tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624877443029680982.post3606192157922859149..comments2023-07-25T08:11:11.078-07:00Comments on Debbie Cowens: The insidious evil of the spoken abbreviationDebbie Cowenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07345631448431031295noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624877443029680982.post-7867310090798058462010-03-15T20:10:23.840-07:002010-03-15T20:10:23.840-07:00This was a very good article - very thought provok...This was a very good article - very thought provoking! I don't use "lol" in verbal communication, myself, because I find it easier to get my meaning across without it - I prefer to describe the way in which someone was laughing instead of saying that they "lolled." However, I must admit that I've never heard anyone use "lol" in PLACE of laughter - only when describing it. To be frank, I don't think we need to worry about laughter going away because it's involuntary. Sure, you can fake laughter - there's a long tradition of schills, claquers and other "studio audience member" types who get paid to laugh. But when the laughter is REAL then there's no conscious decision involved - just the laughter. And I've got to say that living in a society in which we all "decide" to laugh instead of reacting to things naturally is just as frightening a prospect to me as one in which we all say "lol" without betraying any emotion whatsoever.Jim Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04164595013349953265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624877443029680982.post-26297179125196395772010-03-13T10:37:45.231-08:002010-03-13T10:37:45.231-08:00Clearly your time in 'Nam has left an indeliab...Clearly your time in 'Nam has left an indeliable mark on your abbreviation-based vocab.Debbie Cowenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07345631448431031295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624877443029680982.post-91473142339158663682010-03-13T09:57:39.790-08:002010-03-13T09:57:39.790-08:00I hesitate to confess this, but there are a couple...I hesitate to confess this, but there are a couple of abbreviations that I do use in conversation:<br /><br />AWOL. SNAFU. On rare occasions, FUBAR'd.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10942701428300441142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624877443029680982.post-84184317267310951262010-03-13T09:55:27.944-08:002010-03-13T09:55:27.944-08:00Last week, in an ordinary NZ classroom:
Teacher (...Last week, in an ordinary NZ classroom:<br /><br />Teacher (me): Catch-22 is an awesome book. If you enjoyed Mash, you should give it a look.<br /><br />Student: Mash is that show about surgeons in the war, eh? That's pretty funny.<br /><br />Teacher: Catch-22 is better. It's one of the few books that' actually made me laugh out loud while reading it.<br /><br />Student: Did you LOL (pronounced loll) mister?<br /><br />Teacher: No, I read it about 15 years ago. Lolling hadn't been invented. I just laughed.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10942701428300441142noreply@blogger.com