I'm certain there's a word for it

[tay]

Hi
I had a question I was wondering if someone could answer for me.

There's a word for this but I don't know what it is. It's when you put letters together and, when pronounced, have the same results as an actual word. For example:
xtc = ecstasy
xs = excess

Some call this acrostics but I don't think that's correct. Acrostics is when you have letters at the beginning of a group of words or sentences that spell out something that pertains to those words or sentences. Like this:
North
East
West
South ("NEWS")

So, does anyone know what that word is?
(note, this is not a riddle, I genuinely would like to know!)

Thanks!

[Mister Micawber]

Wrong answers deleted.

[tay]

huh?
What answers?

[Marylin]

Originally Posted by tay

huh?
What answers?

I am not quite sure if "logogram" fits in here. I know that a word like "4Sale" is a logogram and it uses numerical figures to abbreviate the spelling of "four" . But I don't think it applies to other words (like yours)....still thinking

[tay]

yes, I was thinking the same thing at first. It's rather odd how this situation is used rather frequently yet we're so stuck on it!

I came across a few potential solutions but wound up at a dead end:
Grammalogue is a shorthand that refers to something, like the copyright sign or the ampersand (&) which refers to the word "and."

Logogram is a sign or character that represents a word or idea. Like the red octagon represents the Stop sign in traffic control.

A Phonogram has 3 meanings: either it's a graphic curve that depicts the duration of a sound (like the 440 sine wave of the note A on a keyboard [below middle C]) OR it's a written character or symbol that represents a spoken sound (like with hieroglyphics), OR it could be a telegram that the sender dictates over the phone--something that we quit doing in the 60's!

Nothing yet...still looking. grr...

[Marylin]

I think I might have the answer to your question and I think we looked too hard thinking it must be some fancy word ...
If I am right, it's simply called texting or text-speak.

I found that at the Wikipedia:

http://one-letter-english-word.wikiverse.org/

Just type in "texting" into any search engine and you will find a lot of info. It goes into how it has become a new way of life, how written language has gotten closer to speech and what a headache it is for teachers to try to decipher some new abbreviations that crop up all over the place.

The word "texting" apparently comes from the idea of text messaging that we use on our cell phones and on the instant message boards (like MSN).

[tay]

This concept has been going on far longer than since the introduction of pagers, cell phone text, instant messengers, etc.
This is probably one of those "fancy" words that somehow got lost when we were exposed to the pop-culture technology jargon.

I'll keep looking!

Thanks