Telegraphese

Telegraphese

Telegraphese is a linguistic term for an elliptical style of writing, such as that used to write newspaper headlines or article titles. Related but distinct, is the historical practice of using abbreviations and code words to compress the meaning of phrases into a small set of characters for ease of transmission over a telegraph, a device for transmitting electrical impulses used for communications, introduced from 1839 onwards. A related term, "cablese", described the style of press messages sent uncoded, but highly condensed, in a Hemingway-style of writing, over submarine cables.

Telegraphic coded expressions

Though the history of telegraphy, very many dictionaries of telegraphese, codes or ciphers were developed, each serving to minimise the number of characters which needed to be transmitted in order to impart a message; the drivers for this economy were, for telegraph operators, the resource cost and limited bandwidth of the system; and for the consumer, the cost of sending messages.

Examples of telegraphic coded expressions, taken from "The Adams Cable Codex, Tenth Edition, 1896" are:

*Emolument - Think you had better not wait
*Emotion - Think you had better wait until -
*Emotional - Think you had better wait and sail -
*Empaled - Think well of party mentioned
*Empanel - This is a matter of great importance.

and from The A.B.C. Universal Commercial Electric Telegraphic Code
*Nalezing - Do only what is absolutely necessary
*Nalime - Will only do what is absolutely necessary
*Nallary - It is not absolutely necessary, but it would be an advantage
*Naloopen - It is not absolutely necessary, but well worth the outlay

External links

* [http://www.jmcvey.net/cable/ Telegraphic codes and message practice, 1870-1945]


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • telegraphese — elegraphese n. 1. language characterized by terseness and ellipsis as in telegrams. [WordNet 1.5] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • telegraphese — ► NOUN informal ▪ the terse, abbreviated style of language used in telegrams …   English terms dictionary

  • telegraphese — noun Date: 1885 language characterized by the terseness and ellipses that are common in telegrams …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • telegraphese — /tel i gra feez , fees , tel i gra feez , fees /, n. a style of writing or speaking distinguished by the omissions, abbreviations, and combinations that are characteristic of telegrams, as in EXPECT ARRIVE SIX EVENING. [1880 85; TELEGRAPH + ESE]… …   Universalium

  • telegraphese — tel·e·graph·ese || ‚telɪgrÉ™ fɪːz n. method of telegraphic speaking or writing (characterized by much abbreviation and omission of words) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • telegraphese — noun informal the terse, abbreviated style of language used in telegrams …   English new terms dictionary

  • telegraphese — noun (U) the style of language used in telegrams in which you only include the really necessary words …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • telegraphese — tel·e·graph·ese …   English syllables

  • telegraphese — /tɛləgrəˈfiz/ (say teluhgruh feez) noun a manner of writing or speaking characterised by the concise and elliptical style in which telegrams are worded …  

  • telegraphese — n. colloq. or joc. an abbreviated style usual in telegrams …   Useful english dictionary

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