SMS writing evolves over time and across generations. With the help of Rémi Soulé, professor and doctoral student in sociolinguistics at Sorbonne University, also founder of the association Neolects, 20 minutes established your profile just by analyzing the way you write your messages.
The Team that shortens all*
In the team that cuts everything short, we often find less expressive people who don’t have time, who are in a hurry. Don’t get frustrated if their messages seem cold and directive. They simply want to get to the point. The most important thing will be said orally.
According to our linguistics expert, if you still write: “See you, I’m coming. bsx”, you are either a senior or a “boomer” stuck in the era of the 2000s. You grew up with BlackBerrys or even older, the famous 3310 which forced you to press the same key 3 times to have the letter C, and you kept the habit of it. Otherwise, you have not yet tested the unlimited SMS plan. But we doubt that.
The super expressive team 😂
In the hyper expressive team, we put emojis everywhere. These are people who want to get closer to “spoken language” to express, as best as possible, their emotions through writing. Mastering the art of emojis serves to add “more force” to your written speech, deciphers Rémi Soulé.
You’re part of this team if you know that a crying emoji isn’t really crying. Well, yes… but he cries with laughter. Best of all, you don’t need to be told that a skull emoji has nothing to do with death. Attention, expert level! You commonly read this: “xsjdadzsdb”, that is to say “keysmash”, the new language to show your astonishment in writing by typing anything on your keyboard. In short, the new “MDR”.
In this team, we will come across a few millennials, but especially Gen Z, because these are the “codes voluntarily used by the new generation to avoid being understood”, explains Rémi Soulé before continuing: “It’s the fashion of be very expressive. Before it was verlan, today it’s emojis. »
The team that punctuates everything, every time.
Don’t feel attacked if you receive points at the end of each sentence. Or those three famous exclamation points at the end of a word, like: “You’re welcome!!! » The punctuation team doesn’t yell at you. And to tell the truth, we’re all part of this team… “Who has never had trouble putting a period at the end of a professional email for fear of appearing ‘mean’? », questions the linguistics professor.
For professional reasons, or when speaking to strangers, we are all forced to use commas and periods, that’s the rule. Another hypothesis from our expert, boomers and seniors, who have long been used to writing letters. In memory of the golden era of stamps.
Its members are serious and attached to spelling, but they also have their more “relaxed” side. They are among those who can sometimes place a few “GIFs” in discussions at work (even if it is old-fashioned and sometimes embarrassing). Sometimes even emoticons like this: “<3”, “;)”, because it’s more “corporate”.