The Bishop of Modena, Benito Cocchi, said that ‘No SMS for Lent’ was an ideal way for ‘young people to detox from the virtual world and get back in touch with themselves.’

Italian laity and clergy have reacted cautiously to the proposals. Some say  abstinence should be a personal matter, and others say that people who need technology to work shouldn’t be asked to do without.

The editor of the Vatican’s official newspaper Osservatore Romano said,

Text messages are an instrument and so by their neutral nature, they cannot be good or bad.

It all depends on how you use them. If text messages are a proper way of communicating I don’t see why we should deprive ourselves of them on Good Friday or any other day.

[source]

Greetings (Text Message #182)

May the season of
“Love & Peace”
“Joy & Laughter”
“Care & Sharing”
be with you & your family
always.
MERRY
MERRY
CHRISTMAS!

Inspirational/Religious (Text Message #2532)

I pray
that
häppiness be
ät yöür döör.
Mäy
it
knöck
eärly,
&
leäve
the gift
öf GOD’s peace, love,
joy &
good health behind.
G0d blesS! Meri chrstmas!

Friendship (Text Message #168)

I’ve already
told SANTA
what i want
for CHRISTMAS,

a friend
that will stay
forever.

So if a
fat man
comes
arOund
and
trys to
wrap you
up,

please
cOoperate..Ü

Ascii (Text Message #174)

.;””;. .;””;.
()”” ‘) ‘+, ” ,+’
( ,’o’)”) “+,+”
(,,) )
Just sending a WARM HEART
to say…
Merry Christmas and Enjoy
the holiday! God Bless! :-)

Funny English (Text Message #187)

In this season of
merrymaking & endless
parties, always remember..
“thou shalt not weigh more
than thy refrigerator.”
Merry Christmas & Happy
New Year!! ;-)

Funny Tagalog (Text Message #171)

Meron ka na lamang (6) na
oras na natitira para bumili
ng regalo para kay SENDER’S NAME.

Kung nais malaman kung
ano ang kanyang kahilingan
ngayong pasko, maaring
mag text oh itawag sa mga
ss:

text SENDER’SNAME (space) tanong
(space) petsa kung kelan
ibibigay ang pamasko. At i
send ito sa 0915xxxxxxx.

Taos puso po ni SENDER’S NAME
tatangapin ang inyong mga
regalo.

Merry Christmas to you all!

In an interview, Smart Spokesman Ramon R. Isberto said a promotion that allows subscribers to make unlimited calls at night and send as many text messages as they can would not be made available from Dec. 23 to Dec. 25, and from Dec. 30 to Jan. 1.

Likewise, a similar promotion from Globe will not be made available on Dec. 24 and 25, and on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, said Froilan M. Castelo, Globe’s regulatory division head.

This is to help prevent their networks from overloading at a time when most Filipinos greet their friends and relatives with Christmas greetings.

“What we are doing is managing our network, in case there are any serious obstructions [during the holidays],” Mr. Isberto said.

“We are not taking any chances. We want to protect the network from abuse,” Mr. Castelo said. “We want to avoid any congestion. We just want to clear the airwaves,” he added.

A billion text messages are sent locally everyday as estimated by both Smart and Globe. This can increase during the holidays as Filipinos greet their friends and relatives.

Forms of Text Speak in the Philippines

Acronyms – first originated in chatrooms, then were later brought into texting. They are more popular in other countries than in the Philippines. They also have a guide list of textspeak acronyms here. Examples:

LOL – laughing out loud
BTW – by the way

Contractions - shortening a word by omitting a letter or a group of letters, especially vowels and double letters. This is easier to read because there’s no need to refer to translation aids unlike the Acronyms. The word can still be read by pronouncing the consonants without the vowels.

tmorow = tomorrow
pls = please
tnx = thanks
ppnta ako = pupunta ako (Tagalog example)
tmkbo = tumakbo (Tagalog example)
tmtkbo = tumatakbo (Tagalog example)

Phonetics – reading the letters as they are pronounced. Sometimes, numbers can be used too. A very common example would be:

C u l8r = see you later
Il b l8 = ill be late
d2 n kme = dito na kame (Tagalog example)

Special Characters – substituting ordinary letters with special characters. Sometimes, combining a group of special characters are also used to project an image. This form of textspeak is usually observed in forwarded quotes. Example:

The ¡ (inverted exclamation) is used to replace the letter i

Luv ¡snt abt g¡v & tke, bt
rathr, g¡v & g¡v

Using alphabets with accents

Névér be tiréd öf döing lìttlè things for öthers

Projecting an image

,¤’¤,
,¤’¤’¤, Caring for
””V/””a friend is
,,,)(,,, like a tree!

