No abstract

The link between students' spelling level and their text-messaging practice gives rise to numerous questions from teachers, parents and the media. A corpus of 4524 text messages produced in daily-life situations by students in sixth and seventh grade (n = 19, 11-12 years of age) was compiled. None of the participants had ever owned or used a mobile phone before the start of the study; their text messages were collected monthly over the course of a year. The comparison between the group with mobile phones and the control group without mobile phones (n = 30) showed no difference between the level of traditional writing at the beginning of the text-message collection and during the collection. The results showed that the correlation between the level of traditional spelling and the density of textisms was dependent upon the type of textisms (consistent/breaking with traditional code), the type of spelling (usagebased/rule-based), the grades in French class and the duration of text-messaging practice. On the whole, students who were skilled or less skilled in traditional writing at the beginning of the text-message collection remained respectively skilled or less skilled throughout the year, despite their text-messaging use (density and type of textisms). The discussion of this study's academic implications tends towards a complementarity between traditional writing and text messaging.

International audienceThe purpose of this research was to gain insights into SMS communication among French-speaking adolescents. We analyzed the effects of the writers' characteristics (age, gender, and SMS-messaging experience) on message length (number of characters and number of words), dialogue structure (with or without an opening and a closing), and message function (informative vs. relational). The SMS messages were produced in a realworld situation. We found differences across writers’ characteristics for all the dependant variables. The commonly reported distinctions between girls and boys were mitigated. Moreover, for dialogical structure, the messages differed from those found in traditional oral and written interactions since 73% of them did not have the conventional opening-messageclosing format (the opening and/or the closing was missing). The results are discussed in terms of the specific characteristics that define the SMS register, and potentially relevant approaches to be taken in future research are addressed

2011). SMS length and function: a comparative study of 13 to 18 year-old girls and boys. European Review of Applied Psychology, 61(4), 175-184. SMS length and function: a comparative study of 13-to 18-year-old girls and boys Longueur et fonction des SMS : étude comparative chez les filles et les garçons de 13 à 18 ans AbstractObjective -The use of SMS messaging has grown rapidly over the past decade. Up until now, most French-language studies have focused on one predominant SMS characteristic: spelling. The goal of this paper is to extend previous research topics so as to include new dependant variables such as message length and message functions.Method -A corpus of 1131 SMSes produced in a natural environment by teenage French speakers was analysed. This group was made up of teenage girls and boys between the ages of 13 and 18 who reported frequent usage of SMS messaging over an extended period of time. Did these SMS exchanges confirm stereotypes regarding gender differences? That is, did girls produce longer messages than boys? Did girls send more messages with a relational function than with an informational function, while boys did just the opposite?Results -The results led to a mitigation of these stereotypes. Girls did produce longer messages than boys. However, this only occurred when the girls were 15-16 years of age and had a longstanding and frequent practice of SMS usage. Regarding functions, girls' messages more often had a relational function than an informational one, but again, only in girls who were 15-16 years of age and had been SMSing frequently for a long period of time. In boys, it took until 17-18 years of age for the same result to appear. More than a gender difference, these results emphasized a discrepancy in the developmental curves of girls and boys, girls being more precocious than boys. SMS length and function in teenagers3 Résumé L'utilisation du SMS s'est développée très rapidement au cours de la dernière décennie. Les études déjà réalisées en langue française mettent l'accent sur l'une des caractéristiques prédominantes des SMS : l'orthographe. L'objectif de cet article est d'approfondir les questions de recherche avec d'autres variables dépendantes comme la longueur et la fonction des messages. On analyse un corpus de 1131 SMS produits en situation naturelle par des adolescents francophones de 13 à 18 ans (filles et garçons) ayant une pratique plus ou moins ancienne et fréquente de l'usage des SMS. Les stéréotypes concernant les différences filles/garçons se vérifient-ils lors de la communication par SMS ? Les filles produisent-elles une quantité de paroles plus importante que les garçons ? Envoient-elles plus de messages à fonction relationnelle qu'à fonction informationnelle alors que les garçons feraient l'inverse ? Les résultats conduisent à atténuer ces stéréotypes. Les filles produisent des messages plus longs que les garçons mais uniquement à 15-16 ans et lorsqu'elles ont une pratique ancienne et fréquente des SMS. Pour la fonction des messages, ceux des filles ont plus so...