Word books traditionally focus on unusual and quirky items. They tend to ignore the words that provide the skeleton of the language, without which it would fall apart, such as 'and' and 'what,' or words that provide structure to our conversation, such as 'hello.

In effect we are, bending and breaking the rules of the language. And if someone were to ask why we do it, the answer is simply: for fun

Sending a message on a mobile phone is not the most natural of ways to communicate. The keypad isn't linguistically sensible.

Swearing makes an excellent relief mechanism

Anyone interested in language ends up writing about the sociological issues around it.

Texting has added a new dimension to language use, but its long-term impact is negligible. It is not a disaster.

Language has no independent existence apart from the people who use it. It is not an end in itself; it is a means to an end of understanding who you are and what society is like.