Wednesday 15 June 2011

Guess when this was first written – “I wrote 2 U B 4”?

Bombaugh's book available today
As we know the English language is constantly evolving; but I’m sure it will surprise many of us to learn that this expression was being used at least one hundred and fifty years ago, and possibly over two hundred years ago.

Great writers, poets and communicators throughout the ages have experimented and developed the written and spoken language ... which continues apace today.  Code, short forms had been around for centuries – and in a sense all languages and writing systems are codes for human thought.

Charles Carroll Bombaugh, who coined and spread text-speak during the 1800s via his book ‘Oddities and Curiosities of Words and Literature’, experimented with constrained writing including the  “univocalic” , that uses only one vowel within his writings – this is one of his best-known ones:

“No cool monsoons blow soft on Oxford dons,
Orthodox, job-trot, book-worm Solomons.”

David Crystal's book - available at the British Library
I visited the British Library's Exhibition on Evolving English a few months back, which was heaving with members of the populace!  So I had a look round, picked up David Crystal's book, some postcards on vocabulary and text-speak... 


... including the full version of this article, originating from the Columbia (Pa) Spy sometime in the early 1800s, here are four of the verses of "The Essay to Miss Catherine Jay" - (Katie Jay of Utica, or Uticay), which Bombaugh included in his book: Gleanings from the Harvest-Fields of Literature, Science and Art: A melange of Excerpta, Curious, Humorous, and Instructive (reprinted 1860).

An S A now I mean 2 write
2 U sweet K T J,
The girl without a ||,
The belle of U T K.

I 1 der if U got that 1
I wrote 2 U B 4
I sailed in the R K D A,
And sent by L N Moore. . . .

This S A, until U I C
I pray U 2 X Q's
And do not burn in F E G
My young and wayward muse.

Now fare U well, dear K T J,
I trust that U R true--
When this U C, then you can say,
An S A I O U.

In the original the pilcrow   “¶”   appears as a symbol showing the start of a paragraph, as do other symbols providing a challenge to modern readers.  Many of us will recognise the pilcrow, though I didn’t know it was called that, from our typing or publishing days.

Available from the Google electronic library are further examples, including Elizabeth G Bainbridge’s Schoolroom Games and Exercises – which elaborate on the spelling and composition as used at that time.

However - I still cannot make head or tail what ‘R K D A’ means: any ideas please to put me out of my misery – perhaps Arcadia?

... nor for that matter “I pray U 2 X Q's, And do not burn in F E G”: I’m sure it’s very obvious ... but my mind’s a blank, as it is with texting ... I query my education sometimes, and most definitely my recent modern techie one!  Then there’s LEG, appearing in the full verse, .. what’s that too ...?

This is some of the text as it appears in Schoolroom Games and Exercises:

SPELLING AND COMPOSITION HELPS. 61

I sailed in the 11 K 1) A,
And sent by L N Moore.
My M T head will scarce contain

1 calm I I) A bright,

But A T miles from U I must

M /—^^ this chance 2 write.
And 1st should N E N V U,

B E Z, mind it not;
Should N E friendship show, B true,

They should not B forgot.

Book of Kells per Wikipedia - Folio 34r
contains the Chi Rho monogram.   Chi
and rho are the first two letters
of the word Christ in Greek.
During the past two hundred years so much has happened in the communication world that we are now coping with the third major technological development of texting, after having conquered the telegraph and the telephone.

We still read and talk – just?! – our learning and history are embedded within the books lining the libraries of the world – now being available to all, especially with the advent of the internet ... but consider those medieval manuscripts that abbreviated words as a matter of course, to save space on precious and expensive parchment ... if anything it emboldened the world to write and record our words for posterity.

Will texting or text-speak finally give the death-knell to reading and writing – that I don’t think can happen for a long time as we need governance, rules and regulations ... in the meantime our brains have to cope with the new ways ... and that digit, our thumb, is finding a new life of its own.  Life is interesting ...

1)     U Not Thnk So?

C U B4 2 Long.

