With the advent of the Internet in the 1990s, communication has become much faster and easier than it was for other generations. It is because of this that an Internet diction has emerged using abbreviations, acronyms and symbols to express larger feelings in a shorter amount of time. The abundance of Internet use in our generation has created a new colloquial speech in which abbreviations are used frequently.

“From the linguistic perspective, it’s not surprising,” said Douglas Glick, assistant professor of anthropology and linguistics program director. “Creative new terms and new creative language that appears in one area of social life always tends to travel into new ones.”

Abbreviations are used for multiple reasons, including limiting response time, allowing room for more characters in text messages and serving as an in-group marker, or secret language among the youth.

“It’s easier and quicker to get your thoughts out that way,” said Steve Armon, an undeclared sophomore.

Slang is being changed every day and terms prevalent in the early 2000s are no longer as common, such as replacing “you” with “u” or “for” with “4.” Multiple Web sites have been established to document new slang, such as Urbandictionary.com, which began in 1999 by an undergraduate at California Polytechnic University. There are 3,456,884 definitions on the Web site.

Facebook also has multiple groups documenting common abbreviations, including “Abbreves … Sweepin the Naysh,” which currently has over 5,000 members and lists 159 common abbreviations, from “awk,” for awkward to “wick” for wicked.

Abbreviations have even carried over into mass media outlets, including Cingular’s “IDK, My BFF Jill?” commercial. The CW network also put out “OMFG” ads for their teen soap, “Gossip Girl.”

Despite its simplicity, there are many people opposed to abbreviations.

“[Using abbreviations] definitely dumbs you down,” said Ruchi Purani, an undeclared freshman.

Parent groups have rallied against the abbreviations used by their children, and Web sites such as Teenchatdecoder.com have been created to allow adults to look up “teen chat terms.”

“Adults get worried about every generation,” Glick said. “They say it means kids are impatient or have no focus, anything to defend standard English.”

Some say that abbreviations are OK as long as they are used in the proper social settings.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with them, as long as you don’t use it in an interview or with a professor,” said Gabby Roberts, a sophomore linguistics major.

Glick shares a similar view, saying that he doesn’t take off points when students use it in papers. However, he is sure to tell them that it is “politically stupid.”

“Using abbreviations in papers can hurt [students’] images in professors’ minds.”