WASHINGTON — When it comes to texting, a lot can be lost in translation. Now, a new study suggests that the way people use punctuation could affect the text message’s tone — in a bad way.

While it may be good grammar, ending text messages with a period gives off a perception of being less sincere, according to researchers at Binghamton University.

The study, published in the Journal of Human Behavior, tested how a message ending in a period was perceived by giving the 126 study participants the same note, both in handwritten and in text form.

The study’s author Celia Klin says that when people talk face-to-face, they instinctively look for cues in facial expressions, pauses and inflection to help interpret language, Klin said in a statement.

“People obviously can’t use these mechanisms when they are texting,” Klin says. “Thus, it makes sense that texters rely on what they have available to them — emoticons, deliberate misspellings that mimic speech sounds and, according to our data, punctuation.”

It’s a sign our language is evolving because of the changing way we communicate.