My M T head wil B Gr8ful 4 Normal Wri10 Comments

MYTe Gr8ful   ?!!

My inspiration came from the Evolving English Exhibition held over the winter 2010/2011 at the British Library - for further reading:  


The Origins of Text-Speak” written by Ben Zimmer.

Evolving English Exhibition: British Library – Curator’s Blog 

The whole essay can be found here under 'Emblematic Poetry' – Gleanings from the Harvest Fields of Literature ... captured and made available by Google books

Elizabeth G Bainbridge: Schoolroom Games and Exercises – page 4 (scroll down to number 60 - 61)

Last entry of British Library’s Evolving English Podcasts .. is the talk given by David Crystal on “Evolving English – One language, many voices”. 

British Library's main web page 

Dear Mr Postman – I expect you’ve been dealing with these sorts of things in letters for many years – but to me is something I need to get to grips with ... my mother will be interested though;  she has been quite awake recently and enjoying the summer season of festivities and sports.

Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

71 comments:

Mike Goad said...

It was likely a ship.

Britannia, Acadia and Caledonia were commissioned in 1840 and Columbia in 1841 enabling Cunard to provide the dependable schedule of sailings required under his mail contracts with the Admiralty. It was these mail contracts that enabled Cunard to survive when all of his early competitors failed. (wikipedia)

Very interesting post!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Mike .. once I'd woken up I sort of realised it was probably a ship - but gosh one's brain can stuck in its box! Thanks - I'd looked in Wiki .. but Arcadia wasn't mentioned in that sort of time frame ..I almost posted a picture of a Clipper ..

.. but your fact about Cunard surviving because of the mail contracts is an added bonus - many thanks.

Delighted you enjoyed the read - thanks for coming over and commenting - Hilary

Glynis Peters said...

How fascinating! I love your blog, I aways learn something new. The youngsters will be upset to learn they didn't invent one letter communication!. :)

Thanks, Hilary.

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

That is amazing. I had no idea they would even think to use text-speech back then. Guess that makes me a reverse snob. It's my grandparents fault. They convinced me only proper English was acceptable. Them sneaky grandparents!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ Glynis .. it is isn't it & thank you! It's surprising what we learn and you're right re the youngsters .. we knew it all in the recesses of our minds!

@ Joylene .. nor did I - and if I was bemused and interested I guessed you'd all be. I think you're right - we forget so much .. or don't turn it around and consider is it possible ...?

Good to see you both .. from two of the Cs of this world .. Cyprus and Canada .. cheers for now - Hilary

Grumpy1 said...

Good post, Hilary. I can't help you with all of those, but this one ...
"I pray U 2 X Q's, And do not burn in F E G" , I think translates as,
"I pray you to excuse us(?) And do not burn in effigy" - or, something like that.

Maybe you need one of the decoders of 'Enigma'? ha ha

Linda said...

What a very interesting insight into words and how they are shortened to a single letter. Here are my thoughts on these.

I pray U 2 X Q's
I pray you to excuse

And do not burn in F E G
And do not burn in effigy

You are indeed a fountain of information.

Karen Lange said...

Oh my! I'm like you, only followed some, but not all. Perhaps this is why I am a writer and not a spy? :)

Thanks for all the lovely info, Hilary! Enjoy your posts, so glad you share with us.
Have a wonderful rest of the week,
Karen

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ Bob .. it's fun working it out - or not! Thanks for the two translations .. I'd finally got the effigy .. as too elegy .. but the enigma decoding thought that is a good one!

@ Linda .. you're the fountain of information .. giving me the answers .. thanks - I just loved this S A!

@ Karen .. well I certainly fell at the first fence and took me a long time to work out!

Just wonderful you all enjoy the posts - really appreciate your comments ..

Thanks Bob, Linda and Karen .. good to see you all .. cheers Hilary

Rosalind Adam said...

Fascinating. I used to love that sort of thing when I was a kid. My favourite was, '2Ys U R, 2Ys U B, I C U R 2 Ys 4 me.'

Wellington Artist said...

