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Casual Spelling

So I have a friend who is constantly posting very cynical things to Facebook.  I've decided that of all the crazies, his stuff is usually the most outlandish, so I haven't deleted him from my feed.

When I saw this picture he posted, (weeks after the incident!) my eyes teared up slightly.  






His comment:
"Incredible that a school sign uses spellings like 'luv' and 'u'--kids will never know the true spellings of these words if this is the constant."

He is of the Baby Boomer generation and I am closer to the Gen Y/Millennials.  What he doesn't get is the subtlety, and the reason the picture touched me.  I am trained in Linguistics, and he greatly underestimates the younger generations.  The very words he is complaining about are examples of casual spelling, which suggest a more personal connection to the children than the words spelled out fully. Children have been exposed to plenty examples of both kinds and it is a matter of fine tuning their "registers" according to the formality of the situation & relationship.

They will learn soon enough that the sincere use of phrase is rare enough in either spelling. 

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