By Karole Honas, Local News 8 Anchor

Are you familiar with cell phone texting? The goal is to send an electronic message in as few letters as possible. Vowels are usually dropped and acronyms are used for common phrases. For example type gf for girlfriend or ppl for people.

Usually text messaging with acronyms is reserved for the younger people, but we noticed at Local News 8 many acronyms are creeping into emails we receive from viewers. Sometimes, we don't understand them and they just get deleted.

So it led us to wonder, is texting hurting proper grammar?

According to the New York Times, American teenagers sent and received an average of 2,272 text messages per month. That's about 80 messages a day.

Karole Honas: "Do you text?

Deanna Wilson, English Major at Idaho State University: "A lot."

Jake Sorensen, Freshman at ISU: "Oh yes, all the time. It's easier than calling someone if you're just leaving a note."

Shawn Rowe, an avid texter: "It's easier I guess. I don't have time for a phone call."

And while the messages are getting shorter, professors at ISU reassure the English language is not dead.

"I don't worry English is going to be ruined," said Carlen Donovan, ISU Lecturer.

Donovan and Nancy Wall both teach at ISU, and both believe texting is not hurting the English language. However, they do see another problem. They wonder if texting is diminishing a student's attention span.

"I don't blame their writing on those new technologies," said Wall. "I think it's their lack of reading. We need to get them back to books and away from video and computers and cartoons."

Donovan said the mistakes she sees in class are no different then when she started teaching 14 years ago.

"It's a durable, old girl and I think English is doing fine," said Donovan.

But she says students can hurt themselves by not stretching themselves in their writing.

Both professors say their biggest concern about texting is students become uninterested in reading a longer piece of literature. Meanwhile, some students aren't one bit worried about their inability to do so.