DOI: 10.31703/glr.2021(VI-II).13 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.31703/glr.2021(VI-II).13 p-ISSN: 2663-3299 e-ISSN: 2663-3841 L-ISSN: 2663-3299 Vol. VI, No. II (Spring 2021) Pages: 110-117 Citation: Nawaz, S., Ahmed, R., & Mushtaq, A. (2021). Effects of Short Messaging Services’ Language on the Academic Writing Skills of Graduate Learners at University Level. Global Language Review, VI(II), 110-117. https://doi.org/10.31703/glr.2021(VI-II).13 Effects of Short Messaging Services’ Language on the Academic Writing Skills of Graduate Learners at University Level Shahid Nawaz * Rasheed Ahmed † Amna Mushtaq ‡ Abstract Short messaging service (SMS) language, textspeak or text language is used with internet-based communication such as text messaging or e-mail and instant messaging. The current study aims at determining the reasons for short messaging service (SMS) language usage and its effects on the academic writing of the learners. Eighty (40 male and 40 female) learners and ten teachers were purposive a selected as participants of the study. The data were amassed from two public sector universities of the Punjab, Pakistan. Two questionnaires, one for teachers and the other for learners, were administered as research tools for the data collection. The collected data were analyzed through SPSS. The majority of the teachers viewed that the SMS language usage had an undesirable effect on the pedagogic inscriptions of the university learners. Learners opined that the SMS language was an easy and fast mode of writing through they committed errors of punctuation, spelling, and syntax. Key Words: Academic Writing, SMS (Texting), Textspeak, Standard English, Writing Skills Introduction The rise in text messaging among learners has raised the concerns of language teachers that this notion is very detrimental to the academic writing of the learners (Crystal, 2009). Ling (2010) terms SMS language as a life phase and not a cohort phenomenon. Mphahlele and Mashamaite (2005), SMS language stands for the economy of money and time. Baron (2010) claims that learners' writing is influenced by SMS messaging and SMS writing skills and communication. Crystal (2011) suggests that language learners know the power of Short Message Services (SMS) language and its potential to develop creative work. Brown et al. (2018) argue that the internet has changed the style of people. This style is more prevalent in the form of human interaction on * Assistant Professor, Department of English Linguistics, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan. Email: shahidnawaz@iub.edu.pk † Visiting Lecturer, Department of English Literature, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan. ‡ PhD Scholar, Department of English Linguistics, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan. the internet. Cormack et al. (2007) view the change as both the positive and negative pedagogic manifestations. Standard English is regularly referred to as a standard dialect. Standard English is a variation of the English language (especially print) that is usually used as part of a composition; is associated with instructive frameworks of English-speaking peoples around the world (Chen et al., 2015; Lyddy et al., 2014; Thurlow & Brown, 2003). Shockingly coded dialect expressions (instant messages) are not really understandable for a penny (Starovoit, 2012; Thurlow & Brown, 2003). A guiding framework that is representative of standard language is direly needed. For example, to