It really proves there is nothing new under the sun. Sounds like there was text speak long before there was texting! Thanks once again for commenting on my blog. You can come visit anytime!

Joanne said...

This was a fun post, and I C Y.
I still have one of my kids' books from years ago, it's called C D B ! We had lots of fun decoding the sentences.

Symphony of Love said...

I am having 'headache' reading those. It sure is interesting to see how the English language has been evolving. Good to see you around Hilary.

Patricia said...

I am not very good at this text speech, but I will confess since I stopped writing formally when I began blogging, I seem much evidence that I am not a good editor any more -I prefer to write like I speak, and actually, I prefer to not be so formal and find a more relaxed style in much of life.

I did not know the name of a pilcrow, thank you for that.

I also can type way to fast and skip letters along the way.

what a fun post and glad to hear that your mum is doing well and is alert.

Bossy Betty said...

Fascinating! I love hearing about the history of language.

Anonymous said...

I have to say this is a truly amazing post. I did not know that. Ancient texting.

Maybe the ancient Babylonians chiseled out similar cuneiform texts and sent a messenger to deliver it. Then the recipient chiseled their text and the messenger ran it back. The original text messaging system.

ANd we thought we were so modern.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ Ros .. I don't remember these sorts of things as a kid - may be I had the 'blanks' then too?!

@ Sandy - thank you - love my food! Your comment "there's nothing new under the sun" is probably right .. if we worked it out. Code and short-forms must have been used by Popes, Kings and Queens, and the nobility trying to influence the situation ..

@ Joanne .. shows you how I'm stuck in the box - I thought you'd written I C U .. but now of course I note it's a "Y".. dumschkull = me!!

That must be one fun book and I bet you had lots of laughs decoding the sentences .. glad you've still got it - good for the grandchildren now?

@ BK - I had a headache writing the post - shouldn't have .. but we forget everything's evolving .. as Sandy mentions above. Thanks - I'm around .. and it's always good to be amongst bloggers ...

@ Patricia - I'm like you .. more informal, but I still write formal letters out - they're necessary!

And I thought you'd be the one who would know the 'pilcrow' word! Typing .. I now twist words around - and have to stop, because I'm aware I've made a mistake & correct it - frustrating .. I guess thinking and typing aren't that conducive! But copy typing is most definitely not blogging!

Thanks - glad you enjoyed it and yes Mum has been amazing recently ..

@ Bossy Betty - delighted that you enjoyed the post.

@ Stephen - thanks ... and most definitely ancient texting was around ..

I expect the Babylonians chiselled bits and bobs ... as too the Greeks and Romans .. but I don't they spoke English!!

I nearly mentioned pyramids, papyrus, Greeks, Romans et al .. but to my surprise I see I kept to "Evolving English" - albeit on a microscopic scale!


Thanks everyone - delighted you've enjoyed the article .. have a great end of the week .. Hilary

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

This was fascinating to read Hilary, The English language is fast changing in some areas especially with texting.

I found I have been unfollowed to your blog......heaven knows what blogger is up to, so will rectify that now.

Please can you help many of my followers which I used to be able to click a comment to I now have to put my blog name also my URL in some case the URL OPTION don't exist, so my comment is delivered as anonymous in many cases people who recieve these delete them before reading. Do you know what I have to do to click my comments without having to go through this?

Yvonne.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Yvonne .. it is changing fast - new words etc and glad you enjoyed the info.

Yup - I see you've refollowed - thanks!

Re your query .. I replied to you:

"I'm struggling to comment on your blog because Blogger has changed its template code - that's official from Google - and I now have to enter the URL and my name each time, which is time-consuming, if you can could you fix by doing the following:

It's because the comment box is still embedded at the bottom - if the blog owner unembeds it - then we can comment normally ...

Go to Settings, Comment tab, 3rd choice down = pop up comments (select this radio button), go to bottom of page and Save.

That seems to resolve the issue ...re the URL and name ..."

So if any blogspot blogger has their comment box still embedded - Blogger have said they've changed the template code and it messes up comments - by making the box a pop-up as here .. then that should resolve many issues.

