In my business communication over Internet text messengers, for example Google Talk or Skype, I see that many people often use shorten words like u instead of you, r instead of are and the like.
How appropriate is usage of such words in contemporary communication? Is it used in emails also? Should we avoid it as much as possible?
I think the first thing to say about this is that it’s always acceptable to avoid these abbreviations... even in the shortest, most intimate SMS or instant message, a fully-spelled-out you or are would never be seen as too formal.
That being said, if you are worried in the least that the person who you are corresponding with might think you are stupid, uneducated, or inappropriately informal, then using “u” or “r” in communication will give them an easy reason to believe that you are.
I would say I personally never use them, but that would be a lie. Sometimes in very hastily composed text messages on my phone I will take such a shortcut. But if I have a full (real) keyboard at my disposal and no 255-character limit, then there's no excuse for such sloppiness.
On the other hand, if your correspondent is using them there’s no reason other than personal pride why you shouldn’t use them back to facilitate the conversation.
Personally I would avoid shortcuts like "u" or "r" in any business emails (and in personal ones too actually). Depending on the recipient, they might make you seem more adolescent or even, um, less smart than you actually are.
At best, such shortcuts have no effect on how the recipient perceives you or the message. But considering that you do not really save time or anything else using them (when you are composing an email with a real keyboard, that is), is it worth taking the risk?
The question of whether a certain usage is appropriate depends entirely on what the audience expects. Look around you, and if most people are using it and don't seem to disapprove of such abbreviations, feel free to use them. Conversely, if typing out full words is not much trouble to you, feel free to avoid them — especially if you suspect that even one person is going to have a slightly negative reaction to them (which is likely).
I think they are perfectly acceptable in IM and text messages for informal conversations (e.g. between friends), and possibly more formal (text messenger) conversations as well, in certain contexts. I don't use them myself, because I can type fast enough and it would actually take me more time to pause and consider which abbreviations to use, but I accept that some others are used to these abbreviations, and after years of having a negative reaction to them, can successfully parse them at normal speed these days!
For emails sent to many recipients, or messages posted online where they will be read by many readers, it is always worth making your writing clear: your little time improving text is worth less than the little extra time many readers would take to stumble over unfamiliar usage. Avoiding such abbreviations is then part of such general etiquette.
Use of "R", "U", etc. is a form of shorthand, and would be most appropriate when time, message length, or ergonomics are constrained, for example with Twitter or a cell phone text message.
When there is no such constraint on the part of the person sending the message, however, it conveys a sense of laziness and casualness.
Well, I think you've pretty much answered your own question here. Such codes have long been the norm in text messaging (and, I think, to a lesser degree in IM). Although it's not so much the case now, I think this happened because until recently most people did not have full keyboards on their phones, which makes such shortcuts very tempting.
This isn't a new thing. There are plenty of rather opaque, mostly forgotten abbreviations from the era of the telegraph. Take a look at this fascinating list of telegraph codes.
If you scroll down to "page" 9 in that article, you'll find that it is recommended that beginning telegraph operators first learn the single letter codes. And what do you think "U" was used for? That's right, "you". "R" for "are" is also listed there.
Many people (myself included) think that using such codes in ordinary correspondence (that is, anything other than texting and IM) is pretty annoying. But certainly in TM and IM it's much more widely accepted.
Most people suggest avoiding shortcuts such as these and I fully agree. However, there are some shortcuts that may be more appropriate depending on the circumstances. People often abbreviate long words and phrases such as "By the way (BTW)", "without (w/o)", or other longer words. These words and phrases are much longer than "you" or "are" and thus it seems (to me, anyway) less lazy to use the shortcuts. If a coworker sent me the following in an email
BTW are you going to handle the new feature? We need a version w/o validation
I would be perfectly happy reading it, but if they wrote
BTW r u going 2 handle the new feature? We need a ver w/o val
It would look juvenile to me.
I suppose I'm a language purist on this one. I think it's never appropriate, not in IMs or SMSs and especially not in business communications.
For me, it evokes the image of someone who couldn't even spend the extra half a second to get a 3 letter letter word right, and makes me wonder about their level of... sophistication (I tried not to be too insulting here by saying 'intelligence', but frankly, I often leap to that assumption too). In a business context, where you're trying to make a good impression, this will definitely affect it.
That's not to say people do it with the intention of showing a careless disregard of proper spelling. Especially younger generations will have grown up with it on cell phones and IMs and instinctively use it as it comes naturally to them. Maybe this is just one of my own peculiarities, but consider that others may have the same kind of extreme reactions.
I understand that language evolves, but I just don't think it should evolve to the point of shortening words down to a single letter.
It depends on the relationship between the people writing and receiving the message, and the context of the communication. In the right context "U" and "R" are fine.
My suggestion is simple: avoid them as much as possible. Don't get the bad habit of shortening words, I've seen a lot of people ending up using K instead of C (one letter for one letter shortening) in Italian.
I feel that the only situation when such shortenings should be allowed are SMS and IM, but only with friends. By all means avoid them when contacting clients!
