Youngsters, abbreviated words and exam results

The use of the telegraphic style of writing or abbreviated words on social media platforms by students in the various junior and senior high schools across the country has assumed alarming proportions. 

This style of writing is common on platforms such as facebook, whatsapp, twitter and instagram. 

Although the students use the abbreviated words on their mobile phones to communicate through texting to chat with friends, the practice is more prevalent on the social media platforms.

However, the craze for the use of abbreviated words has raised a lot of concern among educationists who warn that it could have a negative impact on the work of students if not checked. The evidence of this can be found in the various Chief Examiners’ Reports on English Language examinations conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).

“Candidates still have problems in grammar and the basic rudiments of the English Language. Their spelling is terrible,”one of the reports said, and cited some of the misspelt words as ‘comppt’ for computer and ‘frist’ for first.

The report, therefore, suggested that “the good old spelling drills in schools should be intensified”.

Linguistic expert

Key among the personalities who have criticised the use of abbreviated words by students is Professor Kofi Agyekum, a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Linguistics of the University of Ghana.

For him, the exposure and addiction to social media was the cause of the poor performance of senior high school students in the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

Those who used abbreviated words very often, he said, tended to forget that abbreviated words were not allowed in formal communication such as examinations.

The Head of Public Affairs of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Mrs Agnes Teye-Cudjoe, said some of the abbreviated words could be found in the examination scripts of candidates.

According to her, some senior high school students who wrote the 2014 May/June  WASSCE were found to have used ‘shorthand’ in their writings.

She cited an example where a student wrote “b4” as “before” in a script and said such social media influences were a contributing factor to the failure of some candidates in the examination.

Other words used by the students include ‘2’ for to or too; ‘pple’ for people and ‘mssge’ for message. 

Examiner

An English Language Examiner, Mrs Lucy Addo, confirmed the effect of the use of the abbreviated words by students.

“Because the students do not apportion their time well some of them tend to use abbreviated words. For instance, instead of the use of the word ‘at’ they use @ and ‘dat’ for that.

That, she said, greatly affected the total marks of candidates who used abbreviated words, especially when they were found in answering questions on formal letters. 

Despite the fear of the negative effect of the practice, the users of the expressions (students) argue that the use of telegraphic or abbreviated words makes it convenient for them to send messages easier and faster, thereby saving them precious time.

In the telegraphic era where the practice was mainly to communicate important messages to others far from them, that mode of communication was used to minimise cost. During that time, the number of words contained in a message determined how much each message cost. 

This mode of communication has virtually been accepted by all who use social media platforms worldwide as adults have also fallen prey to its use. 

Abbreviated words

Common words students use include ‘dat’ for that; ‘d’ for the; ‘4gttn’ for forgotten; ‘wht’ for what; ‘nd’ for and; ‘dis’ for this; ‘arnd’ for around; ‘si/ci’ for see; ‘y’ for why; ‘hw’ for how; ‘hv’ for have; ‘u’ for you; ‘kk’ for okay; ‘abt’ for about and ‘lol’ for laughing out loud.

The students who spoke with the Junior Graphic said although they knew the danger in the use of abbreviated words, it was difficult to stop the practice. However, they admitted that they were mindful of its implication during formal communications such as the writing of examinations.

to be continued.