The joys of online syntax

Texting is developing its own language … and it comes with an age limit, writes Marie Le Conte

The World Today
2 minute READ

‘old people really need to learn how to text accurately to the mood they’re trying to represent,’ complained 22-year-old Angie on her Tumblr blog last year.

‘like my boss texted me wondering when my semester is over so she can start scheduling me more hours and i was like my finals are done the 15th! And she texts back “Yay for you …” how am i supposed to interpret that besides passive aggressive’.

Another twentysomething Tumblr user, who goes by the nickname Feynites, couldn’t agree more, adding: ‘i actually thought for a long time that texting just made my mother cranky. But then i watched my sister send her a funny text, and my mother was laughing her ass off. But her actual texted response?’

‘Ha … right.’

‘Like, she had actual goddamn tears in her eyes, and that was what she considered an appropriate reply to the joke. I just marvelled for a minute like “what the actual hell?’”

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