Comments on: Double letters in txt msgs

by: Liesbeth

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 15:27:53 +0000

I’m a native Dutch speaker. we generally don’t leave out double letters, because double letters in Dutch are functional and change the meaning of a word.

The difference between 1 and 2 vowels is between short and long pronounciation - so “o” and “oo” is like “o” and “ô” in Welsh.

pot = /pot/ = pot in English;
poot = /pôt/ = paw in English.

The difference between 1 and 2 consonants is between open and closed syllables or between present and past tense.

zaken = /zâken/ = things in English;
zakken = /zaken/ = to lower in English.

poten = /pôten/ = paws in English = plural of poot /pôt/.
potten = /poten/ = pots in English = plural of pot /pot/;

antwoorden = answer in English;
antwoordden (identical pronounciation) = answered in English.

So the difference between single and double letters is a key concept in Dutch, and most people feel this instinctively and therefor don’t leave out double letters. If they do, it’s rather because they can’t spell and/or are lowly educated and/or don’t have any linguistic feeling, and not deliberately to save space.

What does happen in Dutch sms-language:

first of all, Dutch sms language is very English-based, so a lot of abbreviations come from English: cu (see you), lu (love you), ayor (at your own risk), btw (by the way), rofl (rolling over the floor laughing), and litterally dozens more.

replacing the indefinite article by 1

replacing parts of words by numbers
e.g. 8 = acht; wacht = w8

abbreviating adverbs
e.g. zeer (very in English) = zr

abbreviating prepositions
e.g. naar (indicating a direction) = nr

abbreviating pronouns
e.g. ik (I in English) = k
mijn (my in English) = mn

abbreviating nouns
e.g. Antwerpen = A’pen

abbreviating verbs
e.g. verb ending -en = -n

by: Bruno

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:30:32 +0000

In Portuguese, there is only a couple of double consonants (’ss’ and ‘rr’), but still there are a bunch of same-button combinations of letters. For mobile texting, that hasn’t been a problem, since T9 and other such typing systems have become quite widespread. Like the Dutch guys, we tend to abbreviate words, often cutting out unnecessary vowels from words.

As for the web, there are basically three internet argots in Brazil: one as old as Usenet and IRC which is pretty much just an abbreviating convention, and two modern, tiop and miguxo. Both address any piece of (arguably) unnecessary typing. Miguxo, for instance, replaces ’ss’ (and often the single ’s’ too) with a ‘x’, thus: ‘assim’ –> ‘axim’.

tiop, on the other hand, tends to either not double the ’ss’ (whether the consonant is voiceless or voiced can be infered from context by a native speaker), thus: ‘assim’ –> ‘asim’. Alternatively, the ’soft s’ sound is represented in tiop with a c cedilla, like this: ‘assim’ –> ‘açim’. tiop is an argot developed from common typos (and other violations of common grammar) and it’s intended to look wrong (at least for those who don’t master tiop’s own rules). In fact, depending on where you hang around, and what personality traits you wish to express, you can use some pretty wild variations, which go from simulating lisps (’assim’ –> ‘athim’, ‘affim’) to incorporating from other internet argots (’assim’ –> ‘axim’, ‘azim’, ‘a5im’). But now I digress. :)

by: Prietpraatprinses

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 07:49:44 +0000

When I text (in Dutch) I usually don’t leave out the double letters, it is quite annoying to wait for them but I use T9.
If I have to get some letters gone for the sake of sending only 1 sms and not two, I’d rather leave out the “e” in the verb ending or other vocals in common words.
Like “komn” for “komen”, “mr” for “maar”…
Oh and by the way, isn’t it “nuisance” instead of nuicance”?

by: Caenwyr

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:03:08 +0000

I usually use T9 predictive text input, which works fine in Dutch. I have a little tip though. If you prefer not to use predictive text input and want to insert two characters that are on the same button (like the ‘tt’ in button, or even worse, the ‘utt’), you can type the first letter, then hit the right-button (you’ll see the cursor move to the next position) and immediately type the character again. It’s an extra keystroke, but it usually is a little faster. For al those out there that don’t like to wait, this is a handy suggestion.

by: Rmss

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:52:24 +0000

I have that all the time when typing Dutch with my phone, I have to wait way to long for the double letters, or a letter under the same button. Normally I just click the navigation button so I can move on faster.

by: Sion, Aberystwyth

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 11:21:04 +0000

Rhys - I haven’t used tecstio because my old phone was, well, too old and didn’t have the functions. I’ll try it with my new one. Diolch am fy atgoffa - ydy e’n gweithio (does it work?)

I’ll try and find the Polish ‘l’, I also use ‘x’ for ‘ch’ as this is the letter in Greek and Cyrillic for this sound. Apparently William Morgan wanted to use ‘x’ when tranlating the Bible into Welsh in 1588, but there wasn’t enough of the ‘x’ typefaces in English for the Bible, which was printed in London, to use.

The trouble with double letters is you have to hang around for hours before you can type the second of the double letters otherwise you’ll get the next letter in the alphabet e.g. ‘b’ rather than the secon ‘a’. Maybe I should just chill out a bit!

by: dmh

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 08:17:42 +0000

You could use the Polish ł for ll.

by: Rhys

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 21:20:48 +0000

Does Siôn use Tesctio?

by: Rmss

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 20:01:13 +0000

Yes, in Dutch double vowels are often omitted aswell, while texting. Also, some sounds are shortened. Like the ch in school becomes g (sgool, or even sgol). ‘Gaat’ often becomes gat (hoe gat t, instead of hoe gaat ‘t (or ‘het’). Etc. etc.

by: Haamu

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 19:00:57 +0000

As a native Dutch speaker and frequent “texter” I never perceived double letters as a problem. I would also never leave out letters (obviously).

I’ll ask around for other people’s texting habits…