lobell:
Ok, I finally snapped today after seeing one more comment starting with 'between'. If I don't address this issue now I might strangle myself next time I see one.
The commentators have seen, I presume, a comment starting with 'btw' and assumed rather erroneously that it was a short form for the word 'between' and have gone ahead to use it in its long form never minding to query if the comment they saw made complete sense if 'btw' was replaced with 'between'. Plus nothing stops one from asking if one doesn't know. The Hausas have a proverb that says "matambayi baya bata - meaning, he who asks never gets lost".

Please my fellow Nairalanders if you don't understand something, anything, just ask. It doesn't make you unintelligent but rather makes you smarter for next time instead of assuming and looking like an *** or worst still leading other learners astray!
my two kobos worth!

PS: If you are reading this and have ever used 'between' in place of 'btw' please go and fix it. NOW!

borntobegr8t:
Very well noted...but can u also tell us the meaning of "over sabi" cos I want to know the meaning # English teacher #

lobell:
Ok, I finally snapped today after seeing one more comment starting with 'between'. If I don't address this issue now I might strangle myself next time I see one.
The commentators have seen, I presume, a comment starting with 'btw' and assumed rather erroneously that it was a short form for the word 'between' and have gone ahead to use it in its long form never minding to query if the comment they saw made complete sense if 'btw' was replaced with 'between'. Plus nothing stops one from asking if one doesn't know. The Hausas have a proverb that says "matambayi baya bata - meaning, he who asks never gets lost".

Please my fellow Nairalanders if you don't understand something, anything, just ask. It doesn't make you unintelligent but rather makes you smarter for next time instead of assuming and looking like an *** or worst still leading other learners astray!
my two kobos worth!

PS: If you are reading this and have ever used 'between' in place of 'btw' please go and fix it. NOW!

ShitHead:
This is a ground breaking discovery!


Nigerian youths are not lazy!

borntobegr8t:
Very well noted...but can u also tell us the meaning of "over sabi" cos I want to know the meaning # English teacher #

lobell:

Hausa people?! dude can you stop being ethnicist and smell the fresh coffee. Let's stop doing this to ourselves and address issues with a better sense of judgement and understanding. c'mon!

itsmeurLady:
OP you are the one at fault here

BTW- By The Way (Chat Slangs and they are always in Cap. Letters)
btw- between (Abbreviation)

So don't accuse people for misunderstanding you... There is a difference between small letters in construction of sentences and capital letters. You don't start sentences with btw and expect them not to think it's between *rolls eyes
Don't quote me please, just my observation

femi4:
Nonsense, In a chat world, anything can mean anything. If its not an English world, its not universally accepted to have just one meaning

Ok, I finally snapped today after seeing one more comment starting with 'between'. If I don't address this issue now I might strangle myself next time I see one. 
The commentators have seen, I presume, a comment starting with 'btw' and assumed rather erroneously that it was a short form for the word 'between' and have gone ahead to use it in its long form never minding to query if the comment they saw made complete sense if 'btw' was replaced with 'between'.

10mobile:

Learn not to respond to goats bleating. BTW, just to add to your effort, we used 'btw' for 'between' for jotting @ lectures long before we knew about www. BTW (capitalized) is 4 'By The Way' while 'btw' is 4 'between'.

Kennydoc:




The crux of the OP's discussion is what I highlighted in bold. He never said 'btw' cannot imply 'between'. He's only addressing the circumstances of use.

For example,
"Btw, hope you remember tomorrow is my bday" means "by the way, hope you remember..." and not "between, hope you remember..."

But, in a statement like "btw Abuja and Lagos cities, I prefer Abuja" , "btw" means "between" not "by the way".

I think the key thing is to speak the statement to yourself and ask if it makes sense before making it public.

NoToPile:
Loool, I actually saw someone writing between in full where he was supposed to write BTW(by the way)

The abbreviation is not really my own issue its the usage.

You see statements like

Between bla bla bla

Instead of

By the way bla bla bla

The problem is using between where its supposed to be by the way.

lobell:

You can call it whatever you want and make snide comments but the truth is that these things have a way of creeping into and replacing the correct use of English. I'd rather do over sabi and save someone an epic embarrassment.

Biglittlelois:
I disagree with Op, BTW has always mean BETWEEN right from the onset, even abbreviation on phones is like that, i was actually surprised when people started calling it By The Way recently.

lobell:

I can tell that you are not part of the indomie generation.

lobell:


The oafs actually go as far as writing it in full! For example, "In between, tomorrow is my birthday etc etc". What the hell does this even mean?

Biglittlelois:
I disagree with Op, BTW has always mean BETWEEN right from the onset, even abbreviation on phones is like that, i was actually surprised when people started calling it By The Way recently.

Monaco2:
After 5 years e finally reach front page