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Sunday, April 10, 2011

I don't care

So LOL has made it into the dictionary. BFD.

I have a lot of problems with LOL as an acronym (or, for the minority, an initialism), but as for making it into the dictionary, it was inevitable. The BBC tells us that language purists are up in arms, but what does that tell us? That language purists are dicks? We all knew that already.

 We all think our own attitude to language is the correct one, but if I may be so bold, I'm different; first of all in that I've considered this -- most people have no reason to -- and secondly, because I don't just believe it; I know I'm right. It doesn't happen in many fields, but when it does, by jingo, I'll cheerfully abuse those who differ.

Not, you understand, that I'm suggesting that the world is riddled with simpletons whose doltish utterances are riddled with appalling grammar and egregious misconstructions. None of us uses the language perfectly inasmuch as the rules are fluid; some of us slavishly follow rules that don't exist, and others misunderstand them. Most just don't care.

When I say I'm right, I mean in that I don't give a flying fuck how people speak. I'll correct someone's language in one circumstance only; when they err when correcting someone else. When I see some fool sniffily correcting another's grammar or spelling, I'll examine their comment in the minutest detail, looking for something -- anything -- wrong. 90% of the time I'll find that the sanctimonious fucktard made some mistake.

Purists are just wasting their own time and everyone else's. Guess what, assholes? "Begging the question" doesn't mean what you think it does. Not any more. And as for LOL, if people use it, it's a word. Just like "ain't". Get over it.

Not that it isn't egregiously overused. If I had my way, it'd be illegal to use it without a webcam. Every time you typed LOL on the internet, the LOL police would check your webcam and if you weren't actually laughing out loud, they'd come around to your house, confiscate your computer and punch you in the face.

Yes, I'm being a bit of a purist here. But only because there are countless gobshites out there for whom LOL is punctuation. I've been in IRC chats where some fool ended every sentence with LOL. Every. Fucking. Sentence. It gets on my nerves. However, I recognise that this is my problem, not theirs. I could just leave chat rooms alone, because I know that if you want to see the worst the internet has to offer in terms of language, you need look no further than IRC. Yes, facebook can be horrible, but at least it's people you know. But irrespective of whence it comes, there's no point in correcting this sort of thing. It just makes you look like a fool who's trying to show off your linguistic prowess and in all probability won't change a damn thing with regard the source of your righteous indignation. The point of language is to communicate. It doesn't matter how it's phrased; if you know what they're trying to say, then mission accomplished.

Paradoxically, and to belie my own words, LOL no longer means Laugh Out Loud. If someone wants to tell you that they laughed out loud, then LOL won't cut it. They'll have to say "I LOLed" or something like that.

So I really don't care that LOL made it into the dictionary. It's just a shame that the rate of evolution on the internet is so fast that it's out of date even before it's been added.

3 comments:

  1. what does BFD means ??

    ReplyDelete
  2. From the appendix to the novel Doon by Ellis Weiner:

    TERMS OF THE IMPERIUM

    In studying the Imperium and Arruckus, many unfamiliar terms are failed to be understood. To comprehend is praiseworthy as a thing, hence this glossary of the following words may be read.

    BEE-EFF-DEE: Derisive, sarcastic teenage slang for "So what?" or "Big deal." Derivation unknown.

    ReplyDelete
  3. really ???? 0_0

    weird...



    but thanks for replying to my question !!! >_<

    ReplyDelete