Motivation for the Design and Implementation of a SMS Slang
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PAPER MOTIVATION FOR THE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A SMS SLANG CONVERTER FOR ANDROID DEVICES Motivation for the Design and Implementation of a SMS Slang Converter for Android Devices http://dx.doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v10i1.4492 C.N. Udanor and C.I. Nwoye University of Nigeria Nsukka, Nigeria Abstract—The mobile phone no doubt has become every- used as a means of communication between users, SMS one’s personal companion. Its applicability keeps increasing application has grown into commercial usage as a means as every new day introduces new application. It has grown of product and service advertising. It is also widely used beyond a mere communication device to a learning, enter- in Mobile Banking (or M-Banking) for SMS transaction tainment, as well as health diagnostic tool. The mobile alerts, mobile money services, etc. In public service an- phone has found close companionship among students and nouncements, SMS is used to broadcast text messages to a youths. Young people are always in a hurry to do every- large community of people in the form of bulk SMSs. thing, including writing proper grammar in SMS. Mobile Health and relationship tips are also broadcast to both phone Short Message System (SMS) and the social network- subscribed and unsubscribed users through SMS. Accord- ing media have adversely affected ourstudents’ability to ing to a study [5], about 82% of young adults say that they write good and proper English grammar. The older genera- text their romantic partners multiple times a day. From the tion is offended and appalled at the effort they have to put study, some respondents suggested that frequent text mes- in trying to decipher text messages sent by their children sage have improved their relationships. and wards, while the younger generation find slangs a very convenient and economic way of communication. This work The use of abbreviation in SMS language have become presents a needs assessment report in which over 90% of a part of the multilingual world in the recent past. SMS respondents expressed desire to have an application that language aims at creating communication by means of converts SMS slang, as well as the design and implementa- simple structures [11]. In SMS language or slang a whole tion of a short message slang converter from slang to proper word may be created by using single letters, numbers or English language, as well as the reverse. The application is pictures. For example: the letter u replaces you. For terms designed following the OOAD methodology and built for the and words that do not have common abbreviations, users Android devices with ADT 4.2 SDK (Kit Kat). Results from usually eliminate the vowels from the statement and the user evaluation show that using ‘human interpretive com- person who reads it, "builds" the word by adding missing pression’ the app could achieve a compression that reduces vowels (e.g. keyboard becomes kybrd and dictionary message length by over forty percent therefore reducing the becomes dctnry). The reader always has to interpret the cost of the SMS, time and bandwidth, as well as giving the extended and short forms of terminology according to the recipient the ability to effortlessly decipher a coded message. situation and context in which they are used, because there Users also are able to build their own slang and equivalent are a lot of examples of phrases or words that use similar English dictionary. abbreviations. For example: lol could mean lots of love or laugh out loud and cryn could mean cryin (g) or crayon. If Index Terms—SMS, mobile phone, short word, full word, somebody writes ttyl, lol, he/she means talk to you later slang, Android. lots of love instead of talk to you later laugh out loud. Moreover, omg, lol imply: oh my god, laugh out loud I. INTRODUCTION instead of oh my god, lots of love. Onw usually means oh Since the introduction of the Global System for Mobile no way! All conceivable types of feature can be juxta- communication, GSM, the Short Message Service (SMS) posed [13] - sequences of shortened and full words has stood out as one of the most frequently and widely (hldmecls "hold me close"), logograms and shortened used service across all ages. Over 350 billion SMS mes- words (2bctnd "to be continued"), logograms and non- sages are exchanged across the world’s mobile networks standard spellings (cu2nite) and so on. There are no less every month, out which more than 15% are classified as than four processes combined in iowan2bwu "I only want commercial or marketing messages [1]. SMS is a text to be with you" - full word + an initialism + a shortened messaging service component of phone, Web, or GSM word + two logograms + an initialism + a logogram. And which uses a standardized communications protocols to some messages contain unusual processes: in iohis4u "I allow fixed line or mobile phone devices exchange short only have eyes for you", we see the addition of a plural messages [2]. The SMS that is used today originated from ending to a logogram. One characteristic runs through all radio telegraphy in radio memo pagers using standard these examples: the letters, symbols and words are run phone protocols. These protocols were defined in 1985 as together, without spaces. This new style of writing has part of the GSM series of standards [3] as a means of been termed so many things, “slang”, “textese”, sending messages of up to 160 characters, according to the “slanguage”, “texism”, etc. work of Friedhelm Hillebrand [4]. Support for SMS has In the remaining part of this paper we shall review re- grown beyond mobile to mobile to include other technol- lated works, analyze the responses of a needs assessment ogies like ANSI CDMA networks and Digital AMPS, as questionnaire and the proposed system, as well as show well as satellite and landline networks. Apart from being 4 http://www.i-jim.org PAPER MOTIVATION FOR THE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A SMS SLANG CONVERTER FOR ANDROID DEVICES the implementation and the result of the system that con- people's minds’. He dismissed the fact that people have verts to and from SMS slang. been arguing that new technology of SMS would have disastrous consequences for language. He further states II. RELATED WORKS that the slangs used in SMS have been in use in chatrooms A number of studies have been carried out in universi- before the arrival of the mobile and SMS. He concluded, ties, polytechnics and high schools to determine the effect “but it is merely the latest manifestation of the human of the frequent use of SMS slang among students. While ability to be linguistically creative and to adapt language some see the use of SMS slang by students as a threat to to suit the demands of diverse settings. There is no disas- the quality of written English language, as such practice of ter pending. We will not see a new generation of adults code-switching and code-mixing break grammatical rules growing up unable to write proper English. The language [8][10], others think that using SMS in language learning as a whole will not decline. In texting what we are seeing, is one of the best opportunities for language learners to in a small way, is language in evolution.” Dansieh [14], extend and increase their learning outside of their class- however does not agree with Crystal [13]. He said that rooms whenever and wherever they desire [6]. Shazia Crystal’s generalization of the positive impact of texting Aziz et al [7] studied the effect of text messaging in Eng- could be misleading as his research focused on a popula- lish writing among students and teen agers by subjecting tion that are conservative with their native language, un- fifty students to essay writing. At the end of the study they like in other situations where English is taken as a second concluded that SMS texting does not affect students’ Eng- language and not the native language. He argued that 83% lish, as according to them, there were only punctuation and 70% of lecturers and students, respectively surveyed errors, which they said can be as a result of carelessness. in his work admitted that SMS language can harm their But the weakness of this study is that the students were writing skill. But Wood et. al.[16] also re-emphasizing aware they were being tested to know if SMS language Crystal’s claims says that “research has demonstrated that will be evident in their writing. Geertsema et. al. [15] use of texting slang (textisms) when text messaging does seems to think otherwise. In their study on the effect of not appear to impact negatively on children’s literacy SMS language on Grade 8 and 9 English (as Home Lan- outcomes and may even benefit children’s spelling at- guage) educators in Gauteng, South Africa, the results tainment. However, less attention has been paid to the indicated that the majority of educators viewed SMS lan- impact of text messaging on the development of children’s guage as having a negative influence on the written lan- and young people’s understanding of grammar”. Their guage skills of Grade 8 and 9 learners. This, according to findings reinforce the need to differentiate between the them is evidenced in their spelling, punctuation and sen- deliberate violation of grammatical or orthographic con- tence length. Some researchers fear that if urgent steps are vention and genuine lack of understanding. not taken at curbing the frequent use of chat room and III. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURE SMS slang by students in formal writing and examination they may evolve into teachers, who will teach the next Questionnaires were designed and self-administered to generation [8][9].