“Text-speak” — the cell phone text message language beloved of teenagers and celebrities (I’m talking about you Paris Hilton)–is the talk of the town in Wellington, New Zealand. High school students there will now be able to use “text-speak” on national exams this year. But not everyone is happy with the move. In fact, the decision to allow text speak (which for many teens is a second language of sorts) in the realm of education has divided students and educators who fear it could damage the English language. For all of you non-texters–text-speak uses abbreviated words and phrases such as … Continue reading →