Why do people use abbreviations?

[Shelton3369]

Hi, I would like to know "why" people seem to use abbrevations to make a word or a title?  

[Al Rakis Draconis]

Well, in the first place abbreviations are made to abbreviate longer words. Let's give you an exemple. The commonly used word "okay" is an abbreviation in itself.
In the first place, it should be spelled O.K. and not okay.
Secondly, the meaning of O.K. is All correct. Surprising, isn't?

*Off-topic* A short history lesson: The abbreviation O.K. was invented during the Second World War, because of the way the american soldiers use to pronounce "All correct", which sounded exactly like "Ol' Korrect". Get it?

*Back to topic* So, in brief, abbreviations exist in order to make some longer words more practical in some situations.

Now, for "txt" talking, the difference is that it's mainly used in "Chats" and shouldn't be used in forums for one main reason; the forum posts allow you to take your time spelling down your words, since it usually always takes a little longer for anyone to reply to your post.

Also, "txt" talking is used for economic reasons when sending SMS messages. Shortened words are, obviously, less long to type, especially on a cell phone (talk about a pain!), and you'll pay less for every SMS sent than if you were going to spell out every single word correctly (of course, that depends on your cell phone provider, but I am just speaking in general).

I hope my answers were satisfying and clear enough. biggrin

P.S.: I choosed the "They are O.K." choice, because I thought it was appropriate and, well, somewhat ironic. mrgreen  

[Shelton3369]

Yes, this helped me out very much. biggrin  

[Al Rakis Draconis]

It was a pleasure.  

[`Lenzor]

I have no idea why they do that. Some people are just to lazy to type I guess.  

[The Man who was Thursday]

Fudgeo got it. Abbreviations exist to abbreviate.

Who'da thunk it?  

[iXenu]

I can say that some abbreviations are useful, like the O.K example. But most of the time, I think that if I'm not too lazy to -say- the whole thing, then I'm definately not going to be too lazy to type it. Typing out the whole word tends to keep my vocabulary in check, too. biggrin  

[ririnyan]

The origin of "OK" is actually a lot older than WWII!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okay  

[Al Rakis Draconis]

ririnyan

The origin of "OK" is actually a lot older than WWII!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okay

Boston 1839. Wikipedia is not the best source ever, but it might be true. Thank you for the additional information. ^^  

[The Man who was Thursday]

Sergeant Fudgeo

ririnyan

The origin of "OK" is actually a lot older than WWII!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okay

Boston 1839. Wikipedia is not the best source ever, but it might be true. Thank you for the additional information. ^^

UGGGGHH.

Look at the NUMEROUS references if you don't trust Wikipedia.

That's why they're there.  

[ririnyan]

The validity of Wikipedia aside, I have heard that story verified elsewhere. ^_^ And just to throw the cat amongst the pigeons, as it were, here's an interesting article from NPR http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/ok/ (The article has some interesting links at the bottom for anyone interested in the etymology of both this and other common phrases!)  

[Rutoh-Chan]

As for actual abbreviations, they are used to shorten text when a person is writing. They are actually quite useful when it comes to taking notes in classes, especially if you have a teacher that dictates everything and never writes a thing down. They are used for speed writing most commonly, but have crept into society as things that are alright in everyday formal writing. They are not, unless formatted correctly.

Ummmmm, if you were inside my head that would definately have sounded right...  

[MyOwnBestCritic]

I'll abbreviate when writing notes. It's quicker than writing a whole word when a professor is rambling on, and it's an excellent way if you dont' know shorthand sweatdrop

Abbreviations abbreviate.

Say, why is "abbreviate" such a long word, anyway?  

[GeonsLegacy IV]

Dunno! I'm stumped...