Quote Originally Posted by pomtzu View Post
Yes - I'm appalled!

I have a couple of things, that from the way I pronounce them, people know that I'm not a native of this area. Like instead of "lobster", I say "lobsta". I don't say it often tho, since that's something not in my budget!! My brother that passed away, never lost his RI accent even after living in FL for 30+ years. Talking to him on the phone, you would think you were talking to Ted Kennedy.

I do take shortcuts in informal writing (such as on PT), like thru or tho, but would never spell them that way in a business document. I still don't say y'all, tho I do say "gonna" instead of "going to".
I also use the shortcuts thru and tho on some forums but would never use them on a professional document either.