Confused by LOLspeak? Think it’s silly? Or do you love it enough to learn more about it? Given at the 2011 Australian Linguistics Society annual conference, this 20 minute presentation by Jill Vaughan and Lauren Gawne explores LOLspeak as a form of language play. Very interesting! Berry inturestin!
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I Can Has Language Play: Construction of Language and Identity in LOLspeak
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As an English professor, I want throw bricks at this entire site.
*dukks adn cubbers*
*considers pointin owt teh missing “to.” desyds nawt to*
*heeheeheehee*
GMTA, CB!! Eggsept, ai nawt disaidid nawt tu! (cee daown-fred a waes)
nicewitch juss did dawnthred at eggact sayme tyme
coinkydink!
In that case, T. Pournelle is most likely trolling.
I enjoy grammar, punctuation, and orthography, but I do not find LOLspeak or 1337 speak distressing.
I am one of those people who review their internet comments multiple times for small little mistakes, although I know they still get through, but I love LOLspeak. Whether he/she is trolling or not, I think that the role of English professors isn’t (or shouldn’t be) to insist that all writing or conversation everywhere be completely grammatically correct to a certain style, but to make sure that their students understand the concept that different language structures are appropriate in different contexts. You don’t use LOLspeak in a term paper, but you also don’t need to speak to your friends in the same way that you would to a potential employer.
My best friend and I have our own kind of rapidly changing language that we use when communicating via instant messaging. It’s fun, it’s silly, it’s goofy… and we’re also sensible, intelligent adults who have well-thought out opinions and passions. There’s no disconnect, we just know when to be serious and when to have fun.
Plus ,it gets your brain going when you first start reading LOLspeak. The brain starts to become less effective when less than half your life is gone, and stuff like reading, sudoku and cross words puzzles keeps it more alert, and I’m quite sure LOLspeak does, too. You have to be creative and imaginative to read and write iit. It is in a way like learning a new language. I myself used to just read LOLspeak – now my posts on ICHC is peppered with LOLwords here and there. I can’t help it, it just comes out on its own =)
And any one with knowledge of language, such as a professor, should know that jibberish still has a sense to it. It’s part of culture, which is ever changing, and enriches the world – even when it has to other function than making people smile =)
LOL!
Den ai is glad ai nawt had u as a professur wen ai wuz in kollidj.
Aparintleh u has no apreshiashun fur fun adn creatibity.
As a normal human, I’d like to throw bricks at you for being an asinine ****
Ai says chill out. It bees fun and ohhhh . . . shiney
*waves a fevver stikk at OnleeKitteh*
*grabs teh shiney adn runsawaiwifakwikness*
ai seez yu beehyn teh sewfa CatBurgh…teh butt-wigglol gibs yu a-way!
*gibs butt-wifflol teh stink eye*
wifflol??? *gibs finners teh stink eye*
Make sure they’re fire bricks, I want to build a nice bbq in my backyard, and standard bricks are just not up to the task.
As someone who likes to laugh I have to say that you might want to have that stick removed.
Oar mebbee reeplays it wiffa stik wiff fevvers onnit.
*gigglols*
Tigernan right? Is Southern Nevada even a real school?
“… want to throw …”
Ohai, nicewitch! GMTA! Ai just putted my liek-minded commint upfred.
Do you hate e.e. cummings?
Do you want to smash e.e. cummings?
As an English professor, you should probably have watched the video. The linguistic discussion was quite intelligent.
I’m agreeing with the troll theory, as I seriously doubt that an English professor would have an issue with this kind of modern vernacular…even though it IS highly silly!
I have actually really enjoyed being able to actually *watch* as a whole new kind of language has taken root and grown.
Fascinating, and silly!
Lingo’s mai thing an dey Ossie hoomans dezerv much cheezburgers aifinkso.
If you’re an English professor, you’ve probably heard of Finnegan’s Wake.
If ur a English prfesur u prolly nevr hurd uv linguistiks. Or u dint pass teh coursez
As an English professor who has studied linguistics, I find this site and its spontaneous construction of a dialect fascinating.
There are a number of factual errors I could not help but notice in just the first five minutes of the film. LOLCats began as Caturday on 4-Chan in 2006 and they borrowed most of LOL-Speak directly from the old Pon and Zi emo comics jokes and all … “I maded u a cookie but I eetid it.”
The Usenet group rec.pets.cats.community (aka rpcc) has been doing a form of cat- (if not LOL-) speak at least since the 1990s, and is still doing it. The set-up there is that it’s the cats themselves speaking; the humans are only ‘secretaries’, and the cats often complain about their inadequacies as such.