Re the option not appearing .. and thus not being able to comment - if we can get a message to those people then the above may apply too.

Hope you can resolve and we can all save ourselves time ..

Cheers and enjoy Thursday and the rest of the week ...Hilary

Joseph Pulikotil said...

Hello Hilary,

It is true English language has been continuously evolving over the years and it will do so in the future also. It is one language which can absorb words used in other languages. Regarding short forms I really don't know what will will happen because it is being constantly used by youngsters. But if someone wants to write a book or an article or a thesis this short forms may not be acceptable.

In India English language is one of the main official languages. It is becoming increasingly important because most of the business world needs mastery over the language.

Many thanks for the suggestion.
Joseph

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Joseph - good to see you .. English in India is so important and you all usually speak impeccable English - better than me!

But it's interesting that a lot of the old English - Middle English arose from the Indo base roots too .. so your influence is with us before we brought English as an official language to your shores.

Exactly as you say .. what's going to happen to expressing ourselves at all .. to questioning things - even via email .. we'll need to know how to formulate and spell etc.

It's a very interesting time we're living in ... lovely seeing you here - Hilary

walk2write said...

Great post, Hilary! Now I'm wondering. 2B or not 2B? Who knows? Maybe Shakespeare was inspired to write Hamlet when confronted with a spelling dilemma.

Arlee Bird said...

This is interesting to know.

I think word play and experimentation with language can be fun and entertaining, but I am sometimes saddened to see it so prevalent at the expense of deteriorating some of our ability to communicate properly and with beauty. Who writes wonderful eloquent letters anymore that are worth keeping? There are book collections of letters that are not only a joy to read, but also historically significant. What will we see from current generations? Books of text messages and ungrammatical emails? Oh wait, maybe there won't be books in the future.

I rejoice in much of technology, but lament the disappearance of some old-fashioned things.


Lee
Tossing It Out

Talli Roland said...

That's fantastic - who knew! Yes, 2B or not 2B. I'd love to see that!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ W2W .. with your name I'm wondering whether 2B or not 2B wondering about Shakespeare and Hamlet .. glad you enjoyed it!

@ Arlee - I agree .. but with the people who can read and write actually be the winners ... the ones who are lazy and in no way will learn to speak properly, read or even write - be the losers?

It's up to us to provide those books of our history .. I know my sister-in-law said .. you should put dates in - they're relevant = as you are living history ... sadly she's right!!

Like you - I love technology, just wish I was a little better at it, but do enjoy well written books and documents. I don't think history will disappear - perhaps they'll have trouble decoding our writing in a few generations time?

@ Talli .. a whole play or film of text would be a little much - personally I think!

Thanks for visiting .. perhaps something to consider for your books ... long live books!! Hilary

TALON said...

Fascinating, Hilary...seems we just can't help playing with words. I've never sent a text message in my life, but do laugh at how things get so reduced. Seems every company is now liking the acronyms, too.

Jannie Funster said...

So wonderful to hear your mom is enjoying summer festivals and sports. I imagine the weather is sublimely sweet over there now.

darn hot here -- supposed to be 104 2 days in a row soon.

I think we have always texted? Even cave dwellers I suppose.

bye 2 u.

xoxo

... Paige said...

what a super & duper post! What became old is but new again...not unlike fashion although I doubt the hoop underskirts will ever make a comeback. :-)

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ Talon - you're right there .. the language and thus the written word continue developing. Amazing that you've avoided text messages - I've only just got into them .. and use them as others only work that way! I suppose companies have always used shortforms of some description .. and branding - again so right.

@ Jannie - yes it's good to see Mum enjoying some things .. sweet scented roses .. but the weather is pretty cold at the moment and wet ... well today was meant to be cold and bucketing with rain - but has dawned fair for my friends who are visiting to see the tennis. 104 - no thank you!

Even cave dwellers - absolutely .. but probably not in English ... bye 2 U 2. xoxox

@ Paige .. thanks so much - fashion changes rather more regularly I think .. hoop underskirts - they'd be difficult in a bus or a train!

