A new trend has been popping up all over the world--on mobile phones! SMS messages are becoming as common as telephone calls because they're fast, cheap and fun. Here are some tips on using SMS, or Short Message Service, to get your message across in English.

一種新趨勢正在全世界流行——那就是使用手機!而手機短信迅捷、便宜又有趣，它正變得像打電話一樣普遍。這里有一些書寫SMS的方法，它可以幫你用英文來發送短信。

Text me! 短我!

English has a very difficult spelling system, and it can take a long time to spell out one word. So, many people now shorten words to speed up the process. This saves time, but it can also confuse people if they are not familiar with the current trends. Also, mastering the language of text messages first requires mastering English.

用英文寫短信的困難在于拼寫，拼一個單詞就可能花費你很長的一段時間。因此，現在許多人都通過縮短單詞來加快拼寫的速度。這樣做節省了時間，但是如果不熟悉這些常用的縮寫規則，你就會感到很困惑。另外，書寫簡練短信的第一步就是掌握英文。

SMS slang can be broken up into two basic categories: acronyms and contractions.

短信可分為兩個基本部分：首字母縮寫和縮略。

Acronyms 首字母縮寫

Acronyms are words formed from the first letter of several words (such as UN for United Nations). In text messaging, acronyms are used for common phrases. Additionally, single letters may replace words that they sound like. Check out these examples:

首字母縮寫是由每個單詞的第一個字母組合而成的，比如UN就是指United Nations。短信里，首字母縮寫常常被用在習慣用語中。另外，發聲相似的詞會被字母取代。請看一些例子：

OIC- Oh I see.

BRB - Be right back

BFN - Bye for now

LOL - Laughing out loud

ASAP - As soon as possible

BTW - By the way

FYI - For your information

JK - Just kidding

TTYL - Talk to you later

Contractions 縮略

SMS contractions aren't the same as regular ones like "don't" or "they're", but the purpose is the same: to remove unnecessary parts of words while keeping the meaning clear. Vowels are often eliminated, but you can still make out the general sound of the word. The number 8 sometimes represents the sound of eight, so later becomes l8r. The number 4 is also common as a replacement for the for sound as is 2 for to. Take a look at these SMS contractions:

短信的縮略詞不是指一些約定俗成的"don't" 或 "they're"之類的縮略，但兩者的目的是一樣的：即當意思很清楚的時候可將一些不需要的詞省略。元音常常會被省略，但是你仍然可以保留這個詞的大概發言。數字8有時候會發eight，所以later就寫成l8r。數字4通常也被取代成for，就像2這個音就替代了to。請看一些短信縮略詞的例子：

Plz - Please

Thx - Thanks

Cya - See you

L8r - Later

K - OK

U - You

R - Are

B4 - Before

2morro - Tomorrow

As you can see, writing this way can be complicated, and you should have a good grasp of English before trying to shorten your messages. Using too many abbreviations will make your SMS confusing to the reader or look unprofessional with your business contacts.

你可以看出來，用縮寫的方式寫短信會比較復雜，當你試著想縮短你的短信時，你應該先瀏覽一遍英文。太多的縮寫會給閱讀者帶來困惑，或者讓你的商業交往顯得不那么專業。

Can you keep a secret? 你可以替我保守秘密嗎?

SMS is definitely convenient, but it should be used for casual conversations while keeping your audience in mind. You shouldn't be sending text messages to your boss! Additionally, remember that messages sent can easily be saved and retrieved, or even sent to the wrong person, so you may find yourself in an embarrassing situation if you are not cautious! The next time you want to send a very personal message think carefully before you press the "Send" button or you might end up sending your boss a message meant for your sweetheart!

發短信絕對很方便，但它應該限于比較隨意的場合，且要讓閱讀者能看明白。你不要給你的老板發短信!另外，你要知道，短信很容易被保存并發給其他人，甚至是發給不該發的人。如果你不小心的話，就有可能將自己陷入非常尷尬的境地!所以下次在按下“發送”鍵發出非常隱私的短信的時候，一定要小心再小心，不然你可能會把發給情人的短信傳給老板喔!