Do you text Spanish the same way you speak it?

Question

I am asking this question because I like practicing espanol by texting my friend and I want to know if it is the same as speaking espanol.

Answer 1

Please don't 'text' in Spanish. It's just practicing bad habits. Just spell things normally.

There are abbreviations in text Spanish, just like English, k instead of que, for example. And, like texting in English, the habit sucks your brain out through your ears and you become permanently incapable of holding an intelligent conversation. Just don't do it in either language, please.

Oh, and welcome to the forum. I'm not really that grumpy. Most of the time.

I must be another one of those ignorant people who uses proper spelling when texting, then. - lazarus1907, Aug 25, 2010

@Rabbit: While I'm not saying that your argument is wrong (although I do believe it is flawed), what Kevin argues is also important, specially in a site such as this one. I am sure you can express your ideas .... - Gekkosan, Aug 25, 2010

... without having to resort to name calling and judgmental attitudes. - Gekkosan, Aug 25, 2010

I support KevinB in his views and I think he was just politely trying to point out that when learning a language correct spelling is essential as otherwise a mispelt word can get imprinted on your brain and does´nt help the learning process. - caza, Aug 25, 2010

I'm sorry, ignorant was too strong a word, but I was very upset by your own judgemental attitude and it was an emotional response. It's a fact that learners need to understand these methods of comunication, it's also fun and interesting. - rabbitwho, Aug 25, 2010

Answer 2

A lot of the the high level Cambridge and Oxford ESL books in English include glossaries of txtspk. It's very important for learners to understand!

Here's a Spanish one I found online:

http://www.marinetteschooldistrict.com/publish/articles/5/1/Texting-in-Spanish/Page1.html

I think it's a really fun read! The abbreviations that involve like-sounding numbers make a new word easy to learn.

As I said to KevinB; People have been using emblematic poetry since the 19th century and it has never done anyone any damage. It's a much more efficient way to send a message where your space is limited, such as in a text message or on twitter, and where you're charged per text it would be madness to include every apostrophe and redundant vowel. Like wearing high-heels to a farm!

"Like wearing high-heals to a farm!" Jajaja..love it! - --Mariana--, Aug 25, 2010

Brit. English spelling = heel - caza, Aug 25, 2010

Thanks - corrected. - rabbitwho, Aug 25, 2010

I won't deny that abbreviations when texting are efficient. I use some of them myself. But I'm a fluent native speaker, not a learner. And I still try to capitalize, spell, and punctuate properly when not texting. Those things affect the meaning. - KevinB, Aug 25, 2010

So why didn't you answer the question? If I asked how to say "cat" and you replied "I don't like the word for cat and nobody should use it." That would not be an acceptable answer. It's not our place to asses the value of words. That's doubleplusungood! - rabbitwho, Aug 25, 2010

I did. I said abbreviations were used in Spanish text, just like in English. But I also advised against doing it because it reinforces poor spelling. And it's spelled "assess". - KevinB, Aug 25, 2010

Thanks, I had a feeling it was wrong, I even ran it through the spell checker and it didn't come up with anything. This is txtspk is a sensitive issue for me because I have dyslexia, I despise pedantry. - rabbitwho, Aug 25, 2010

I don't see why people assume they're more intelligent than someone over something silly like spelling. Spelling was standardized in the 17th century so everyone would understand each other's writing. I work very very hard to spell correctly. - rabbitwho, Aug 25, 2010

At least we agree on pedantry. But proper spelling isn't pedantry. Improper spelling leads to confusion and misunderstanding, the opposite of what language should do. You know spelling is an important skill that requires hard work and practice. - KevinB, Aug 25, 2010

Txtspk does not lead to misunderstanding and confusion. It is an alternate method of written conversation. Written language was never used before as it is now, of course it will be used differently. - rabbitwho, Aug 26, 2010

Answer 3

No, texting we use abbreviations, if you are texting probably he/she's making contractions. Say him not to do it

For instance, in Spanish, as Kevin B said, you put k or q instead of que, or x instead of por....they are bad habits for a person who are learning the language

Answer 4

Rabbit says:

People have been using emblematic poetry since the 19th century and it has never done anyone any damage.

Indeed, this is true; here's one example:

 

The flaw with the argument, however, is that these writers were able to play with the language, and in fact create something recognized as poetry , because they knew the correct usage of English very well. As Marianne very appropriately points out, once you have mastered a language, you are entitled to the freedom of playing with it as you will.

The problem to which Kevin, Lazarus, and other students of the language refer, however, comes about when people start adopting this code instead of regular, grammatically correct language. I believe that there is a serious and dangerous loss of one of the most important human attributes, when our vocabulary starts to disappear.

Medagusto kuete la pasarras vien

This is a "sentence" that was posted recently as a question in the Forum. I see no clever use of any emblematic anything there. All I see is an appalling lack of knowledge and vocabulary.

Creative expression is 1 valid use of language.Communication is also a valid use,& I(not Chomsky)would say it's the most prominent use!The important thing in a txt is that we r understood & others understand us & we express ourselves in the space provided - rabbitwho, Aug 25, 2010

I am glad that you posted your arguments, Rabbit, as I have been meaning to start a thread that has a great deal to do with that. I expect to be opening it very soon. Hopefully it will generate some healthy debate on the issue. - Gekkosan, Aug 25, 2010

In any event, I reiterate that creative use of the language does have its place. However, creative use is not the same as incorrect use. The argument that you will see here is that the purpose of this site is.... - Gekkosan, Aug 25, 2010

…to teach grammatically correct English and Spanish, and so the use of full sentences, proper capitalization and punctuation is expected. There are plenty of spaces on the Internet to practice alternative uses of the language. - Gekkosan, Aug 25, 2010

I can't believe you would argue that we should hide parts of the language that we don't approve of from people and plain outright refuse to answer their questions on it.I feel people should have all the information available to them & choose themselves. - rabbitwho, Aug 25, 2010

It's not that we don't approve of them, or even use them, but you have to learn the basics first. As they say about creative writing, you have to know the rules before you can break them properly. - KevinB, Aug 25, 2010

Answer 5

Welcome to the forum, Krenee.

I agree completely with Kevin and Nenun:

..... they are bad habits for a person who are learning the language

Please learn proper Spanish first and then if you want to fool around texting you can play with the abbreviations.

Answer 6

I too agree with Kevin and Nenun and refuse ever to use 'text speak' We have means in our languages such as apostrophes, commas and spelling differences that allow us to express correct and unequivocal meanings to our communications and for that reason alone I would continue to use them as correctly as I am able. Are we all in that much of a hurry that we have castrate our languages. Certainly our literature styles have changed over the centuries and our vocabulary has changed due to many different influences but nothing has ever looked as bad, in my opinion as the text that says C U soon cant w8 LOL. If I get texts like that I reply that I do not understand please repeat in English.

• The spanish language sounds and looks beautiful to me and I enjoy learning the 'nuances' of its grammar.

• I always try to speak correctly although the 'extranjeros' here struggle to come to terms with spanish words minus their terminal consonants e.g. 'bueno día' instead of 'buenos días' or 'sta lo' rather than 'hasta luego' and más is always pronounced 'má'. It sounds ignorant and has been perpetrated over many years. Don't let's make it any worse. This is just my very strong feeeling and I hardly think any 'phone companies here would suffer from correct use of spanish when writing text messages.

My point was the phone companies benefit because you need to say the same thing in 2 texts instead of 1. People have been complaing about improper use of language since as far back as we have evidence of. True castration = not allowing anything new - rabbitwho, Aug 25, 2010