Dr Arianna Berardi-Wiltshire: Massey University linguistics expert on text slang falling out of fashion with younger users

Dr Arianna Berardi-Wiltshire: Massey University linguistics expert on text slang falling out of fashion with younger users

Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive · 2025-04-14

Texting words like LOL and OMG may not be as cool as it once was.

A US study has found people using abbreviations or slang in texts sound 'stupid' to others.

Massey University linguistics expert Dr Arianna Berardi-Wiltshire says slang seems to have become less common.

She says changing tech may play a part - with phones now having full keyboards and predictive spelling.

"Young people are much more relationally aware than people were in the past - they know, quite often, when it's appropriate to use them."

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Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

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