not realize they even had texting capabilities on their cellphones.

Tech consultant Michael Mace, who writes about differing mobile cultures, says that each region uses different gadgets and features based on economic factors - since mobile calls are expensive in Spain they tend to text constantly.

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