Good to see you all - Talon, Jannie and Paige ... enjoy the weekend .. Hilary

Anonymous said...

I'd not heard of the Exhibition on Evolving English. LOL! It must be quite interesting. :O)

nutschell said...

wow my first guess was that it was written very recently--like this month! I didn't know that the idea of shortening words came way before this whole texting age. Well done! what a great post!
nutschell
www.thewriting.com
PS,
Hillary, thanks for always leaving such wonderful comments on my blog and following me along on my journey. I'm just trying to finish up the England posts so I can finally return to my regularly scheduled blog hopping!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ Madeleine .. I think I spotted it when a friend took me to the Turner exhibition in London last year and I thought I have to go .. or I picked the information up from the Map exhibition at the British Library that I visited last year .. all extremely interesting to put it mildly. Loved them ..

@ Nutschell .. Well I suspect that's what most of us think .. but here's the evidence that it was earlier.

Pleasure .. it's good to see your descriptions of your tour of England .. with pictures etc .. You obviously both had a wonderful time!

Cheers to you both - no tennis today here at Eastbourne - very sad .. I've got friends with tickets and it was a wash out ... Hilary

Anonymous said...

Wow! That was interesting. I learned something new today about the history of the English language. Thank you Hilary :-)

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ Ron .. yes - even before your time?! Good to tell your grandchildren though .. bet they wouldn't know either .. Have a good weekend .. Hilary

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

Hilary, I have something for you on my blog.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Joylene .. many thanks for the Irrestibly Sweet Award .. appreciate your comments ..

Just hope your book tour will be an incredibly success .. enjoy it!

Cheers and much happiness .. Hilary

Liara Covert said...

Hilary, you are indeed prolific and your blog readers already know you are multi-lingual. Acronyms are a language. Every image and symbols reveals layers of language and meaning that can be thought-provoking. Thanks for the amazing research. Curious how dialects evolve. Lots of exceptions exist to a given rule. Notice how Cockney, British English, Canadian, American, Australian and other versions fo English all branch out in their owns ways. Learning a language is as simple or as difficult as you choose.

Len Lambert said...

Hi Hilary! This is very educational for me! Thank you!

Elizabeth Lord said...

Hi Hilary, What an interesting posting you have written. I've enjoyed reading it.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Liara .. many many thanks! This was fun - well in fact all my posts are .. love the information I find out and can tie in here.

English is quite extraordinary .. and exactly as you say varies so much around the world, and within the different parts of England .. the Geordie north etc

I couldn't speak English before I left for SA - having mixed with Australians for some years, then spent 10 weeks in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe and South Africa, then visiting the States for a wedding .. my own English would not come out - I had a strangulatory troublesome time trying to speak my own language!

Thanks so much .. learning a language for me needs total immersement I think!! Not a strong point .. cheers Hilary

Chris Edgar said...

Hi Hilary -- wow, it's as if these Victorian writers were operating under 140-character limits! It's like Wordsworth on Twitter! Okay, maybe the poem you shared with us here is a bit more delicately crafted than your average Tweet.

Anonymous said...

Very interesting. And here I thought this 'code' speak - an obvious outgrowth of 'e-communication': TM'ing, IM'ing, tweeting, etc., was a totally modern day bane on the language, lol.

Marvin D Wilson

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

I had no idea that texting was so old! I thought it was something kids today made up. Thanks for enlightening us, Hilary!

Davina said...

This was a fun and informative post, Hilary. I see your readers have already solved the mystery of the translation for I pray U 2 X Q's. I love words games like this and I had no idea that this language existed so long ago! I thought we were special :) Hi and hugs to your mom.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ Len .. delighted you learnt something.

@ Elizabeth - glad you enjoyed it and thanks for following me.

@ Chris - just shows creativity was just as rampant all those years ago .. they twittered too but by semaphore, or morse code .. Some of today's tweets are just way too inane - absolutely.

@ Marvin ..'fraid not - it all started many years ago. I too thought it's a modern day bane on our language skills. It's just there's an awful lot more of it for us to contend with ..

