Listening / Speaking

2. | IW. Listen and analyze the words given below and say the difference between formal and informal English.

Here is a glossary of some of the key expressions and symbols used in chat rooms.

| Weblish* - Global Language Network
U - you C - see 2 - to R (are) b - be 4 - for Thnx - thanks Gr8 - great L8 - late b4 - before cu - see you | Nite - night Wanna - want to Yup - yes Cos - because U bet - you bet (this means a strong “Yes”) Cheer him - it’ll cheer him up Best - best wishes Hru - How are you? CUL - see you later LTNS - long time no see mu - miss you sis - sister
HAND -have a nice day

Young people are individuals and must be encouraged to find

together their individual and cultural differences. Teens express themselves, for example, in Weblish, the new shorthand English used in text messaging and in the Internet chat rooms. Weblish is a kind of “slang” idiomatic English which often breaks the rules of correct English.

3. | PW. Act the dialogue out and express your attitude to the Weblish language.

Agil: Hi! Hru, Lamiya? I mu. LTNS.
Lamiya: Thnx. And u?
Agil: I’ m OK. I wanna go to the cinema, b4 it gets darker.
Lamiya: I hope I will cu L8. Maybe tomorrow?
Agil: OK. HAND. CUL.
*Weblish [wɛblıʃ] (v/n) (Computer Science) informal, the shorthand form of English that is used in text messaging, chat rooms, etc.