The SMS language or texting has evolved to be a popular form of communication in this digital era where mobile phones are easily accessible to millions of people around the world. Further, the SMS language or texting is preferred by many persons engaged in it on both gender. The preference for texting can be attributed to a number of reasons. The early mobile phone messaging had a number of features that necessitated the use of abbreviations in testing. For instance, it was difficult to make text entry since it required multiple pressing on the keypad in order to generate the required letters. More so, the mobile phone messaging at the time had limited characters of around 160 letters that one could type in a text message. Further, and as it is the case today, the use of abbreviations made the texting faster and thus saved on time. It is owing to this use of abbreviations in texting that emotions such as anger, love and other feelings are communicated since the SMS is done without the presence of the other. Unlike the conventional mode of talking which involves direct contact and the viewing of each other’s facial expressions, the SMS language has this deficiency. As such, those who do texting have to express or convey their emotions by way of the SMS. This is made possible by the use of emoticons and other forms of abbreviations by the people who do texting. However, as already set out, there are key differences between the males and the females who do texting and their ability to express their emotions through emoticons. it may well be said that females are better in texting or using the SMS language for their ability to capture the emotions through texting. The SMS language has been the subject of intense debate on its efficacy and the possible effects on literacy especially among the youth. However, following the emergence of alphabetical key boards as well as those of smart phones this debate has receded as this form of SMS language is nowadays used even in the writing of assignments. This paper seeks to analyze the form of texting in both genders with a view to examining the differences that exist between the two genders. This is crucial more so in this age characterized by popularity and a rise in the use of instant messaging and other real time based text communications such as Face book and Twitter. Other instances when the text messages or the SMS language has been used increasingly is in the chat room discussions, chat rooms , internet and online gaming services, emails as well as the mobile phone text messaging. As a result of the popularity and the consequent inevitability of the use of the SMS language there also emerged a new text language tailored to the efficacy, immediacy and the compactness of the new medium of communication. This paper explores the gender differences between the males and the females to their use of SMS language so as to understand their expression of emotions and their use of emoticons and abbreviations. In this endeavor, the paper shall conduct a literature review of the material published on this subject and do a comparative study on the same.
We begin by first examining a brief history of text messaging or the use of the SMS language so as to understand its use and form as at now. It is the case that the first message in the world was sent from a computer to a cell phone by a British Engineer named Neil Papworth. Papworth is reported to have sent this first text message to his boss on the 3rd of December the year 1992 reading “Merry Christmas” and this fundamentally changed and revolutionized communication. The SMS language is very much similar to the use of telegraphs that charge for every word sent. It is similar to the extent that it seeks to make use of the fewest number of characters or letters in producing concise and accurate words and sentiments while taking care of the time, space and cost constraints. However, this paper argues that the evolution of the mobile phone messaging constitutes the source of the invention or creation of the SMS language. This form of communication basically enables persons to type less whilst communicating more quickly through the use of shortcuts. Some people view the SMS language as an emerging dialect of the English Language. We reject this argument for the reason that it is a mere generalization that may have occurred due to the ability of the mobile phones to support only a limited number of default languages at its inception.
The central motivation for the creation and use of the SMS language has been the need to convey a comprehensible message with the least number of characters. As already cited, one of the reasons for this has been the need to keep the costs low since most of the telecommunication companies charge depending on the length of the text message. In addition, it is much slower typing on phones as compared to typing on a keyboard especially with capitalization. This explains the normal trend in the text messages where capitalization, grammar as well as punctuation is regularly ignored. Thurlow, Rua and Crystal have set out the linguistic and stylistic properties of the text messaging such as initializations which consist of acronyms and abbreviations. Other properties as espoused by the authors include reductions as well as social orienting which is occasioned by omission on some parts of the speech, variations in spelling, and the occasional lack of punctuation. Other key features involve the use of capitalization and emoticons in the text messaging. As already mentioned in the introductory part of this paper, there are major differences between the mode of text messaging or the use of the SMS language between the males and the females and their expression of emotions. We begin with the use of emotions in the expression of emotions. In the normal conversation or banter which is face-to face, body language and facial expressions are regularly used to express emotions. Indeed, and many are the times, more communication is done and perceived through an observation of the body language and facial expression than it is, by way of words. In much the same way that these features can alter the way communication is perceived, so is the manner in which emoticons change the perception of a text message. This is because the tone of the sender of the text message is merely discerned from the emoticon. It is crucial that we define what an emoticon is for ease of understanding. An emoticon is a metacommunicative pictorial representation of the facial expression of a person in the absence of body language so as to draw attention to the sender’s temper or emotions. It is majorly expressed through the use of punctuation marks with the mood or feelings of a person or sender of a text message being encompassed in punctuation marks, numbers and letters. Given the prominence of text messaging in recent years as already enumerated, emoticons have played a huge role in communication by offering another range of tone and feeling in this age of cyber communication. The word “emoticon” is a portmanteau of the English words emotion and icon. Their use can be traced back to the 19th century where they were used in humorous and casual writing.
In this use of emoticons, a smiling face may be interpreted as being a communication or sarcasm rather than happiness and the reader of the text message has to decide the meaning of the emoticon in the whole context of the text message. Significant differences exist between the males and the females in the whole realm of text messaging or the use of the SMS language. We begin from the position that females are less circumspect when it comes to revealing their true emotions. Given this, it therefore follows that they are more likely and at ease to express their emotions in text messages through the use of emoticons. This is further exemplified by the fact that males generally tend to hide their emotions or thoughts and therefore their communication of the same in text messages is rare or disguised. This polarization along gender lines when it comes to text messaging is further underpinned by the fact that majority of the females tend to write longer and more detailed text messages than the males. This probably obtains from the position argued here that females are better placed and ready to express their emotions than the males. Studies indicate that females have abbreviations that they make use of in very different ways than the males. Usually, the males are more direct with their texting as they normally say what they have to say in the SMS. On the contrary, the females are able to express themselves more clearly in the text message in a straight forward manner and spend more time while texting. Males generally write short, clear and strict text messages and are frequently unable to write an emotional SMS as opposed to females. An illustration of a text message from male in their characteristic nature will suffice. A typical SMS from a male or a boy may read,” Are you Okay? I am. Call me later”. On the other hand, a typical text message from a female or a girl may read, “How are you? You have been lost lately-we must catch up soon. Kisses!”.
According to Segestard, the use of emoticons and asterisks to convey the emotions or the meaning of the text messages is predominantly a female practice or phenomenon. This view is shared by Rich Ling who argues that this mode of coloring texts is a practice by females more than the males. In particular, Ling notes that females are more likely to include emotional elements in their communication such as emoticons and that they are more inclined to include salutations and closings in their SMS. On their part, Hellwig and Klimsa aver that girls have better interactions skills or are more socially oriented and are thus able to make use of their mobile phones as opposed to the males who are more concerned with its technological utilities.
In an article by Mary Jane Kehily, she discusses the manner in which the young people’s mediation as well as negotiations of sexual issues are influenced by magazines and argues that the females are more likely to build repertoires of emotions and vocabulary as compared to the males. She argues that females are able to learn of femininity through the continued practice of collecting and reading of teenage magazines. In addition, the reason for the inability of the males to express their emotions in text messages may be influenced by culture and the society. This is because males who are usually well articulate in their text message may be viewed as associated with gayism.
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