Has anyone else noticed an influx in abbreviations and acronyms making their rounds? Specially within the world of internet chatting. As if instant messaging wasn’t instant enough, people seem to feel the need to abbreviate everything they say and create new acronyms out of the blue at their leisure. What’s the rush people?! Aside from the fact that it’s completely unnecessary in daily conversations, it’s destroying people’s skills in English grammar and semantics.
The other day I had someone use “IMO” while we were chatting. It was a strange sight I had never seen before. Upon further inquiry, I discovered it stands for “in my opinion”. To which I replied, “IMOITIPAHYKUATIHTAYTSOA”. In case you’re not abbreviation savvy, that stands for “In My Opinion I Think It’s Pretty Annoying How You Keep Using Acronyms That I’ll Have To Ask You To Spell Out Anyway.” sigh. I take a certain amount of pride in the fact that I have never once used “lol” whilst chatting. The only abbreviation I do use is “brb” and that’s only because I tend to use it for bathroom breaks, and when I really gotta go, there’s no time to lose.
I think it all comes back to something I briefly touched upon on a past post. Society is like the White Rabbit: always in a rush to get somewhere, yet never quite able to get there. And it’s not just the abbreviations. Something else that I’ve always just laughed at are people at the front of red lights who keep inching closer and closer, as if by gaining 3 inches on everyone behind them, they’ll be able to get to their destination that much faster. The way I see it is if you’re late, then you’re late. Deal with it, cause if you get there 3 inches sooner, you’re still late…minus 3 inches. Life is short people, make the best of it. All of which bring to mind something The Merovingian once said: “if we never make time, how can we ever have time?”
...before my time is done, i will look down on your corpse and smile
8 comments:
hey its andy, i like todays blog its good, the other day in one of my classes this girl was like "btw mr hale i love the tie" and i was like are u kidding me? just say by the way , i mean btw takes just as long if not longer, lol i thought it was a funny sight. anyway the red light thing i dont think is a big deal i mean ppl can do w/e they want, if they like edging up then be my guest, then agian i guess im kinda a hypocrite cause i just said internet talk is stupid, oh well. although i do like to sit at the light with someone liek that next to me and then go before the ssee the light green, idk its kinda fun lol.
Niblet you've outdone yourself!!! Like i said earlier...i love reading your blog...but for the past few times all i've done is read..and FINALLY you've inspired me to comment, YAY!!! Ok..so here it goes...GREMIO RULES!!! hehe..just thought i'll throw that in. Anyways...to my cousins that seem to be quite active on this blog, WHAT UP?!? That be it for me. One more thing..remember to brush and flosh daily!! Otherwise, you'll be paying me a little visit soon enough. ;) Luv ya guys!!
First: dont use anonymous then write your name. Just use 'Other' and dont type in a webpage. :P
Second: Yeah the light thing doesnt really matter, after all most of the people probably arent carpooling or using fuel efficent cars so three inches of gas usages doesnt make a big dent in the massive waste of natural resourcecs that are ongoing. after all, it would be dumb to walk or bicycle to wherever your going, or just live closer, or take the bus. After all its not like oil is something that we are going to run out of in less than fifty years and that we use in tires and plastic and to power our cars and power plants and would be in big trouble without. oh, wait.
Third: I agree that the use of pointless acronyms is stupid when your talking to another person, especially when it doesnt even save you time of typing. as dilbert would say, its just not g (good), and saying acronyms in real speech just makes you sound ignorant, just dont do it,:P
Fourth: Yoyou have to considder that language is a constantly evolving thing. Change is good and desirable. Language must keep up with the world around it in order to remain a useful tool. True, change is bad when people start to use language in ways that makes it confusing or unclear, that is dangerous. Even more worrisome to me is the rise in illiteracy and aliteracy, people are increasingly unable or unwilling to read. This is much more dangerous than changes in language if you ask me. people need to learn to read and think critically about issues rather than ignorning them or not even hearing about them or becoming obbsessed with trivialities or spoon fed their opinions by mtv and fox news.
Fifth: an interesting final note, mabye acronyms are good. Once you start to use them you start to think with them too. Since you can think 'ttyl' faster than than 'talk to you later'mabye everyone will get smarter. or mabye meaning will be lost. since you can hold more items in your memory when you chunk them together (acronyms) mabye we will be able to think about more things at once and make more connections as our language changes. or mabye our expressiveness will shrink and our creativity and intelligence along with it. who knows, :P
Finally: Lord Chris Rocks Your Socks (LCRYS) hehehe
LOLLLLLL... OMG!! TWA!! brb..
*flush*
Ok. I have a comment about the "red light" statement. Some people may do it not to get faster to their destination, but rather because their car engine takes too long to start. So, by sliding forward 3 seconds before, it will give their car the extra push. And they can avoid being prey to Miami's impatient inhabitants who furiously honk at the innocent driver who frantically explains to herself as if they'll hear it that it's not a turbo!!!!!!!!!
i agree with chris, i mean omg..wtf is wrong with ppl today...i mean lmao its outrageous how people are just destroying our lang.
..jk jk
Juuust kidding..ha ha ha...
No, but really i do agree with chris. And people do need to read more...and become more critical and less ignorant. And stop supporting child labor..CORPORATE PIGS!
LMFOA!!!!!1111one1!! that was funny Munib. OMG I was LOL. NEways, I'll ttyl maybe tmrw.
I don't think I agree with ya Munib. Although internet jargun may be destroying proper grammar etc., school should be able to teach english without people being constantly confined to a "proper" form of writing.(which has already been excesively simplified from old english.)
As for the saving time aspect, I don't see how it can be a bad thing to save time. Saying "ttyl" gets the exact same point across as saying "talk to you later" and you don't have to type all the extra words. As long as the language still delievers the same information, I don't see how putting the info into a more concise form really detracts from the value.
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