LOL :-)

One does not have to explore the vast and brave new world of online communication for very long before he or she discovers one of the unique contributions of this generation to language – namely, emoticons and internet slang. I must admit that for a long time, even into this current decade, I was largely ignorant of this rich and varied jargon, but I am slowly but surely becoming more familiar with it by way of using it and watching others use it. And it is my purpose today to share with you my observations about it.
Hardly an email, text message, chat line, or online post goes very long, if at all, without some form of internet slang, which usually comes in the form of an abbreviation and may or may not be expressed in all uppercase letters. Probably the most popular such abbreviation is “LOL”, which stands for “laughing out loud”. It is usually said at the end of a statement the writer believes is funny, or as a response to the statement of another which the writer believes is funny. It may take the form of a humble “lol”, but a full-blown “LOL” means that the subject matter is very ticklish to the funny bone. However, when the writer lets loose with a “ROTFLOL”, then you know the hilarity has reached new levels inexpressible by “LOL” in any form of capitalization or non-capitalization. For you see, “ROTFLOL” means “rolling on the floor, laughing out loud”. I must be careful to point out that, in all likelihood, this should not be taken literally, since if the writer were really rolling on the floor, they would not be able to type, unless their keyboard was also rolling on the floor with them (and perhaps laughing out loud).
These are not the only forms of internet slang. The abbreviation “BTW” means “by the way”, and “FYI” means “for your information”. Should you desire to qualify a statement as being “in my humble opinion”, you would simply put “IMHO”; similarly, “FWIW” means “for what it’s worth”. However, these abbreviations are basically space-savers, and do not generally rise to the level of richness of “LOL” and his kin.
But there is also a very different class of tools which we have at our disposal, and I confess that I avail myself of this one far more often than the one we have just discussed. Emoticons are very expressive little people who allow us the use of their faces in order to convey in text our own facial expressions or moods; but I must note that it seems that these little people are invariably either lying down or plagued with a chronic crick in their neck – because they are almost always best viewed sideways.
The emoticon version of “LOL” is a simple smiley face made of a colon, dash, and parenthesis -- :-). However, unlike “LOL”, it does not have to express humor – it may be that the writer only intends to bestow a smile or a happy thought on the reader. However, when it becomes :-D, then you know that a hearty laugh is most likely intended. A smiley may also wink, like this -- ;-). It can have a decidedly neutral stance on the issue -- :-l --, or it may be sad or mad, expressed by :-( or, more tearfully, by :,-(. A smiley is also capable of sticking his tongue out at you -- :-p – or grinning evilly -- >:-). Surprise can be denoted by :-o. Thus what used to be reserved for punctuation can now be used to express what is on our faces or in our minds at any given moment.
There are some legitimate criticisms of internet slang and emoticons. For instance, they are probably not the best way to communicate in a business setting. Also, constant use of abbreviation is not at all a good habit to fall into, especially for younger people who should be learning good formal writing habits. Another point well-taken is that these modes of expression are sometimes overused. However, I am not here to criticize internet slang and emoticons, because they have an important use in today’s increasingly online world.
The value of these expressions arises from the simple fact that unspoken, written language is subject to misinterpretation. If I were to write to you, “You really stink”, and leave it at that, you might not count me among your friends for very much longer. But if I said “You really stink…LOL” or “You really stink…:-)”, you would be far more likely to pick up on the shade of intended meaning, depending on the nature of our relationship or the context of the statement (I thus qualify my statement because saying something possibly offensive to someone you do not know well and ending it with a smiley face is not very much more likely to moderate their taking offense at it). People can often have very rich conversations via the written word, but writing will never convey tone of voice or mood with complete accuracy – and thus emoticons and internet slang are invaluable inventions that help us do just that.
While I am not here to criticize these modes of expression, I do want to take a moment to clamor for the exercise of more variety and creativity in their use. After all, when the same expressions are used over and over again by many people, they tend to become the only ones ever used, and thus variety – the spice of life – has no opportunity to make ours zestier. What if you are not really laughing out loud, but only quietly? Would LSTM (“laughing silently to myself”) be a good abbreviation for that? Maybe “NVF” (“not very funny”) would tell a friend that they just laid an egg with their joke.
There are also wilder and more exotic things we could do with smiley faces. Maybe our smile has facial hair, like this -- :-)> -- or this -- :-{). Or perhaps we would like to express that we have a mole on our upper lip (or maybe something coming out of our nose), like this -- :-.). Maybe our little emotional assistant would like a hat – 4:-). There are many other possibilities, and all I’m suggesting is that perhaps we could experiment a little more often, tell each other what we mean, and start a trend that will expand our collective expressive vocabulary. After all, isn’t that how “LOL” and :-) got started in the first place?
IHYHERT (“I hope you have enjoyed reading this”). LOL. :-)