LOL

From Vero - Wikipedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:About Template:Redirect Template:Pp-semi-indef Template:Pp-move Template:Update Template:Use mdy dates

Use of "lol" in a conversation

LOL, or lol, is an initialism for laughing out loud,<ref name="Haig2001" /><ref name="Franzini2002" /><ref name="Egan2004" /><ref name="Meltzer2011" /> and a popular element of Internet slang, which can be used to indicate amusement, irony, or double meanings.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> It was first used almost exclusively on Usenet, but has since become widespread in other forms of computer-mediated communication and even face-to-face communication. It is one of many initialisms for expressing bodily reactions, in particular laughter, as text, including initialisms for more emphatic expressions of laughter such as LMAO<ref name=NetlingoLMAO/> ("laughing my ass off") and ROFL<ref name=Goudelocke2004/><ref name=Hershock2003/><ref name=Shortis2001/> or ROTFL<ref name=RaymondSteele1996/><ref name=WilliamsCummiungs1993/> ("rolling on the floor laughing").

In 2003, the list of acronyms was said to "grow by the month",<ref name=Hershock2003/> and they were collected along with emoticons and smileys into folk dictionaries that are circulated informally amongst users of Usenet, IRC, and other forms of (textual) computer-mediated communication.<ref name=Jones1998/> These initialisms are controversial, and several authors<ref name=LacettiStevens2003/><ref name=SIT2003/><ref name=FondillerNerone2007/><ref name=YunkerBarry2006/> recommend against their use, either in general or in specific contexts such as business communications. The Oxford English Dictionary first listed LOL in March 2011.<ref name="omglol">Template:Cite web</ref>

History

A person literally laughing out loud in a university computer lab

In the early to mid-1980s,<ref name="Tam2015">Template:Cite news</ref> Wayne Pearson was reportedly the first person to have used LOL while responding to a friend's joke in a pre-Internet digital chat room called Viewline. Instead of writing "hahaha," as he had done before when he found something humorous, Pearson stated that he instead typed "LOL" to symbolize extreme laughter.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Although the account is commonly accepted as true, no written record of the conversation has been found, and the exact date of origin is unknown.<ref name=":1" />Template:Rp The earliest recorded mention of LOL in the contemporary meaning of "Laughing Out Loud" was made in a list of common online acronyms on the May 8, 1989 issue of the electronic newsletter FidoNews, according to the Oxford English Dictionary<ref name="Tam2015" /> and linguist Ben Zimmer.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":1" />Template:Rp

A 2003 study of college students by Naomi Baron found that the use of these initialisms in computer-mediated communication (CMC), specifically in instant messaging, was actually lower than she had expected. The students "used few abbreviations, acronyms, and emoticons". Out of 2,185 transmissions, there were 90 initialisms in total;<ref name="Philipkoski2005" /> 76 were occurrences of LOL.<ref name="Baron2005" />

2008 graffiti featuring LOL and ROFL on the Molenfeuer lighthouse in Büsum, Germany

On March 24, 2011, LOL, along with other acronyms, was formally recognized in an update of the Oxford English Dictionary.<ref name="omglol" /><ref name="mason">Template:Cite web</ref> In their research, it was determined that the earliest recorded use of LOL as an initialism was for "little old lady" in the 1960s.<ref name="oed">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>

Gabriella Coleman references "lulz" extensively in her anthropological studies of Anonymous.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

LOL, ROFL, and other initialisms have crossed from computer-mediated communication to face-to-face communication. David CrystalTemplate:Sndlikening the introduction of LOL, ROFL, and others into spoken language in magnitude to the revolution of Johannes Gutenberg's invention of movable type in the 15th centuryTemplate:Sndstates that this is "a brand new variety of language evolving", invented by young people within five years, that "extend[s] the range of the language, the expressiveness [and] the richness of the language".<ref name="Ulaby2006" /><ref name="Philipkoski2005" /> However Geoffrey K. Pullum argues that even if interjections such as LOL and ROFL were to become very common in spoken English, their "total effect on language" would be "utterly trivial".<ref name="Pullum2005" />

While LOL originally meant "laughing out loud," modern usage is different, and it is commonly used for irony, as an indicator of second meanings, and as a way to soften statements.<ref name=":1" />

