How many of you write the way you speak?

I guess I'm old, I don't know what CAL stands for. I tend to write like I speak, but I don't sprinkle my words with chatspeak because I wouldn't do that in real life. I do occasionally just because some people with misread my tone and if I'm saying something jokingly, I want people to realize that.

Hi, eileenlevya. I also share the same experience as you. I also don`t understand these slangs. Well, for me the reverse is true i.e. I speak the the way I write (that seems hard but is really easy). Can you please tell me what this all LOL and CAL means so that i can update my dictionary.

It's according to where I'm posting whether I use "Geek Speak"or not.I try not to use these abrevations in any of my writings, but I do sometimes use the ones you have here. I guess we just assume everyone knows what they mean like BRB (be right back)or SYL (see ya' later) LMAO (laughing my a** off) ROFL (rolling on floor laughing) because they are so old. Even the smilies mean some of these Those abrevations are called "Geek Speak". You can get the newest dictionary of Geek Speak at your public library. There are thousands of them on the internet and more being used every day. Teenagers use them more often than anyone and most of them understand them much faster than us older "geeks". I hate seeing them on blogs and websites but some people get so used to them they use them everywhere.

It totally depends on why I am writing. If I am writing for publication(s) I write properly. If I am here on mylot, I tend to relax a bit and write a little more casual. In my journal I write just like I feel... bad words and all. so it really depends on the purpose.

I write the way I speak. And I would never say LOL in conversation! :) In fact, it absolutely drives me nuts to try to decipher text messages from my friends. I'm fairly young, 25, and all of my friends use abbreviations I do not understand. I usually think it's because my friends are not the smartest bunch..but actually that's being way too hard on them. They are just normal 25 year olds, and I am a stickler for grammar and punctuation. But I don't think there are many of my kind out there. At least not texting me!