In the past few months, a strange, possibly medical, phenomenon has happened to me. I cannot live without my computer. Actually, to be more specific, I cannot live without the Internet. Somehow, I cannot continue to exist without the wealth of information and entertainment my regular dosages of online life provide. My current job requires me to use the Internet regularly, and I suppose I should be seeking treatment for this affliction. But I won't. I love it.
One of the side effects of Internet usage that I have noticed is a propensity for using acronyms, abbreviations, and the like. In childhood and adolescence, we girls all signed notes to our best friends with "BFF" and such. Before my immersion in cyberspace, phrases such as "TTFN," "ASAP," (one of my boss' favorite phrases), and "N E WAZ" required no special decoder for me. I'd even gotten used to "LOL," even though I don't like it. It doesn't sound like laughing to me. Whenever I see it, I hear a soprano singing as if she is practicing her scales. "Lawl, lawl, lawl, lawl!" I stick with "Hahahahaha" in my online writing. But don't let my aversion to "LOL" stop you from using it. I've worked past my issues with it...mostly.
A few months ago, I joined a list serv for copyeditors. The daily discussion of sentence construction, questions and answers (Q&A's) regarding computer technology, and occasional punny responses have been a delight for me, both personally and professionally. It is this list serv that I credit for my interest in these new expressions. Here are some common ones:
FWIW
IMO
IMHO
TIA
AFAIK
HTH
OTOH
Translations: "For what it's worth," "in my opinion," "in my humble opinion," "thanks in advance," "as far as I know," "hope that helps," and "on the other hand."
Recently I used HTH in an e-mail to a friend. I put the translation in parentheses in case she wasn't familiar with the acronym. She responded with "TAT! (Thanks a ton!)" She then typed "Har har!" Not LOL. This stuff cracks me up. Oh, dear--I'm such a language freak.
The other day someone from the list serv used an acronym that I couldn't figure out. Thanks to Google, I found this website: http://www.netlingo.com/emailsh.cfm. It's awesome. It has helped me decipher several comments online.
So, what does my post title mean? "Are acronyms evil?"
Saturday, January 28, 2006
AAE?
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7 comments:
Well, as one who was one of the original IMers, LOL is just in my blood. I use it frequently in my emails to you, but I quite honestly stop and ask myself after I type it, "Did I really laugh out loud?" If I did, I leave it (well, if I at least snickered, and SOL doesn't sound that good or tend to mean the same thing, you know). If I didn't, I might change it to Haha, or hehe. I have refrained for years from those more aggregious forms of Internetese, such as "ROFLMBO" and "ITYBTIHTKY," but I'm afraid LOL just laughs it's way out of my fingertips. ;)
Did I mention that the word verification codes you have to enter to comment on blogger always make me stop and think, "What does that stand for?" Hehe. Haha. L-O-L!!
LOL! You're funny!
Julie, Julie, Julie, you misspelled a word, and I must confess, guiltily, that I am doing a little victory dance in my head (sorry, it's my inner spelling police)! It's "egregious" you silly girl! I never say LOL, I use hahahahaha cause that's what I say when I laugh. I never use hehehe either, because that just sounds funny to me. But Teri, your column was interesting. I read a lot of message boards here and there (yes, I too have the Internet addiction, really bad) and they use a lot of those, and I get frustrated when I can't figure them out. That link is great! I have set a goal for myself to start blogging again this week. I even have a subject matter. But for now I must clean. Just sat down to check my email, and . . . well you know the rest of the story.
Gail,
Just testing you.
Julie
(ROTFLSHMSIQLABOJ)
Julie - rolling on the floor laughing so hard my stomach is quivering like a bowl of jelly? BOOYAH!
Sorry Teri, guess we shouldn't use your blog for this nonsense . . .
I hadn't checked my blog, so I didn't even know y'all were conversing on it. Feel free to do so, though! I think it's great! By the way, I haven't figured out Julie's acronymns. Guess I need to use that site I found....
You make me chuckle. I noted your little typo but didn't expect you to correct it. Glad you liked that movie. I grew up in a small town and racism I'm sure was present but I did not encounter too much of it and didn't hear it at home. There were not a lot of minorities in my town (Grand Prairie) in the 60s and early 70s, but now it is primarily Hispanic. But when I worked in Mansfield, as you say, holy cow! It felt like I was back in the 60s! And they honestly have no idea how ignorant they are! Grrrrr.
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