OMG! Pidgins are the Urban Birds of New Zealand

So when is text messaging format not acceptable? Clarie Trevett of the New Zealand Herald, writes that students have received fair warining not to use cellphone texting shorthand the NCEA upcoming exams. Apparently, a rumor circulated recently to the effect that the New Zealand Qualifications Authority would allow text messaging pidgin to replace standard English on examinations, particularly for questions involving short answers. The authority pointed out that marking guidelines already allow markers to tolerate the occasional abbreviation , spelling error, or grammar mistake if "they had otherwise shown a clear understanding of the question." More rigid enforcement would occur in subjects such as English, the authority .

Official standards of literacy are just that. They are official because they guarantee a certain degree of comprehensibility among the educatated, allow for uniform standards of measurement, and contribute to the existence of the state and the corporation. Expect to see the debate rage, however, as more people of school age bring with them an entire dialect. In the meantime, consider a "pigeon" to be the correct version for a certain type of urban bird- unless you are writing a biology exam in New Zealand, and you know the average species wingspan.