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Revision as of 20:47, 16 January 2007 by 83.251.19.236 (talk) (→Analysis)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)LOL (also written lol) is a common element of Internet slang used, historically, on Usenet but now widespread to other forms of computer-mediated communication. It is an abbreviation for "laughing out loud" or "laugh out loud" "LOL" is one of many initialisms for expressing bodily reactions, in particular laughter, as text, including initialisms such as "ROTFL" ("roll(ing) on the floor laughing"), a more emphatic expression of laughter, and "BWL" ("bursting with laughter"), above which there is "no greater compliment" according to Magid.
The list of initialisms "grows by the month" and they are collected along with emoticons and smileys into folk dictionaries which are circulated informally amongst users of Usenet, IRC, and other forms of (textual) computer-mediated communication. These initialisms are controversial, and several authors recommend against their use, either in general or in specific contexts such as business communications.
The use of LOL to express laughter is unrelated to other uses of the abbreviation, many of which, such as "lots of love", predate the Internet.
Analysis
Many people are critical of "LOL" and its related acronyms and there is widespread controversy over their use.
Lacetti, professor of humanities at Stevens Institute of Technology, and Molsk in their essay entitled The Lost Art of Writing are critical of the acronyms, predicting reduced chances of employment for students who use such acronyms, stating that "Unfortunately for these students, their bosses will not be 'lol' when they read a report that lacks proper punctuation and grammar, has numerous misspellings, various made-up words, and silly acronyms."
Yunker and Barry in a study of on-line courses and how they can be improved through podcasting have found that these acronyms, and emoticons as well, are "often misunderstood" by students and are "difficult to decipher" unless their meanings are explained in advance. They single out the example of "ROFL" as not obviously being the abbreviation of "rolling on the floor laughing" (emphasis added). Haig singles out "LOL" as one of the three most popular initialisms in Internet slang, alongside "BFN" ("bye for now") and "IMHO" ("in my humble opinion"). He describes these acronyms, and the various initialisms of Internet slang in general, as convenient, but warns that "as ever more obscure acronyms emerge they can also be rather confusing".
Hueng, in discussing these acronyms in the context of performative utterances, points out the difference between telling someone that one is laughing out loud and actually laughing out loud: "The latter response is a straightforward action. The former is a self-reflexive representation of an action: I not only do something but also show you that I am doing it. Or indeed, I may not actually laugh out loud but may use the locution "LOL" to communicate my appreciation of your attempt at humor."
David Crystal notes that use of "LOL" is not necessarily genuine, just as the use of smiley faces or grins is not necessary genuine, posing the rhetorical question "how many people are actually 'laughing out loud' when they send LOL?". Franzini concurs, stating that there is as yet no research that has determined the percentage of people who are actually laughing out loud when they write "LOL".
Victoria Clarke, in her analysis of telnet talkers, states that capitalization is important when people write "LOL", and that "a user who types LOL may well be laughing louder than one who types lol", and opines that "these standard expressions of laughter are losing force through overuse". Egan describes "LOL", "ROTFL", and other initialisms as helpful as long as they are not overused. He recommends against their use in business correspondence because the recipient may not be aware of their meanings, and because in general neither they nor emoticons are (in his view) appropriate in such correspondence. Lindsell-Roberts shares that view and gives the same advice of not using them in business correspondence, "or you won't be LOL".
In the case of teenagers who have grown up with e-mail and text-messaging, the abbreviation "lol" has become so commonplace as to lose all meaning. It often serves merely as a place-holder, punctuating sentences and comments much as the words "like" and "um" do for Generation X. Many people also tend to use this "lol" as a means of ending sentences or when they have nothing else to say. It has been used so much by some people that they will in fact pronounce "LOL" in verbal communication in place of laughing and other short phrases. LoL is a word who is used by noobs only
Variations on the theme
Despite it being an English acronym, it is often used by non-English speakers as-is, even in other scripts (eg. Template:Lang-ar, Hebrew: לול, Cyrillic: лол). It can also be used in Interlingua.
Translations in widespread use
Most of these abbreviations are usually found in lowercase.
- lal or lawl — can refer to either a pseudo-pronunciation of LOL, or the German translation (although most German speakers use "LOL"). Saying "lawl" is sometimes meant in mockery of those who use the term LOL, and not meant as serious usage.
- ｗ — used commonly in 2channel, a Japanese equivalent of the acronym.
- lolz — plural form occasionally used in place of "LOL".
- mdr — French version of the expression "LOL", meaning "mort de rire". Roughly translated, it means "dead from laughing".
Other languages
Lol is a Dutch word (not an acronym), which, conveniently, means 'fun' ('lollig' means funny).
LOL in Sinhalese refers to a tropical cherry.
References
- ^ Matt Haig (2001). E-Mail Essentials: How to Make the Most of E-Communications. Kogan Page. p. 89. ISBN 0749435763.
- ^ Louis R. Franzini (2002). Kids Who Laugh: How to Develop Your Child's Sense of Humor. Square One Publishers,
Inc. pp. 145–146. ISBN 0757000088.
{{cite book}}: line feed character in|publisher=at position 23 (help) - ^ Michael Egan. Email Etiquette. Cool Publications Ltd. pp. 32, 57–58. ISBN 1844811182.
- ^ Jiuan Heng (2003). "The emergence of pure consciousness: The Theatre of Virtual Selves in the age of the Internet". In Peter D. Hershock, M. T. Stepaniants, and Roger T. Ames (ed.). Technology and Cultural Values: On the Edge of the Third Millennium. University of Hawaii Press. p. 561. ISBN 0824826477.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link) - Eric S. Raymond and Guy L. Steele (1996). The New Hacker's Dictionary. MIT Press. p. 435. ISBN 0262680920.
- Lawrence J. Magid (2001). The Little PC Book: Windows Xp. Peachpit Press. p. 287. ISBN 0201754703.
- Steven G. Jones (1998). Cybersociety 2.0: Revisiting Computer-Mediated Community and Technology. Sage Publications Inc. p. 52. ISBN 0761914625.
- Silvio Lacetti and Scott Molsk (2003-09-06). "Cost of poor writing no laughing matter". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Article co-authored by Stevens professor and student garners nationwide attention from business, academia" (Press release). Stevens Institute of Technology. 2003-10-22.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Frank Yunker and Stephen Barry. "Threaded Podcasting: The Evolution of On-Line Learning". In Dan Remenyi (ed.). Proceedings of the International Conference on e-Learning, University of Quebec at Montreal, 22-23 June 2006. Academic Conferences
Limited. p. 516. ISBN 1905305222.
{{cite conference}}: Unknown parameter|booktitle=ignored (|book-title=suggested) (help); line feed character in|publisher=at position 21 (help) - David Crystal (2001-09-20). Language and the Internet. Cambridge University Press. p. 34. ISBN 0-521-80212-1.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Victoria Clarke (2002-01-30). "Internet English: an analysis of the variety of language used on Telnet talkers" (PDF).
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts. Strategic Business Letters and E-Mail. Houghton Mifflin. p. 289. ISBN 0618448330.
Further reading
- Russ Armadillo Coffman (1990-01-17). "smilies collection". Newsgroup: rec.humor. Retrieved 2006-12-22.
{{cite newsgroup}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) — an early Usenet posting of a dictionary of abreviations and emoticons, listing "LOL" and "ROTFL"