This guide will help you learn the abbreviation TTY’s meaning, where it originated, how to use it, examples, synonyms, and more!

If you have a hearing or speech impairment, you probably use a unique set of tools to communicate with others and accomplish your day-to-day tasks. One tool you might rely on is the TTY, also known as a teletypewriter. If you aren’t hearing or speech-impaired, you might not know about the TTY and its usefulness for the deaf and mute community.

In this guide, we’ll fill you in on what TTY means, how it’s used in a sentence, its origins, and more.

What Is the Meaning of TTY?

TTY is an abbreviation of the word teletypewriter. The TTY is a communication device utilized by people who are deaf, have a hearing impairment, or have a severe speech impairment.

What Is the Origin of the Teletypewriter?

On March 7th, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell received a patent in the United States for the telephone. However, the hard-of-hearing and speech-impaired would not be able to use the device for almost a century. Interestingly, at the time, Bell was working at the Clarke Institute for Deaf-Mutes in New Hampton, Massachusetts.

Who Invented the Teletypewriter?

In the 1960s, a deaf scientist named Robert Weitbrecht invented the teletypewriter (TTY). This remarkable device combined an acoustic coupler, a handset receiver, and recycled teletype machine components, making it possible for those who were hard-of-hearing or deaf to call each other for the first time.

The First Teletypewriters

The original TTYs used a standard input protocol similar to the Baudot code, and the max speed was about ten characters per second. The Baudot code was invented by Emile Baudot and was an early character encoding protocol for the telegraph. It preceded the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII).

The Teletypewriter Evolves

As with most inventions, innovations throughout the subsequent decades led to smaller and more compact versions of the TTY. As the popularity of the devices grew, it became evident that improvements needed to be made. Most households owned a telephone, but unless a person required a TTY, it was unlikely that they would have one.

Relay services began to emerge to bridge the gap between the deaf community and the hearing. Through these services, volunteers would relay typed messages from TTY callers to their intended recipients. The volunteers were called TTY Relay Service Communications Assistants (CAs). Essentially, the CAs served as human text-to-speech devices.

Because it was easy to interrupt or talk over the caller, etiquette was established to indicate pauses in conversation and allow the CA to relay the message. At the end of a TTY caller’s message, the CA indicated that it was the other person’s turn to the call volunteer to “go ahead” by typing “GA” at the end of a sentence. If the TTY user wanted to end the call, they told the CA to “stop keying” (SK).

Major Strides for the Teletypewriter

In 1987, California became the first state to require and establish a state-wide Telecommunications Relay Program. Other states followed the trend. Just three years later, the United States mandated that a 24/7 nationwide telecommunications relay service be provided according to Title IV of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

This mandate effectively made it possible for a deaf, hard of hearing or speech-impaired individual to make a phone call to anyone at any time with their telecommunications device.

Can You Still Use a TTY?

A TRS operator on the “traditional” relay service can still be reached at any time from a TTY device or telephone by dialing 711. The services provided allow callers nationwide to access non-internet-based relay services. These services include speech-to-speech (STS) relay services, TTY full-relay services, hearing carry-over (TTY HCO) relay services, and voice carry-over (TTY VCO).

TTYs Today

With the invention of mobile phones or cell phones, many TTY users transitioned to using texting over voice communication with the teletypewriter. Most mobile phones now feature TTY programs and real-time text (RTT) programs as well. Phone users can also connect external TTY devices to make and receive TTY calls.

You can connect your TTY machine through the audio jack of your mobile phone. With TTY mode on, calls will default to the hardware devices or TTY machine. With TTY off, the device returns to its previous settings. The ability to toggle the TTY option off and on can be found in your phone’s settings menu. Other accessibility call settings are located in the “general settings” menu.

How a Modern TTY Works

The teletypewriter machine has evolved into a Text Display Device (TDD) or Text Telephone. The TTY text display is still used to help those individuals read voice communications that have been converted into text by a communication assistant device.

In a TTY Linux machine, there are shortcut keyboard commands, including:

CTRL + ALT + f1 – Lockscreen
CTRL + ALT + f2 – Desktop environment
CTRL + ALT + f3 – TTY3
CTRL + ALT + f4 – TTY4
CTRL + ALT + f5 – TTY5
CTRL + ALT + f6 – TTY6

What About Video Calling?

Video calling has also provided a means of communicating in American Sign Language without a relay service. In conjunction with the improved TTY capabilities, people who are deaf, hearing impaired, and speech impaired can communicate with greater ease than ever before.

What Are Synonyms for TTY?

Synonyms are different words that have the same or essentially the same meaning. Here are a few synonyms for a teletypewriter or TTY:

Telex machine
Telex
Teleprinter
Teletype machine

What Are Some Examples of TTY in a Sentence?

I’m thankful for the teletypewriter because it allows me to talk to David every day while I’m away.
I was inspired to write a paper on the teletypewriter.
We don’t use the TTY as much now that we have text messaging.
For TTY service, the toll-free number is 1-800-555-5555.

Conclusion

Now you know what TTY stands for, how a teletypewriter works, and how to use this acronym in a sentence. Try using it in a sentence or two today!

Sources:

Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He is also an online editor and writer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do's and don'ts for all who share the same passion! He can be found online here.

TTY Meaning: Here’s What It Means and How To Use It

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