Saturday 9 April 2011

OMG! LOL's in the OED. LMAO!

There's an old adage that says if you can beat 'em, join 'em.

The term LOL - for the purists out there whose use of the internet or mobile phone technology is limited this means Laugh Out Loud - has been added to the Oxford English Dictionary. The OED says LOL is used as an interjection "used chiefly in electronic communications... to draw attention to a joke or humorous statement, or to express amusement".  The phrase was ushered in alongside OMG (Oh My God), with dictionary guardians pointing to their growing occurrence "in e-mails, texts, social networking... and even in spoken use".

Now I know many people consider me to be an old fogey. They probably have a point. But the term LOL does irritate me no end - and I realise by saying this I'm opening the door to people using it even more to me. It's a symptom of the modern way of communication - but why does it have to be laugh out loud? Why not just laugh? It's a modern phenomenon that people using mobile phones, particularly on public transport, feel they have to SHOUT EVERY WORD whilst on the bloody contraption. I gave up some time ago and immerse myself in my IPod so I don't have to listen to some barely coherent ned bawl down the phone.

I receive text messages and tweets on Twitter (mike1874@twitter.com if you're interested - lol) with lol littered throughout. I do prefer the wee smiley faces that at least indicate a more reserved appreciation of something mildly amusing but quite often these appear as some weird hieroglyphics.

The OMG phrase is even worse but I have covered this in earlier rants so I won't go on again. Text speak is now an accepted mode of communication and I shall just have to accept it. On the odd occasions my two daughters text me it's quite often the case I'm not one hundred per cent sure what they're saying to me. It certainly isn't 'how are you Dad?' (unless a transaction of a financial nature is required)

The internet and mobile phone technology has transformed the world although it's not all good. The world is a much smaller - and more dangerous place - as a result. Occasionally, I wish it would stop and let me off.

LOL!

8 comments:

miruspeg said...

Mike if the OED has come "to the party" looks like there is no turning back.
I love your humour my friend. I also wish the "shouting" would desist when people talk on mobile phones on public transport.

Big hugs from LOL (Little Old Lady)
Peg xxxx

PS OMG could stand for (Ow, My Groin)!

Stuck At Hame said...

If you want to own the technology then get used to the terminology that goes with it!! :-) Twitter does make it harder as there is character restriction so lol to you heh ha heh

I used to use ! after something funny or a joke until someone had a go at me stating that I was in fact making a point or being forceful of what I was saying and that I was not having a laugh so I now hesitate in using it at times.

Mike Smith said...

Peggy - I like your way of thinking!

Adullamite - you and I sing from the same hymn sheet

Vicky - Do you listen to what everyone tells you? LOL....

Joanna Jenkins said...

I'm with you, half the time I have no idea what the initials mean-- which means I can now turn the dictionary to figure it out. Sheesh. Happy Sunday, jj

Anonymous said...

Mr Ranty Man,

My annoyance with LOL, OMG, etc is on two levels. Written it is just....about...bearable, but I do make an awful lot of less than complimentary assumptions about anyone who uses is.

Even worse though is people who say LOL and OMG. Speaking it, risking highlighting, underlining and proving their idiocy, and bloody saying it out loud. How sad must your life be that you don't have the time or inclination to spend an extra second saying Oh My God, or to actually laugh than saying LOL. i must be getting old....

Oh dear, you'd hit on one of my trigger points, I must stop ranting....

Stuck At Hame said...

Of course I listen to what my elders... err everyone tells me!

Abbreviations whether it be on text, twitter or in general working life are becoming part and parcel.

I'm am sure we can all look at our workplaces and see how everything gets abbreviated...

Who else gets the S H I T memos? Of course you all know I mean the Sensitive Handling of Important Transitions memos don't you?! ;-)

Mike Smith said...

JJ - you and me both.

Anonymous - 'Mr Ranty Man' I like that!

Vickster - I get s h i t memoes all the time!

Canadian Blend said...

There's a Modern Family episode in which one of the dads is trying to explain how cool he is by talking about his texting skills. He's familiar with all the shorthand, he says. LOL... laugh out loud; OMG... oh my god; WTF... why the face.

Maybe you had to be there, but I laughed out loud it made me snort. :)

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