You've probably grown accustomed to texting in the glow of a mobile phone screen. Well, there's some good and bad news coming for those of you who spend hours speedily tapping messages to one another.  The good news is that the hours you spend face-to-phone are paying off. You may have become fluent in a second language.  The bad news, however, is that this language is texting. Worse still, there isn't yet a texting section in your school exams, so you'll need to work harder to recover the grammar skills you might be killing with every LOL and BRB (Be right back).  A new study confirms what many parents suspect. The more kids send and receive texts, the poorer their grammar skills become.  With "the culture of mobile communication--quick back and forth  , there are compromises on traditional, cultural writing", said S. Shyam Sundar, professor of Pennsylvania State University, which conducted the study.  "Techspeak", as Sundar and his research partner Drew P. Cingel call it, has become so prevalent   among young users that it's changing their foundation of basic grammar.  "Routine use of textual   adaptations by current and future generations of 13-to-17-year-olds may serve to create the impression that this is normal and accepted use of the language, "they said in their published findings.  It seems teenagers are unable to "code  switch-shift" between standard grammar and the abbreviations   used in text messages, Sundar said. These abbreviations have become the real words for them now.  However, linguists   aren't particularly disturbed by the trend, Sundar added. "The linguists will tell you the language is very dynamic. " Still, students have exams to worry about. Here's a sample  of the questions, so you can test yourself to see how texting has affected your grammar:  *During the flood, we (dranked, drank, drunk, drunked) bottled water.  *Fortunately, Jim's name was (accepted, excepted) from the list of those who would have to clean bathrooms because he was supposed to go downtown to (accept, except) a reward for the German Club.  *The dress is so large that it is (lose, loose) on me when I wear it! What is the main point of the article?
To report the popularity of texting among teens. To introduce the effects of texting on grammar. To inform us that texting is likely to become a second language for teens. To analyze how texting influences the culture of mobile communication.