Sociolinguistics and CMC

I agree, good idea. But the commercial itself is preety fast. I have to listen the add 3 times to be able to understand it. And even now I'm not shure if their message was not "sms' are expensive". A perfect illustration why cmc-lets work ONLY in written form.
 

Apparently some teens talk Netspeak among themselves, as a form of language play. There was an NPR Morning Edition segment on the phenomenon last year. But kids talking Netspeak to their parents seems pragmatically less likely. My take is that this ad reflects the perennial adult/non-Internet user anxiety that CMC is perverting (for lack of a better term) young people's language. The degenerative effects have advanced to the point that the kids no longer speak anything resembling English, but rather a veritable alien tongue...

- Susan Herring