Text messaging haters, avert your eyes: another study shows that text speak isn't hurting kids' ability to spell. A recent study out of the University of Alberta says that kids who are well-versed in proper spelling are not only unaffected by the atrocities introduced by shortened words and text slang, they actually use complex structures when chatting with each other in addition to new words.

The study, published in Reading and Writing, involved third-year psychology students led by Professor Connie Varnhagen to examine minors' text usage habits. The group surveyed 40 students between the ages of 12 and 17, asking them to save their instant messages for a week and then complete a standardized spelling test at the end of the survey. What they found was not what everyone has come to expect—that kids who engage heavily in abbreviated chat would perform poorly on spelling tests—but that kids' text speak generally mirrored their real-life skills.

"Kids who are good spellers [academically] are good spellers in instant messaging," Varnhagen said. "And kids who are poor spellers in English class are poor spellers in instant messaging."

This was the general result across the entire sample, though there were apparently some differences that came down over gender lines. The report notes that girls tended to use text speak more than boys, "who preferred to express themselves through repeated use of punctuation." (!?!?!?!?!) Additionally, boys who frequently used text speak and abbreviations were less likely to be good spellers, while the opposite was true of girls—girls who used more abbreviations tended to be better spellers than girls who did not. This could be an indication that girls who use abbreviations have a better understanding of the language and how it relates to "normal" spelling.

The researchers also noted that the kids were using an unexpected number of new words when chatting with each other. "We would have to decipher the meaning of the language with online dictionaries or by asking younger siblings," one of the student researchers, Nicole Pugh, said. Varnhagen added that using this "new type of language" and translating it to standard English requires more concentration and attention than simply sticking to English, akin to "a little brain workout."

These findings are actually unsurprising, given the number of other recent studies that seem to draw the same conclusion. One report published in the March 2009 issue of the British Journal of Developmental Psychology said that children who use "textisms" on mobile phones tend to have a better grasp of word reading, vocabulary, and phonological awareness. Additionally, the University of Toronto released a study in 2006 saying that expertise in "IM speak," which is comparatively similar to that of text messaging, does not affect students' writing in any meaningful way.

Of course, there will always be detractors (likely parents and teachers whose brains are exploding trying to decipher the abbreviations). For example, Ireland's State Examination Commission claimed in 2007 that text messaging was indeed hurting kids' language skills. It should be noted, however, that an extensive study was not carried out in this case; the examiner's complaints were based largely on observation and the rise in text messaging's popularity. Given the number of reports that seem to contradict this claim, however, you can color us skeptical.