TxtBuff advice
Not all people who text use text speak. It is like a new language that only active texters can understand. We should learn to respect those who are not comfortable using the language. Some people love it, some people hate it. I believe that language is always evolving and we cannot do something about it. (source)

It is easy to see the evolution of languages from a simple look at the lists of new words added to the Oxford English Dictionary every year. There are always words, which a few years before, would not have been understood by anyone. Imagine this over many thousands of years and you begin to see the pattern in which languages evolve.

We can see it in our own language of English. If we look back to Old English, and the likes of Beowulf, the language is almost impossible to understand without some kind of translation aid.

The evolution of languages is a complicated and complex topic. It happens over many thousands of years, but what cannot be disputed is that language does change.

1. Go to Quickmark website and install the software on your mobile phone.
2. Run the program.
   
3. Go to TxtBuff and look for your favorite text message. Scroll down to the bottom of the page until you find the barcode image.
   
4. Aim for the barcode image until it fits the guide box, and make sure the image is clear.
   vs
5. Quickmark software will automatically recognize the image and convert to its equivalent text message. (Note: Most mobile phones can decode automatically without pressing “Enter” key.)
   
6. Choose “Select”, then “Send via text message” or “Save to notes”.
   
   
   

1. Energetic Texters – those who are very active in texting. They make the most out of their unlimited texting packages and text under the table, in the car, under the tree, anywhere, everyday. They can talk about anything and everything under the sun. They chat, they flirt, they debate. These kinds of texters are mostly teenagers, couples, or yuppies.
2. Passive Texters – those who text only when you text them and reply only when they really have to.
3. The Forwarders – those who are fond of forwarding text messages that they feel are worth forwarding.
   1. Funny Forwarders – those who forward funny text messages.
   2. Love Forwarders – those who forward love text messages.
   3. Religious Forwarders – those who forward religious text messages.
   4. Seasonal Forwarders – those who send messages only on special occasions like christmas text messages, valentines text messages, lenten text messages.

   Tip: Send the right text messages to the right people. You wouldn’t send a Christmas text message on lent, right? Or would you send a Ramadan greeting to a Buddhist who don’t celebrate Ramadan?

4. Blog Texters – those who send text messages to tell how their day was as they would in blogging, and forward them to all their friends.
5. Extinct Texters – those who’s mobile phones have turned to beepers. They read messages, but they will reply only when they want to.
6. Marketing Texters – those who text to promote an event, a product, or a job posting. Its like its part of their job or just helping a friend to promote something.

Just so you know, I am a funny forwarder to my funny forwarder friends. I maybe an extinct texter to some people. But to the rest of my contacts, I am a passive texter.

So what kind of texter are you?

Text messaging started way back when GSM phones were first introduced in the market. GSM phones popularized Short Messaging Service (SMS) which allowed sending of text messages to anyone with a mobile phone. The technology was quickly adopted by the tech-savvy teenagers and almost overtook older means of communication such as pagers and telephones.

Though it maybe easier to do voice calls than composing text messages, the reason why text messaging was preferred more than making voice calls is because of the cost. It only takes 1 peso to send a 160-character text message, while a 1-minute voice call costs 8 pesos already. If all I need to say is “I’ll be late”, then 1 text message is enough. There are also some instances where it is more convenient to text than to call. For example, you want to tell your group to meet at 4:30 pm. Instead of making individual phone calls, all you need to do is just text one message and send them to all your friends at the same time.

Email is another useful means of communication that people have learned to use today. It allows anyone to send messages across the country and around the world. But before you can send a message, you still need to login into a computer, connect to the internet and login to your email account. But with text messaging, all you need to do is just type the message and press send.

IM is another tool that helped made online communication better. Most people who spend most of their time on the computer probably have IMs opened while they’re online. IMs became more popular when they were integrated into mobile phones. But the problem with using IMs on mobile phone is again, the cost. You are charged for every KB sent or received, that means, the longer you chat, the higher the bill. Still not cheap right? With text messaging, you can chat with friends for as long as you want without worrying about the bill. To do that, all you need is a mobile phone and an unlimited texting package.

Text messaging is simply the better option if you need to say something urgent, engage in a small chat, send a joke, give a short inspirational advice, or simply want to leave a reminder. This doesn’t mean that text messaging is “the” only option. Voice calls, emails, and instant messengers are still important, each serving its own purpose. But if we are talking about the cheapest, fastest, and wireless way to communicate, it will definitely be text messaging. It’s a quick and easy way to send a message across the country, wirelessly.