Across the globe, the internet has brought about new ways of thinking, interacting and communicating. The latter has been a cause of concern for some in Vietnam who worry about the impact of popular internet acronyms on the country’s young who are increasingly using them in daily life.
The use of this acronymic language, born from the depths of the interwebs has become pervasive among young Vietnamese who say that it allows them to express themselves in shorthand, saving time and texting fees:
“It’s really fun and also time-efficient to text acronyms. That allows us to convey long content – even a poem sometimes – in the 160-character limit of a cellphone short message. It also cuts down the number of messages considerably and thus saves time and money,” Vi, a 23-year-old college student told Tuoi Tre.
The most popular of these acronyms include PLZ or PLS (Please), BTW (By The Way), OMG (Oh My God), WC (Welcome, Webcam), LOL (Laugh Out Loud), RELA (Relationship), CFS (Confession), 19 (One Night), 29 (Tonight), ASL (Age, Sex, Location), INB (Inbox) and PM (Private Message).
However, not everyone sees the trend as a positive one.
“[The use of] acronyms leaves parents on edge and poses a growing concern for linguists who are keen on preserving the purity of the Vietnamese language,” wrote Tuoi Tre.
While acknowledging that there are drawbacks to the widespread use of internet-speak, citing some acronyms that mask obscene language, Vietnamese academics see it as overwhelmingly harmless.
Dao Le Hoa An, of the Vietnam Association of Social Psychology told the paper that the acronyms point to “creativity and receptiveness to new things,” and said that they should not be a cause for “undue concern.”
Associate Professor Hoang Anh Thi, director of the Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities’ linguistic application center, echoed An’s statements, calling their use “an inevitable trend in this modern, ever-changing society.”
We don’t disagree, but an online reference for these terms would be super helpful, LOL.
[Tuoi Tre]
