I hate text abbreviations. I’ve always felt that using u instead of you, and 2 instead of to or too in a personal message is crass, and using those abbreviations in a business message is undignified. If I had to make any concessions to text abbreviations, I’ll give them this: they’re phonetically correct. 2, to, too, and two are all pronounced the same. U and you, and I’m even ok with & in place of and, and @ in place of at, since they’re full symbolic replacements. That said, only for personal messages.

Which brings me to the subject of this post. There’s been a rash of e-mails going around at work that end, and occasionally begin, with “thx”. Thx, as far as I knew, was a registered surround sound system, or a movie from the 1970s (the title of which was the inspiration for the name of the surround sound system). Apparently, it’s also a way for full-grown adults to say “thanks”. In pop culture, it’s used in the title of the Fall Out Boy song Thnks Fr Th Mmrs (“Thanks for the Memories” for the txt-challenged, or those who a familiar with the variant of English which uses vowels), and thx or thnx is the common abbreviation for teenagers to shoot back to their friends who just sold them pot (or Adderall, or whatever it is the kids do these days).

There’s two problems with thx, though. First, thanks rhymes with manx (ends with an x) because of the “a”. Thx, phonetically, rhymes with sticks, and would be pronounced thicks. Thnx is closer to thinks. It’s not even close to phonetically similar, which, to a semi-educated reader, makes you seem like you have some sort of disability. Second, boy boy tween abbreviations should never end up in the workplace in any form. Ever. If you do this, and you’re a twenty-something, consider this a warning. If you’re a Gen-Xer or older, remember this: txt speak is the new Pig Latin. Would you sign your messages anks-Thay? No? Well then knock it off with the Thx.

Thx,
- Joe