Since one of the presenters noted that ‘LOLspeak isn’t how real cats talk’, i suspect they’re aware of rpcc and related entities.
Another thing I found interesting from that perspective is that I had already noticed that the Usenet equivalent for dogs has pretty much died, and the number of comments on ihasahotdog.com is _much_ lower than here. The young linguists sort of handwaved why LOLspeak is associated with _cats_, but I personally suspect there’s more going on there than that ‘cats are cute and everybody either has one or know someone who does’. And while Cute Overload doesn’t use LOLspeak, it has its own linguistic conventions, and applies them to pretty much any available animal.
Cats rule; dogs drool! (srsly)
I think that it works with cats and only cats because cats try never to be ridiculous.
Ever.
That’s why putting this strange broken language in their mouths is so hilarious, you know they speak perfectly, it’s just beyond our mere human minds to understand them.
And dogs drool.
Snerk
Aifinks dey shud luuk nawt onleh at capshunz adn publishd wurks lyke teh lolcat biblol, but awlso at teh commints, cuz dats wayr we showz teh mostest creatibity and individulollity in owr innerakshunz. Srsly.
ai agreez AP! lolspeak off – any language needs to be read/heard in its colloquial form as spoken by a particular community or culture to be fully appreciated. But I really felt the researchers in the audio had a genuine warmth and interest in lolspeak too – lolspeak on
Ai cayme tu lolcats fur teh kittehs, butt (!) ai stayd tu play cuz ai haz a interesst in lingwisticks an langwyge mice elf, an ai reely lubbed teh way cheezpeeps haz a clever wiv awl teh werds
I don’e speak LOL yet, but I agree that researchers should pay close attention to the comments. And I have been struck time and again by the sheer intelligence it takes to write (and sometimes decipher) lolspeak. Keep it up people! And booooooo to the prof with a stick where the sun don’t shine!
*Nods* Ai caem fur teh pikshurs, butt(!) stade fur teh cawmints. (Adn mae Ai sae, Googlol Krome dribes mii nutz bai undurlioning mowst ov mai werds wif red squigglols!)
STN.
It’s not as if people here talk like this in real life. I know perfectly well how to spell and how to construct proper sentences.
Using LOLSpeak is a form of language play that befits the nature of this site–Cats are usually silly, using a silly language style is appropriate. It’s no different from how we coo and use silly “lovey” words when we talk to our cats.
And I think it’s similar to when someone uses a word like “ain’t” as a way of emphasizing what one is trying to say.
It’s merely a stylistic choice.
WIN!
*luks arownd wiffa nerbiss*
Wut yu meens, peeplols nawt tokk liek dis inn Reel Liefs??? Iz wii nawt spoas tu??
No lissen tu phantagrae! Is toe.. taw… purrfeckly okai. Wii awl knows wii duz it sumtimes. Ai does, ai know, eben if mai Wigglebutt (!) luks at mi wen ai duz lyke she thinkin “Momma, you’re ridiculous, I can understand you perfectly fine when you speak in English like a normal human.”
Ai libs tu imbarass mai kitteh. Wen ai haz kidz, aifinkso dey be in trubble!
Ai has eben DREEMED inn Lolspeak!! *Slow, sad hedshake*
Kinda taeks teh ufn owt wen fingz get alanized awl srs liek!
Aw shux, anni! Aifinkso it iz strangely comfortin to noes taht tehre are still langwidge speshalists wif Way Too Much Tyme On Theyr Hands wo iz willin to take teh time to study our playgrownd! Tehy hazznt a hoap ov Doing It Rite, ob course, since Lolspeak is such a moving target, but it gives tehm somefing less depressing to do than study a bunch of real languages, the last speakers of which are dying and making their work impossible to complete. Must be depressing for them wehn taht happenz. So we lets tehm have fun wif owr littlol world wehn tehy hazza dai off. Yesh?
–’scuse me. Teh “wo” in sekond sentence should be “who.”
Ai agree 2 a poynt, an Ai spoze akkydemiks need sum ufn 2!
Ai dint eben notiss ur spelloling errer, Lungdoc!
ai fink teh study ob lolspeak iz bery relebent to haow peeplols relate to each ober an communicates wif each ober an stuff. iz an innernet phenon… fenon… thingy.
