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The Comprehensive Guide to Texting in Ukrainian: Excelling in Informal Communication and Abbreviations visualisation

The Comprehensive Guide to Texting in Ukrainian: Excelling in Informal Communication and Abbreviations

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Texting in Ukrainian, especially in informal communication, often involves the use of abbreviations, slang, and adapted IT or internet terminology. This informal style is characterized by time-saving language shortcuts and social identification markers.

Informal Communication Features in Ukrainian Texting

  • Informal Ukrainian texting includes greetings, farewells, and common phrases shortened to acronyms or truncated words to speed up communication.
  • IT and internet terms are frequently borrowed from English and adapted into Ukrainian with phonetic transcription or hybrid forms (e.g., “лайк” for “like,” “зашерити” for “to share”).
  • This language style reflects the social identity of the user and is often playful or stylistically marked.
  • Examples include abbreviations such as “спс” (thanks), “круто” (cool), or shortened expressions used in chats and social media.

Common Abbreviations and Slang

  • “прив” or “привіт” shortened to “прив” (hi/hello)
  • “дякую” shortened to “дя” or “дякую” simply abbreviated as “дяку”
  • “спасибі” shortened to “спс” or “спсб”
  • “поки” (bye) often shortened as “пок”
  • Numbers and Latin letters occasionally replace Ukrainian sounds in a rebus style, similar to texting trends in other languages.

Influence of IT Terminology

  • Ukrainian texting incorporates many English-derived IT words, often adapted by transcription (лайк, чат, логін) or creating hybrid verbs with Ukrainian suffixes (зашерити, апгрейднути).
  • These IT terms serve functions like saving typing time and expressing belonging to modern internet culture.

Sociolinguistic Context

  • Informal electronic communication reflects age and social group characteristics, with younger users typically employing more abbreviations and hybrid forms.
  • This style is prevalent on platforms like Viber, Telegram, Instagram, and Facebook, emphasizing quick, casual exchanges.

In summary, informal texting in Ukrainian combines phonetic abbreviations, slang, and adapted internet vocabulary to create an efficient and socially expressive mode of communication in digital and mobile contexts.

References

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