Common acronyms and abbreviations used in textspeak in English

13,557 views ・ 2021-06-28

Learn English with Cambridge


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

00:06
Hello, everyone.
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I’m Paula and I’m really happy to see you all here again.
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Being the year 2021, we can’t deny that
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technology has arrived to stay here forever,
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and it is changing the world.
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And the way we communicate is changing too.
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Textspeak is the kind of language and spelling
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typically used in text messages.
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And it consists of acronyms, abbreviations, emojis
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and numbers, and it allows the texters to complete
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their messages more quickly.
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An acronym is an abbreviation consisting of the first
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letters of each word in the name of something
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and it is pronounced as a word.
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For example, PIN, personal identification number.
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Some regional acronyms are the same in all other languages,
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such as UNICEF.
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However, some other acronyms differ according
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to the language.
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In English, we have the so frequent word
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use nowadays, because of the pandemic situation,
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WHO, World Health Organization.
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And in Spanish, we have OMS, Organización Mundial de
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la Salud.
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On the other hand, abbreviations can be
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formed from the first letters of a word or phrase.
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And in such cases, we normally say them
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by spelling out each letter.
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For example, PC, personal computer.
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For some written abbreviations, individual letters or sounds
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from the word are used although the word is always said in full.
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For example, Dr. Acronyms and abbreviations are a clear
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sign of how creative human beings can be.
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So, if you want to learn how to use and understand some
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of the most common ones used for text speaking,
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stay here because this is the perfect video for you.
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But, hey, before we move on, do not forget to subscribe
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to the channel.
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Now, let’s take a look at this conversation.
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Hi BFF.
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I’m great. TGIF.
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I’m looking forward to the weekend.
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Yes.
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So excited.
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I know, right?
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LOL.
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You sound like a crazy fan.
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Oh.
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I didn’t know.
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FYI, me too.
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Well, you know what they say, YOLO.
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Oh, by the way, are you going with your BAE?
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See you tomorrow.
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Oh, where are we meeting?
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Please tell me ASAP.
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So, could you understand the conversation?
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The use of abbreviations and acronyms while texting is
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more common than we think, so it is nice to use
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the internet to practice them.
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If you want to learn more about this topic, watch Greg’s
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past video on Commonly used text abbreviations,
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which is linked in the description box below.
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Now it’s your turn.
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Do you know any other famous acronym or abbreviation used
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for textspeak?
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Can you guess the meaning of these ones?
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Leave us your comment below with your answer.
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And if you enjoyed the video, don’t forget to give us
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a thumb up.
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See you soon.
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This was Paula.
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Over and out.
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