Yah…TL;DL (Tu Lawng;Din’t Lissen) Ai noez wye AI plae in cheezladn…cuz teh peeps am ufn adn teh kommints am witteh. Adn ai am teh kunning lingwist…*snerk*
*gigglols*
Nawtee nawtee, Kestrela — awf tu Teh Nawtee Barn wiff yu!!
awzum!!1
I’m more of the school of thought “A Little Goes a Long Way.” 1 line, a caption, that sort of thing and LOLspeak is appropriate. An entire paragraph? Too much and too difficult to read. When it takes 5 minutes to decipher what was written and it should take 5 seconds, then it’s too much.
ohai crazy for catz, i am an lolspeak newbie but like any form of slang or lingo or patois it doesn’t take long to ‘get your eye in’, then it’s like reading and writing in your own native language, butt (!) moar flecksiblol an fun!
Ohai, gumbiekat! *waves floofy paw ob french hips*
Ai can has refund? Ai satted frew teh hoal fing, butt(!) stihl nawt an eggspert. *pouts adn scuffs at teh flore*
ohai CatBurgh! *waves back*
yu luks lyke egg spurt tu me! *gibs CB elebenty pennees frum teh ackad..acedem…. laydees wiv teh smartz az refund tu avoyd noes boop*
Fanky, gumbiecat! Noes boop – do nawt want!
*byes toona treets for ebrywun.*
ai can hab toona nomz?!!
Ebrywun has der own verzhun (or dialekt), sum moar harder tu desyfur den obberz. Ai yoozhully aymz fur “lolspeek lyte” wich is pritteh muchly fonettik in naychur, soz peeplz nawt gibs up awn meh wen ai ryting teh filosofiklol paragrafs or whutebber.
Prat kiss mayks purrfikt
Aifinkso yes.
Mebbee yu finks ur rietings ownlee wurf 5 sekkinds. Sum ov us lieks tu gibbing moar dan teh munnees (an tiems) wurfs, coz wii’s jenriss liek dat.
I agree!!! I get so tired of trying to figure out what people are saying when they use a lot of LOLspeak. It’s been a long time since I had to sound out words, I don’t like being slowed down by having to do it again, so I usually skip reading most of the comments. That’s probably a pity; I’m sure a lot of people are saying fun or interesting things, but reading a paragraph of LOLspeak is very frustrating.
Tehm lingoists speke in anuvver langwidj ob tehir oan !!
Wot ai meme tu say, wye doan tehy speke Ingerlish ??
Why didn’t she give her speech in LOLspeak? Most LOLspeakers are really nice, even though I don’t do it myself. I find it difficult to understand.
I gave a freshman speech class speech (my final one) on LOLcats and included a great spot on LOLspeak and the LOLcat Bible. But I didn’t do it with that adorable Australian accent!
LOLSpeak 101. Why must hoomanz ruin eberyting? Lolspeak is fun – till you turn into a class. Then booring – must sleep through it.
Which, when you think of it is good for cats – who will sleep anyway.
BTW – I didn’t know you could get it wrong. How can you get it wrong?
Teh poynt is tu be unnerstood adn tu creayt humur.
So u can getting it rong if ur nawt unnerstood, or if it killz teh humur.
borked humerus – do nawt want!
*lolspeak off* As someone whose job it is to proofread and correct spelling and grammar all day long, I find lolspeak a fun and clever way of commenting. Most cheezpeeps are wonderful, smart people who come up with hilarious and interesting ways to spell ordinary words. It’s a great break from my job. Thank you cheezpeeps for “maykin mai dai!”
Ohai, Cholius! *waves tu ware eber Cholius am in teh whirrled* Yore teh fun Cheezpeep wif witch to bizit. *schmoo*
{{{CatBurgh}}} Aw shucks!! (Der’s enuff bad feeling in dis wurld, Ai no add 2 it)
Ohai, ebbeewunz:
Prittee Wunz spentdz lawtz
tyme sayeengz feeng I nawt Grok.
Lol Speek amz beddah!
Prittee Wunz needz spendz
moar tyme in Cheezland so day
can beez undurrstoodz!!
Prittee Wunz choaz a
wunndurrfull tawpikk dat wii
habz lawtz ubz ‘Phun!’ wiff!!!
Jack.
“Werd!”
Ohai Jack!
Berry well putted.
*lolspeek off*
I’ve been a participant in this site since nearly the beginning, and I’m always fascinated by the complexity and intellectual content of a lot of the Lolspeek. Some people have a real flair for it, and those tend to be people with a lot of education, a lot of humor, a lot of interest in humankind, and an affection for cats (and other small lives). Or some combination of the above.
If you DON’T enjoy the Lolspeek, go ahead and look at the pictures but don’t try to understand the subtlety of the comments. Our one unbending rule: play nice or go home. Your choice.
*lolspeek on*
An if yu hazza problim wid unnerstanin it, trie sayin it owt lowd, also tawkin thru yr nose helps, liek yu were kinda maeiouin it. Dat helps.
