Source #4: Today Show

12:54 AM Michael Cotter 1 Comments

This article addressed this history of the acronym and it's growth to popularity through time. Something very interesting from the article was from Deborah Tannen, author of several books on language, who said "Americans have always liked abbreviations[...] they certainly precede the internet." Another linguist, Robert Lane Greene (author of "You Are What You Speak"), continues to say how acronyms date back to ancient times - the Romans and Greeks used them. In the United States, they came into prominence in the early 20th century with the New Deal, the series of economic programs passed during the first term of Franklin D. Roosevelt - who, of course, became known by his three initials. They are widely used in the military and today's government bureaucracy.

http://www.today.com/id/41481667/ns/today-today_tech/t/omg-when-did-we-start-talking-txt-msgs/#.VUci7c7Cm70