@ Sharon .. it's a surprising thought that so often things crop up again in a slightly different guise. I've enlightened myself too!

Have good weeks everyone .. and thanks for being here - Hilary

Ella said...

This is fascinating and now I wonder will we find txt in caves or along some scrolls, lol. I always learn so much, when I visit you~ Who knew?!

Helen Ginger said...

Man, I was totally lost through some of that. Some I could sound out though. This reminds me of the stenographers in courtrooms. Their little machines, I believe, do not have all the keys of a typewriter, so they're writing in their own shorthand. I wonder if that would look as foreign to non-courtroom stenographers as this old abbreviated writing.

Ellie Garratt said...

OMG. That really surprises me!

Ellie Garratt

Empty Nest Insider said...

Very interesting post! Who knew the whole texting idea was recycled from the past? During A-Z when I was looking for ideas for "X" I found this: XYZ PDQ (examine your zipper - pretty darn quick). I told my boys about it and they just rolled their eyes at me. "A+" for originality! Julie

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ Ella .. who knows what's out there - you're so right - but we seem to have opened most scrolls etc .. but there's coding on the pyramids .. and the nobility and royalty sending coded messages ... so plenty of work for researchers!

@ Helen .. so was I - but I was fascinated. Stenography's a whole 'nother ball game .. machine shorthand - and I don't know about the machines. As a shorthand typist for a few years .. I could never puzzle things out - so I guess I'd struggle!

@ Ellie .. it is staggering isn't it.

@ Julie .. What a good idea for your X post in the A - Z challenge .. love the translation!! Yup - I can imagine the boys' eyes rolling around .. and thinking 'Mum - what now ...?' Personally I agree with you A+ for originality ..

Cheers Ella, Helen, Ellie and Julie .. good to see you all .. have good weeks Hilary

M. Reka said...

Hi Hilary, This was fun and interesting post. Really surprises me! I've enjoyed reading it!
Take care
Marinela x

Inger said...

This is so interesting and I had no idea. I bet the kids of today would be surprised to learn that this language didn't originate with them. Great post, thank you. I love word and where the come from, but I have decided to not text. I don't like Facebook either or any of the other social media, except, of course, my and all the other blogs. Please look into the estrogen/cancer connection.--Inger

nutschell said...

Hi Hilary!
Just dropping by again to say thanks so much for following me on my England trip series and always leaving such delightful comments! I love reading all the comments you leave, though I am currently unable to reply to all of them. :P I did reply to the one about Ridge House though!
warm hugs,
Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ Marinela .. it was a surprise to me too .. but on thinking about it - of course completely logical. Glad you enjoyed it ..

@ Inger .. I'm sure most of us - proved here - think it's of today .. but they kids definitely would.

I too love words etc .. I do by necessity text, but not a lot and on the edge of FB etc .. blogging now that's a different story!

The Oestrogen/Cancer connection I'll have another look .. especially after your experience. Thanks for the thought ..

@ Nutschell ..pleasure .. enjoying the tour around England with you! Ok good I'll pop over and see the reason for selecting Ridge House..

Warm hugs to you too - it's still cold here, so I'll have one of those!

Great to see you - Marinela, Inger and Nutschell .. have good weeks .. Hilary

Duncan D. Horne - the Kuantan blogger said...

It's quite scary how the English language could end up - entirely text message language!

Duncan In Kuantan

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Duncan .. I sincerely hope not?! Cheers Hilary ...

Theresa Milstein said...

All that text-speak is giving me a headache!

It's interesting to see how language evolves. It would've been a good subject to study.

I love the way this sounds:

“No cool monsoons blow soft on Oxford dons,
Orthodox, job-trot, book-worm Solomons.”

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Theresa .. thought you might be interested! The linguistic aspects would, I agree, be very interesting .. and this constrained writing of using only one vowel (univocalic) does make for lovely sounds .. that's why I included it - glad you liked it.

Good luck with things your end .. all will be well .. cheers Hilary

Summer Ross said...