*snerk* It duz halp 2 speek awt laowd sumtymes. Ai agree, der r sum BERY smart cheezpeeps! Sumtymes Ai katch maiself sayin a werd oar sentince & tinkin “hey, it saownds liek___ – Ai’m gonna spell it liek dat nex tyme!”
Kinda liek a Lady Mondegreen,
Ai haz a stoopid – huh?
Nawt stoopid! It refers tu sumwun misheering or misunnerstanding sumfing. Comes frum a pome wif teh lion “and laid him on the green.” Yu fink yu heers “and Lady Mondegreen.” Heer it am eggsplaynd mush better: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondegreen
Hears an otter egg sample frum teh wiki payj:
Surely Good Mrs. Murphy shall follow me all the days of my life (“Surely goodness and mercy…” from Psalm 23)
aw yis, jus lyk ong lyrics.
Ooops, SONG lyrics. (cat assited typeing detected).
Gladly, the cross-eyed bear.
I agree. I rarely read the comments, mostly because I don’t have the time to contribute and really get involved, so I can’t follow comment threads for the really fun stuff. That being said, whenever I do get involved I’m always amazed at the clear intelligence of your average fluent Lolspeaker. I sometimes feel like I’m just not quick enough to ‘get it’, even though I end up doing half my posts in English and half in Lolspeak.
As to how you can get it ‘wrong’, which a couple of people have commented on, I personally think that the easiest way to get things ‘wrong’ in Lolspeak is just to lapse into “Kitteh-pidgin” – when you’re taking pidgin English and mispelling it in ways that are consistent with the general trend, that’s not Lolspeak.
To my mind Lolspeak has a cultural context, for which icanhascheezburger is essentially a museum. It’s the internet equivalent of if the Smithsonian existed primarily to archive the things that people talked about in the lobby. If you don’t recognize and reference the different memes/tropes that go along with it, it’s like learning every word in the English language but not knowing how to string them together. Something’s just missing.
*snerk* Ai git it naow! 8)
Ai haz a confyoozd nao, butt(!) not about lolspeak…..
Mai abbatar doez nawt show and it didd befur….. Ebberyfing lukz diffrunt nao.
Ai haz a stoopid?
Ohai, smudgiesmama! Dis has happent tu me before, adn it was becaws ai had a misteak in my emayo address in teh commints box. Worf looking at, k?
P.S. Nawt stoopid. {{{smudgiesmama}}}
Ohai CB!
*hedbonks CB and makes like a grayt sfinkks*
*sees a grayt sfinkks, notissus dat teh tail is waving*
Ohai, ruthie! Good tu see yu agin.
where can i get a degree in lol speak?
Ai meetid sumwun doin a thesis awn lolspeek
a linguist anni?
Wuz he/she writin it IN lolspeek? o.0 So manee WURDS! Tu much werk. Want moar naps!
I lubs Lolspeak, it tuk mee a wyle tew figgur it owt, but now I catch myself translating a conversation into Lolspeak. For example, when someone says “I think so”, I secretly smile and think “Aifinkso”! Lolspeak can mayk anee convursayshun mor fun…aifinkso!
I am an English professor, too…an I lubs dis! Iz EPIC WIN!
Awesome. As a (former) linguist, I always thought someone should do an analysis of LOLspeak phonology using Optimality Theory.
As a (PhD student) linguist it is pretty fascinating- I missed out on the ALS conference (my supervisor went though) now I wish I’d gone! I think its fascinating from a cognitive world building and sharing perspective, as well as the morphology. Hopefully Jill and Lauren didn’t get the sweeping conference cold that took out most of the participants!
ai kant beleb ai readed da whol fing! feelz lik ai has more n mii think area in mii hed!
Oh brudder! stpz allz teh analasiz an get ober urselbs! LOLspeaks juz a gud tyme! kthnxbai!
Happy Cat iz kitteh ov Ceiling Cat?
Ai can has stage frite nao. Is much ufnner wen yu doan fink yur beeying watched! Eggsept bai Cheezpeeps. Demz is okay to watch.
{{{{{{{{{{{{cheezpeeps}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
Ai wudnut wurree coz tehy hav enuff in teh Lolcat Biblol
tu keap tehm focust !! {{kellieKAT}}
Please slow down. Ai can’t lissen dat fast.
Ai……will……taip……slowlee……fur……u. Duz……taht……halp……Nomorenicekitteh……?
Lingo’s mai fing an dey Ossie hoomins dezerv much cheezburgers aifinkso
Most of LOL speak has a grammar structure similar to old english and a number of other languages. Spelling may seem wrong, but is only wrong by current day spelling.