Social media has put an additional influence on the way we speak. Fast and efficient is the way to go as we hustle through immense bulks of texts and images.
“LOL”, “OMW”, “BRB” and Co. appear on our phones daily. Those letters indicate a phrase, name, or organisation and belong to the group of acronyms and abbreviations.
Nowadays, it is very unlikely that we repeat David Cameron’s misunderstanding of “lol”. Luckily, modern society has little to no difficulties understanding such abbreviations and acronyms. How do they shape our everyday language?
Award-winning instructor and translator Yelena McCafferty gives us an insight into the generational change of a variety of shortened forms and how parents have dealt with the pressure of keeping up with the language of the youth.
Featured image by Stella Mchmieder.