They're concoctions of letters that younger generations know all too well, thanks to instant messages and cell phone texting: "ur," "b4," "cya," "2night."
While each abbreviated word may save electronic communicators a few precious milliseconds, most Jumbos reserve "IM-speak" for the most informal of interactions, if they use them at all.
According to a Feb. 10 CNN article posted, however, not everyone understands the limits of popular shorthand. To their teachers' dismay, more and more middle school and high school students are using IM-speak in their essays, homework and writing assignments.
Fortunately for college professors, the prevalence of the use of casual lingo in school assignments dies down by the time students hit college, the article said.
English Lecturer Randall Stiffler described the phenomenon as non-existent at Tufts.
"In formal essays, never," he said, referring to the use of IM-speak. "In fact in conversations, students sort of make fun of it."
But while IM-speak has not directly found its way into essays at Tufts, Stiffler said the relaxed nature of e-mail has influenced students' writing style in general.
Stiffler said he has observed "less consciousness of complete sentence structure," including an increase in the use of dashes and commas.
According to some students, using IM-speak is embarrassing even in casual electronic conversations. They say that Jumbos avoid it - most of the time.
Freshman Leo Franchi is one Jumbo who has kicked the habit.
"I think it makes it harder to read, and it makes you sound childish," he said. "You probably save a quarter of a second typing 'u' as opposed to 'you.'"
Franchi, who admitted to using IM-speak in his early teenage years, said that abbreviated speech is something he's outgrown.
"That's kind of a stage you need to move through," he said. "Once you realize that you sound like an idiot, you need to move on."
Sophomore Morgan Robinson agreed. When asked whether "u" or "b4" ever entered her instant messaging vocabulary, she was adamant in her response.
"Not those, those are gross," she said. "They're a mutilation of the English language."
"I limit it to 'ttyl' [talk to you later] and 'lol' [laugh out loud]," she added.
According to Robinson, the appropriateness of abbreviated speech depends on the amount of time a given abbreviation saves the typist.
"'Talk to you later' would take me ten minutes to type," she said. "'Before' takes a second."
Sophomore Kenny Fifer, who abides by the same instant messaging guidelines as Robinson, said that IM-speak can get in the way of the typist's ability to communicate effectively.
"There's a point when I don't even know what they're abbreviating," he said. "If it's used sparingly, that's okay, but if it's every other word, than I'm like, 'come on, this is ridiculous.'"
While many Jumbos have sworn off IM-speak or at least some portion of it, others continue using it. Sophomore Saumini Shah is one example.
"Unless I stop IMing, I'm not going to stop using the lingo," she said. "I feel really stupid, but it's just become a habit."
"If I consciously get myself to stop doing it, I will," she continued. "I think it's just a matter of time and a matter of not being lazy."
According to Stiffler, Shah's addiction to IM-speak may not be a bad thing, as long as she knows when it's appropriate.
"People have been using shorthand for generations," he said. "The situation you're in ought to dictate the language you use."
Still, some Jumbos are noticing a general decline in IM-speak.
"I think it's definitely used a lot less among college students than people in middle and high school," Fifer said. "Now I don't really see it so much anymore."
Shah agreed. "Most people still do a little shorthand here and there, but a lot of people try not to use it."
For Franchi, the way a person communicates online is worth analyzing and, he said, might indicate something about that person's personality.
"If I don't know a person, IM-talk would slightly lower my impression of them," he said. "The choice that they make by speaking that way reflects on them in some way."
Fifer said he won't pass judgments if the abbreviations are used in moderation.
"It doesn't really make me think anything different about the person," he said. "If it's too much, it just seems a little babyish."
Regardless of their own tendencies, many Jumbos seemed to agree that IM-speak should not have a place in school or the workplace.
While Shah admitted to using abbreviations in casual instant message conversations with friends, she said she is careful to monitor herself in professional situations.
"When you go for job interviews and stuff like that, you need to pull it together," she said.
According to Franchi, the fact that instant messaging is so commonplace makes the promotion of proper writing in schools even more important.
"I can see why it's happening in a high-tech world," he said, referring to the prevalence of IM-speak in essays and writing assignments. "But that's all the more reason to make sure that kids know how to speak English."
Robinson was troubled by the idea of IM-speak gaining entry into the classroom.
"It's disheartening that kids feel that that's acceptable in all venues and that you can talk to your best friend in the same way that you talk to your teacher," she said.