This was very interesting- thank you for posting!

Connie Arnold said...

How interesting, Hilary! I see those types of writing on Twitter and struggle through reading them. Folks who do text messages and Twitter seem to just naturally write and read that way. Fascinating that it was done previously as you have shared!

Wellington Artist said...

We are very blessed that our son and his wife actually enjoy our company. We spend holidays together as well as many Saturday evenings with their friends and dinner. Do you celebrate Mothers Day and Fathers Day in Great Britain?

Unknown said...

Hill-R-E, Please, X cuse all the lettRs I rite. I believe "I pray U 2 X Q's " is I pray you to excuse. And
perhaps F E G is effigy. Great essay...ahem, I mean S A.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ Summer .. glad you enjoyed it .. perhaps the girls will be interested?

@ Connie .. I think the kids of today are writing quite happily and with emoticons .. I can't read them either! Glad you enjoyed it ..

@ Sandy .. you are very lucky that you all get on so well and have fun together. Yes - our Mother's Day is part of the Christian year .. Rose Sunday .. at the fourth Sunday in Lent. Father's Day is the same as yours ..

@ Clarissa - ah now Hilree makes sense - another blogging friend calls me that! I will most certainly Xcuse U .. and thank you for decoding ..

Cheers everyone .. have good weeks .. Hilary

Sue said...

So many comments Hilary! I have nothing to add, but what a wonderful post and great comments. I've been thinking of you and your mother while I've been travelling and hope all is well with you both.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Sue .. how lovely to see you .. we're fine - Mum is travelling in her mind because she has to ... I am travelling in my mind too - because I cannot!

It's wonderful having such lovely comments - everyone is so generous that way .. just nice seeing you!

Cheers for now and welcome back .. Hilary

Susan Blake said...

Hi Hilary! This was delightful, great research! I put off texting as long as I could - it really feels like a new language doesn't it? But I fear that it is yet another excuse to not learn spelling properly, let alone speak properly. I don't know about where you live, but grammer in the US is going to hell in a hand basket and none but English professors seem to hear it - oh and me too! haha.

Drives me batty to hear "these ones, those ones" which I hear incessantly - also the complete dropping of -ly at the end of adverbs. ("She did that quick(ly)" as an example.

Now that I've complained and got that out of my system, keep on enjoying the summer. Our weather here is finally starting to resemble what it should be and my garden is taking off! It's all good!
hugs
suZen

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi SuZen .. thank you - I struggle with texting .. get my glasses out, get my head in gear .. and hit the letters .. at least I have an iphone now & can literally hit the letter, and not numerous key strokes for who knows what!

Everyone's grammar is terrible I hate to say it .. I really need some lessons ... and some research lessons - one day perhaps we'll get together!

Yes - I agree there are some strange phrases and words around - and we wonder how they come about .. we have a few irritating ones - 'cept I can't think of them now (fortunately!).

I hope summer's turned up .. we are in for a warm weekend, I gather. Not having a garden to worry about is a boon or a nuisance .. as I can't easily get out .. and potter.

Enjoy your garden .. and I must get over and read your 'brain - book' post. Cheers for now and big hugs - Hilary

EdenSol said...

Hi Hilary,

What a great post! I always find the history of language so fascinating! When I saw you on Patricia's top ten list, your topic caught my attention. :-) Thanks for sharing!
~Antonia/EdenSol

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Antonia .. how wonderful to see you from Patricia's blog .. and I'll be over to meet you shortly!

Many thanks - I too love finding things out .. so I always mix and match here .. and look forward to seeing you more often.

It's a pleasure to share - especially when it's appreciated! Thanks - have a good weekend .. Hilary

COUNT SNEAKY said...

So much fascinating information here...my little brain reels. Great posts. My best.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Count Sneaky - you did snook in to an earlier post .. but I can see your connection to it.

I enjoyed this .. and was just fascinated about all the developments as they occurred .. so am very pleased to read that you too were amused by the info ..

Good to see you and thanks for coming by .. cheers Hilary