Analysis

Silvio Laccetti (professor of humanities at Stevens Institute of Technology) and Scott Molski, in their essay entitled The Lost Art of Writing, are critical of the terms, predicting reduced chances of employment for students who use such slang, stating that, "Unfortunately for these students, their bosses will not 'lol' when they read a report that lacks proper punctuation and grammar, has numerous misspellings, various made-up words, and silly acronyms."<ref name=LacettiStevens2003/><ref name=SIT2003/> Fondiller and Nerone in their style manual assert that smileys and abbreviations are "no more than e-mail slang and have no place in business communication".<ref name=FondillerNerone2007/>

Linguist John McWhorter stated, "Lol is being used in a particular way. It's a marker of empathy. It's a marker of accommodation. We linguists call things like that pragmatic particles..." Pragmatic particles are the words and phrases utilized to alleviate the awkward areas in casual conversation, such as oh in "Oh, I don't know" and uh when someone is thinking of something to say. McWhorter stated that lol is utilized less as a reaction to something that is hilarious, but rather as a way to lighten the conversation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Frank Yunker and Stephen Barry, in a study of online courses and how they can be improved through podcasting, have found that these slang terms, 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).<ref name=YunkerBarry2006/> Matt Haig describes the various initialisms of Internet slang as convenient, but warns that "as ever more obscure acronyms emerge they can also be rather confusing".<ref name=Haig2001/> Hossein Bidgoli advises that such initialisms should be used "only when you are sure that the other person knows the meaning" as they "might make comprehension of the message more difficult for the receiver", and differences in meaning may lead to misunderstandings in international contexts.<ref name=Bidgoli2004/>

Tim Shortis observes that ROFL is a means of "annotating text with stage directions".<ref name=Shortis2001/> Peter Hershock, in discussing these terms 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."<ref name=Hershock2003/>

David Crystal notes that use of LOL is not necessarily genuine, just as the use of smiley faces or grins is not necessarily genuine, posing the rhetorical question "How many people are actually 'laughing out loud' when they send LOL?".<ref name=Crystal2001/> Louis 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.<ref name=Franzini2002/>

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".<ref name=Clarke2002/> Michael Egan describes LOL, ROFL, and other initialisms as helpful so 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.<ref name=Egan2004/> June Hines Moore shares that view.<ref name=Moore2007/> So, too, does Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts, who gives the same advice of not using them in business correspondence, "or you won't be LOL."<ref name="Lindsell-Roberts2004"/>

Variations on the theme

Variants

Template:Redirect

File:Omegalul emote.png
The OMEGATemplate:ShyLUL Twitch emote is a distorted image of TotalBiscuit originating Template:Circa.<ref name=":0" />
  • lul: phonetic spelling of LOL. "LUL" is also commonly used in the gaming community, due to it being an emote on Twitch, which depicts game critic TotalBiscuit laughing.
  • lolz: Occasionally used in place of LOL.
  • lulz: Often used to denote laughter at someone who is the victim of a prank, or a reason for performing an action. Its use originated with Internet trolls. According to a New York Times article about Internet trolling, "lulz means the joy of disrupting another's emotional equilibrium."<ref name=Schwartz2008/> Can be used as a nounTemplate:Snde.g. "do it for the lulz.", shortened into "ftlulz" (to distinguish it from "ftl"Template:Snd"for the loss"). See also LulzSec.
  • LOLOLOL...: For added emphasis, LOL can be appended with any number of additional iterations of "OL". In cases such as these, the abbreviation is not to be read literally (i.e., "Laughing out loud out loud out loud out loud"), but is meant to suggest several LOLs in a row.
  • OMEGALUL and LULW: variants of "LUL" used as a Twitch emote.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>
  • trolololol or trollololol: A blend of troll and LOL iterated, likely meant to mimick Eduard Khil's 1976 song Mr. Trololo song, which became an internet meme in 2010. Indicates that the prank or joke was made by internet trolls, or the user thinks the prank or joke qualifies as internet trolling.

