Text language found in 19th century texts
17th August 2011
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New findings show that text speak has actually been around for hundreds of years before the invention of the mobile phone.
A magazine article from1890 about telegraph workers has been uncovered that dispels the belief that this way of communicating is a recent development of our language.
It explains how abbreviations such as ‘ha’ and the elision of vowels have actually been around since telegrams in the nineteenth century.
Electronic telegrams were used to send important messages across the world and the workers who compiled the telegrams would use the system to communicate with each other in short hand.
The article outlines the ‘peculiar conversational abbreviations’ and notes;
“In their conversations, telegraphers use a system of abbreviations which enables them to say considerably more in a certain period of time than they otherwise could.”
Messages such as; ‘How r u ts mng?” and ‘Ha, Ha, Ha’ were exchanged between the telegraphers who had never seen each other.
‘No rest fo t wicked’ was another popular phrase.
A magazine article from1890 about telegraph workers has been uncovered that dispels the belief that this way of communicating is a recent development of our language.
It explains how abbreviations such as ‘ha’ and the elision of vowels have actually been around since telegrams in the nineteenth century.
Electronic telegrams were used to send important messages across the world and the workers who compiled the telegrams would use the system to communicate with each other in short hand.
The article outlines the ‘peculiar conversational abbreviations’ and notes;
“In their conversations, telegraphers use a system of abbreviations which enables them to say considerably more in a certain period of time than they otherwise could.”
Messages such as; ‘How r u ts mng?” and ‘Ha, Ha, Ha’ were exchanged between the telegraphers who had never seen each other.
‘No rest fo t wicked’ was another popular phrase.
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