Texting and chatting online has changed the English language beyond recall. Primarily, in the use of different abbreviations that make our texts quicker and more efficient.
There are two types of people when it comes to texting and online communication. Those who see LMC, LOL, TBH, TGIF and other acronyms as a bunch of letters without an actual meaning, and others who use them on a regular basis.
Which group are you in?
What Does LMC Mean?
Let’s unveil this mystery first! What does LMC stand for when you see it in a text?
In informal written communication, LMC usually means “Let Me Check” or “Let Me See”. The latter would be LMS, but as we spell “C” the same way we pronounce “see”, sometimes people use it with this meaning as well.
Although it’s most commonly used with the previous meaning, LMC can also stand for “Lost My Connection”. This is typical for chat rooms, for example.
How Is Texting Different from Other Written Communication
When we communicate with others using Facebook chat, SMS messages, Instagram direct messages, and so on, we use different language than we use in official communication.
You certainly pay more attention to spelling, punctuation and other orthographical aspects when writing an email to your boss or university professor than when sending a quick text to your best friend. This is natural, as formal written communication has rules we should follow to show respect to another person.
Using informal language or not paying attention to spelling doesn’t mean we don’t respect our friends, of course, but communicating with them is informal and doesn’t require such solemn expression of our thoughts.
Why Do We Use Abbreviations in Texting?
So, why do we use acronyms when texting? Do we find it too exhausting to type in the whole word?
Well, that’s not the reason. As an SMS has a limited number of characters (and before you could be charged for more than one message if it was too long), we want to be efficient and communicate the message as fast and as concisely as possible. Same goes for all other types of instant messaging – not many people like to write out a whole novel when texting.
Abbreviations and acronyms, therefore, are a good way to be short, concise, and effective.
Another reason lies in the history of mobile phones – remember those old Nokia phones from back in the day? You needed to press the 2 key three times just to type “C”! Writing a long SMS was time-consuming, so people opted for using acronyms and abbreviations to save time.
A List of the Most Commonly Used Acronyms
There are many types of abbreviations out there today, with acronyms perhaps being the most common. Some people also use numbers where they can replace letters, like in this example: “l8r” instead of “later”, because 8 is pronounced the same way as “ate”.
Also, there are cases of dropping vocals, like “tmrw” instead of “tomorrow”, and using letters instead of a whole word if they’re pronounced the same way, like “C U tmrw”, instead of “See you tomorrow”.
If you want to keep up to date and understand contemporary text messages better (especially if you’re a parent and your kid prefers acronyms instead of using real words), here’s a list of the most commonly used acronyms on the Internet. Thank us later! Or, l8r!
Acronyms and Their Meaning
ASAP – As Soon As Possible
B4 – Before
BFF – Best Friends Forever
BRB – Be Right Back
BTW – By The Way
CU – See You
DKDC – Don’t Know, Don’t Care
FYI – For Your Information
G2R – Got To Run
GR8 – Great
IMHO – In My Humble Opinion
IDC – I Don’t Care
IDK – I Don’t Know
ILY – I Love You
IRL – In Real Life
JK – Just Kidding
LOL – Laughing Out Loud
LMK – Let Me Know
NVM – Never Mind
NP – No Problem
NOYB – None Of Your Business
OMG – Oh My God
OFC – Of Course
RUOK – Are You Okay?
SMH – Shaking My Head
TBA – To Be Announced
TBH – To Be Honest
TGIF – Thank God It’s Friday
TTYL – Talk To You Later
TY – Thank You
WFM – Works For Me
YOLO – You Only Live Once
Making the Language Interesting
As you can see, there are plenty of acronyms many people use every day – and the list seems to be growing. There’s nothing wrong with using them in informal communication, just make sure the other person knows what you’re talking about!
Do you use acronyms when texting? What’s your favorite? Let us know in the comments section below!