Derivations

A 2007 lolcat meme, featuring a humorous misspelling of "LOL, what?"
  • (to) LOL: Used as a verb ("to laugh out loud") and is meant to be conjugated in the appropriate tense. When the past tense is meant, it is written as "LOL(e)d" or "LOL'd".
  • lolwut (sometimes "lulwut"): lol + wut, used to indicate bemused laughter, or confusion.
  • lawl, lawlz, or lal: Pseudo-pronunciation of LOL. Saying "lawl" is sometimes meant in mockery of those who use the term LOL and is not meant to express laughter.
  • Lel or LEL is a "playful or ironic" variation of LOL.<ref>Template:Dictionary.com</ref> It is sometimes thought to be an initialism, standing for "laughing extremely loud" or "laughing extra loud", but this has been disputed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • lolcat, an image macro of a cat
An animated ASCII art image popularized in 2004 by memes using the word "roflcopter"

Template:Redirect

Commonly used equivalents in other languages

File:Oscar 2.ogg

Pre-dating the Internet and phone texting by a century, the way to express laughter in morse code is "hi hi".<ref name="u370">Template:Cite web</ref> The sound of this in morse ('di-di-di-dit di-dit, di-di-di-dit di-dit') is thought to represent chuckling.<ref name=Dinkins2010a/><ref name=Dinkins2010b/>

  • 555: the Thai variation of LOL. "5" in Thai is pronounced "ha", three of them being "hahaha" (Template:Lang).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • asg: Swedish abbreviation of the term Template:Lang, meaning intense laughter.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • g: Danish abbreviation of the word griner, which means "laughing" in Danish.<ref name=Elkan2009/>
  • jajajá: in Spanish, the letter "j" is pronounced /x/.<ref name="jaja">Template:Cite web</ref>
  • jejeje: in the Philippines is used to represent "hehehe". "j" in Filipino languages is pronounced as /h/, derived from the Spanish /x/. Its origins can be traced to SMS language. It is widely used in a Filipino youth subculture known as Jejemons.<ref name="PDI">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="CNET">Template:Cite web</ref>
  • mdr: Esperanto version, from the initials of Template:Lang, which translates to "lot of laughs" in English.
  • mdr: French version, from the initials of "mort de rire" which roughly translated means "died of laughter", although many French people also use LOL instead as it is the most widely used on the internet.<ref name="mort">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref name="mort2">Template:Cite web</ref>
  • mkm: in Afghanistan "mkm" (being an abbreviation of the phrase "ma khanda mikonom"). This is a Dari phrase that means "I am laughing".
  • ptdr: French variant from Template:LangTemplate:Sndliterally meaning "broken with laughter"
  • rs: in Brazil "rs" (being an abbreviation of "risos", the plural of "laugh") is often used in text based communications in situations where in English LOL would be used, repeating it ("rsrsrsrsrs") is often done to express longer laughter or laughing harder. Also popular is "kkk" (which can also be repeated indefinitely), due to the pronunciation of the letter k in Brazilian Portuguese sounding similar to the ca in card, and therefore representing the laugh "cacacacaca" (also similar to the Hebrew version below).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • חחח/ההה: Hebrew version of LOL. The letter ח is pronounced [/x/ /x/] and ה is pronounced [/h/ /h/]. Putting them together (usually three or more in a row) makes the word khakhakha or hahaha (since vowels in Hebrew are generally not written), which is in many languages regarded as the sound of laughter.
  • Template:Lang ("kkk" or "kekeke")<ref name="Polygon"/> and Template:Lang ("hhh") are usually used to indicate laughter in Korean. 'ㅋ', is a Korean Jamo consonant representing a "k" sound, and 'Template:Lang' represents an "h" sound. Both "Template:Lang" and "Template:Lang" represent laughter which is not very loud. However, if a vowel symbol is written, louder laughter is implied: Template:Lang "haha" Template:Lang, "hoho."<ref name="korea">Template:Cite web</ref>
  • wkwkwk: in Indonesian is used in the same way as lol. Early-2000s online-game and chat culture popularized it because alternating W and K is quick to type; some guides explicitly trace it to gaming chats and Indonesian SMS/keyboard habits with "w" representing the slang for gue, which means "me" and "K" meaning ketawa, which means "laugh". It is also a onomatopoeia.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
  • (Template:Lang): in Japanese, the kanji for laugh, is used in the same way as lol. It can be read as Template:Lang (literally "parentheses laugh") or just Template:Transliteration. w is also used as an abbreviation, and it is common for multiple w to be chained together.<ref name="tokyo">Template:Cite web</ref> The resulting shape formed from multiple wwwww leads to the usage of Template:Lang (草 meaning 'grass', read as Template:Transliteration) due to its resemblance to the shape of grass.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

Template:Portal

References

Template:Reflist

Further reading

Template:Wiktionary Template:Commons category

Template:Internet Dialects Template:Internet slang

Retrieved from "https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?title=LOL&oldid=187017"