# With the advent of Swipe, is text-speak going away? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 8, 2014, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advent-of-swipe-is-text-speak-going-away/687972 "2014-05-08T13:35:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advent-of-swipe-is-text-speak-going-away/687972/21 "2014-05-08T23:57:17Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > I always assumed part of the text speak thing is also simply staying under the 140 character limit. If 140 characters is a big issue, why do most people on twitter seem literate? I don’t just mean the people I follow, even random, obvious teenagers are pretty intelligible too. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advent-of-swipe-is-text-speak-going-away/687972/22 "2014-05-09T00:08:04Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > So I wonder if text speak is going to go away now, or will be going away. One can only hope…! ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advent-of-swipe-is-text-speak-going-away/687972/23 "2014-05-09T00:14:59Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > I’m a very good touch typist, but I can’t get use to Swipe. Probably because I only send 1 or two text’s a week. Something changed with Andriod’s native version of Swipe. On my previous (Android) phone I had the actual Swipe. On my new phone, it came with the ability to Swipe. Maybe it’s Swype, maybe it’s an Android knock off, I don’t know, but it worked fine. Then, about a year ago, there must have been an update and suddenly I couldn’t use it to save my life. I’d swipe something, it would guess at something totally different. Also, at the same time, I started (and still do it now) hitting the letter ‘b’ instead of space, so I know they changed things with the keyboard. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advent-of-swipe-is-text-speak-going-away/687972/24 "2014-05-09T04:46:17Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > And how the hell is pressing the space bar twice supposed to be easier than just typing a period?? 😕 Because doing a rapid double tap on the same space is quicker than tapping and then moving over and tapping again? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advent-of-swipe-is-text-speak-going-away/687972/25 "2014-05-09T07:39:28Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > It started as a way to streamline the texting process It did? I didn’t know they had texting in 1994 when I first started using the net and it was already universal. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advent-of-swipe-is-text-speak-going-away/687972/26 "2014-05-09T08:55:05Z")
I’ve found its much more adults who seem to think it is in some way cool to use it, aunties and mothers, ‘down with it’. My brother has sent me an email (and wrote in that form because of world of warcraft), and it looked like an idiot. I pointed out that I hoped he didn’t email people in his work like that. Pretty much the main justification is the 140 character SMS limit, but that’s usually not the reason why people use it. But personally I hope it disappears. It was much more of a misguided attempt to fit into a form of modern communication which demonstrated to me that they didn’t understand it. You don’t call me ‘mate’ when speaking face to face, so m8 is weird… ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advent-of-swipe-is-text-speak-going-away/687972/27 "2014-05-09T10:03:19Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > You never had to send a text using only a numerical keyboard? > > Lucky bastard. I still do; my 2009-vintage flip phone is still working fine. But it has T9 mode, so if I type ‘52837’ then ‘later’ appears on the screen. To do ‘l8r’ would involve being in alpha mode and keying ‘5558888777’ so I have no understanding of why anyone would bother with that anymore. Every now and then, the T9 on my phone gets a word persistently wrong and I have to switch to alpha mode and do it the hard way. But I’d say that happens on about 1% of words, which means once every 7-8 texts that are longer than ‘ok bye’. ---
**Author:** ![Krouget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b38774/32.png) [@Krouget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krouget)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advent-of-swipe-is-text-speak-going-away/687972/28 "2014-05-09T13:09:27Z")
I don’t think it will. Gesture-typing has been out for a number of years, and in my experiences, some people just don’t care for it. I personally use Swiftkey, but there are times where tracing through keys can produce multiple words, and if it’s not a common word, slows you down. Nonetheless, I prefer it, along with learning keyboards and word prediction (and word completion). Considering most of the popular keyboards combine these, there should be something for everyone. That said, I still do tap-type if I absolutely need accuracy. > [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Sure I have. It still seems easier to just use proper sentences. And trust me, I’m one lazy bastard. If there was some obvious way for text speak to make the process easier for me, I’d be all over that thing. > > Is it just me? Oh, well, maybe I’m weird. I also find it easier to use full words, but that’s because I do so anywhere I’m writing. For people who use text-speak, they’re typically accustomed to doing so, not just on the phone, but in email, chats, etc. In that instance, having to type fewer characters _is_ faster, but it really comes down to how practiced you are. A number of people hunt-and-peck pretty fast, but would be infinitely slower when touch typing, despite that being the correct way to do so. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advent-of-swipe-is-text-speak-going-away/687972/29 "2014-05-09T14:27:56Z")
> [@Krouget](#): > > In that instance, having to type fewer characters _is_ faster, … Faster to write != faster to read. Let’s not forget, grammar, punctuation, capitalization and spelling are there for the reader’s sake. Saving a few keystrokes isn’t a writer’s main concern, clearly and concisely conveying a message is. ---
**Author:** ![HipGnosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/76d3ee/32.png) [@HipGnosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HipGnosis)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advent-of-swipe-is-text-speak-going-away/687972/30 "2014-05-09T15:18:21Z")
I’m on my first smart-phone (Android). I use Swiftkey, but mostly for word completion and prediction. It learned text-speak right along with the other words and phrases I use. I use text-speak when texting or Emailing my daughters and their cousins, because it’s what they use. As a relatively decent writer, I’m always aware of who my audience is. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advent-of-swipe-is-text-speak-going-away/687972/31 "2014-05-09T16:04:01Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > It did? I didn’t know they had texting in 1994 when I first started using the net and it was already universal. I have been thinking that “leetspeak” and “text speak” were different phenomena, with different origins. But maybe I’m wrong about that. ---
**Author:** ![NVME702-redux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a183cd/32.png) [@NVME702-redux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NVME702-redux)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advent-of-swipe-is-text-speak-going-away/687972/32 "2014-05-10T15:34:05Z")
I am ultra lazy and just do speech to text thingie and then hit send…no typing for meeeee! ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advent-of-swipe-is-text-speak-going-away/687972/33 "2014-05-10T15:53:07Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > A lot of people use text-speak (i.e., ‘will u b here l8r?’) at least when texting,… I think it might be used less than you think it is. My kids and their friends only used it a little back when keyboards were 10 key numeric, and even then it was kind of rare. Whenever I would do it because it was faster for me (5 years ago) they would correct me with “dad, nobody really texts that way anymore”. ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advent-of-swipe-is-text-speak-going-away/687972/34 "2014-05-10T22:11:42Z")
I spell things out as best I can on Twitter and SMS, though I do abbreviate. I never use numbers of letters or letters for their names. But txt-spk doesn’t cause the level of anger in me it seems to bring out in some people. I guess I’m not old enough to assume anything kids do, or are alleged to do, must be catastrophically horrible. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advent-of-swipe-is-text-speak-going-away/687972/35 "2014-05-10T23:13:59Z")
Considering Swype is at least four years old (it was preinstalled on my old phone that I bought in 2010–I never got the hang of it though), I would guess the answer is…no. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advent-of-swipe-is-text-speak-going-away/687972/36 "2014-05-11T16:08:12Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I have been thinking that “leetspeak” and “text speak” were different phenomena, with different origins. But maybe I’m wrong about that. They very much are. Leet is intentionally obfuscating. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advent-of-swipe-is-text-speak-going-away/687972/37 "2014-05-12T05:03:56Z")
I’ve had a phone with Swype for close to a year and a half, but I’m still not that comfortable with it; still, I generally just type out full words. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advent-of-swipe-is-text-speak-going-away/687972.md?page=1)