Some adults find that what teenagers say online is like another language, that they can't understand, and worse - that it's ruining our spelling and grammatical skills. Right? Wrong! The slang and abbreviations used for instant messaging are not hurting the speech or grammar of teenagers, according to a recent study by Sali Tagliamonte and Derek Denis at the University of Toronto.
Surprisingly for adults, usage of acronyms like LOL, OMG and TTYL actually make up only 2.4% of the words we use when communicating online.
Nevertheless, many adults have difficulty understanding some of the slang and acronyms that are used. Scroll down the page to learn some of the more popular terms used
afaik – as far as I know
alrite – alright
asap – as soon as possible
asl – tell me your age/sex/location
b4 – before
bbl – be back later
bf – boyfriend
brb – be right back
btw – by the way
cos – because
cya – see you later
dl – download
fyi – for your information
g2g – got to go
gf – girlfriend
gl – good luck
gr8 – great
gtg – got to go
h8 – hate
imho – in my humble opinion
jk – just kidding
k – okay
kol - kiss on lips
l8r – later
lol – laugh out loud
luv – love
msg – message
nite – night
np – no problems
omg – oh my god
paw – parents are watching
pls – please
pos – parent over shoulder
ppl – people
pwn – own
rofl – rolling on the floor laughing
sxc – sexy
thx – thanks
ttg – time to go
ttyl – talk to you later
u – you
ur – your
wtf – what the f***
xoxo – hugs and kisses
Have you got your own you'd like to add, or one that you can't decipher? Contact us and we'll help you out.