Not only foreigners, but also native speakers have their problems with the English language. Quite often, teachers despair when reading their pupils’ texts. Most mistakes are made when words are pronounced the same, e.g. their/there, its/it’s etc.

When worse comes to worse, some students simply shorten their texts to SMS. This is what a 12-year-old Schottish girl in her 7th year did in her composition about her last holiday.

 

How good is your SMS English? Try to read the text below. Move the mouse pointer over the Information sign to see the answers.

My smmr hols wr CWOT. My summer holidays were a complete waste of time.
B4, we usd 2 go 2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 :-@ kds FTF. Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend and their three screaming kids face to face.
ILNY, its gr8. I love New York, it’s great.
Bt my Ps wr so {:-/ BC o 9/11 tht they dcdd 2 stay in SCO & spnd 2wks up N. But my parents were so worried because of September 11 that they decided to stay in Scotland and spend two weeks up north.
Up N, WUCIWUG - 0. Up north, what you see is what you get - nothing.
I ws vvv brd in MON. I was extremely bored in the middle of nowhere.
0 bt baas & ^^^^^. Nothing but sheep and mountains.
AAR8, my Ps wr :-) - they sd ICBW, & tht they wr ha-p 4 the pc&qt... At any rate, my parents were happy - they said it could be worse, and that they were happy with the peace and quiet.
IDTS!! I don’t think so!
I wntd 2 go hm ASAP, 2C my M8s again. I wanted to go home as soon as possible, to see my mates again. (来源：英语图片 http://photo.englishcn.com)
2day, I cam bk 2 skool. Today I came back to school.
I feel v O:-) BC I hv dn all my hm wrk. I feel very saintly because I have done all my homework.
Now its BAU ... Now it’s business as usual …
Would you like to send an SMS in English? Here is a list with useful characters and their meanings: (来源：英语图片 http://photo.englishcn.com)

& - and
0 - nothing
2 - two, to, too
2DAY - today
A - a / an
B - be
B4 - before
BC - because
BF - boyfriend
BK - back
BRO - brother
BT - but
C - see
D8 - date
DNR - dinner
EZ - easy
F8 - fate
GF - girlfriend
GR8 - great
HOLS - holidays
HV - have
I - I, it
Its - it is
KDS - kids
L8 - late
L8R - later
M8 - mate
NE1 - anyone
PLS - please
PS - parents
QT - cutie
R - are
SIS - sister
SKOOL - school
SMMR - summer
U - you
WR - were
A3 - anyplace, anytime, anywhere
ASAP - as soon as possible
B4N - Bye for now
BAU - business as usual
BRB - I'll be right back.
BTW - by the way
CUL - see you later
CWOT - complete waste of time
FTF - face to face
FYI - for your information
GMTA - great minds think alike
HAND - have a nice day

 


HRU - how are you
ICBW - it could be worse
IDTS - I don't think so
IMHO - in my humble opinion
IYKWIM - if you know what I mean
JK - just kidding
KOTC - kiss on the cheek
LOL - laughing out loud
LSKOL - long slow kiss on the lips
LTNS - long time no see
Luv U - I love you.
Luv U2 - I love you too.
MON - the middle of nowhere
MTE - my thoughts exactly
MU - I miss you.
MUSM - I miss you so much.
NP - no problem
OIC - oh, I see
PC&QT - peace and quiet
PCM - please call me
ROTFL - rolling on the floor laughing
RUOK - are you ok?
THNQ - thank you
U4E - you forever
UROK - you are okay
WUCIWUG - what you see is what you get
WYSIWYG - what you see is what you get
XLNT - exellent
:-) smiling
:-* kiss
:-)) very happy
:-0 shocked
:") blushing
:-| :-| deja vu
(_x_) kiss my arse/butt
<:3 )~ mouse
:@) pig
:’-) tears of laughter
:-P stick tongue out
:-(*) you make me sick
x-( you are mad
:-" whistling
;-) wink
:-@ screaming
O:-) saintly