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'OMG', 'FYI', 'LOL' and a love heart graphic enters Oxford English Dictionary

By | March 28, 2011, 5:20am PDT

Summary: ‘OMG’, ‘FYI’ and ‘LOL’ have entered the Oxford English Dictionary - including a love heart graphic, as a result of popular usage thanks to the Web.

The Oxford English Dictionary has accepted three new initialisms: ‘OMG’ standing for ‘oh my god’, ‘FYI’ standing for ‘for your information’ and ‘LOL’ for ‘laugh out loud’; all stemming from popular Internet culture today.

They join existing acronyms made popular with social networking and text messages, so called ‘instant communications’, such as ‘TMI’ for ‘too much information’, ‘IMHO’ for ‘in my humble opinion’ and ‘BFF’ standing for ‘best friends forever’.

However, those at the Oxford English Dictionary claim a personal letter from 1917 could be the first incarnation of the ‘OMG’ acronym, with ‘LOL’ taking the formation of ‘little old lady’ dating back to the 1960’s.

These new additions show the power of the web and instant communications on the English language, or at very least the influence on the acronym or the emoticon.

What may be most worrying is the graphic, “♥” - pronounced ‘to heart’ - has been classified as a verb, along with old favourite to ‘google’.

I’ll buy a pint to anyone who dares use the “♥” in an academic essay.

Has web-speak taken over?

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Object Management Group, Dictionary, Zack Whittaker

Zack Whittaker, a criminologist who studied at the University of Kent, Canterbury, is a journalist, writer and broadcaster.

Disclosure

Zack Whittaker

I worked briefly with Microsoft UK in 2006 but no longer have any connection with the company. Regardless, I remain impartial and unbiased in my views.

I don't hold any stock or shares, investments or industrial secrets in any company, but have signed confidentiality agreements with a number of UK and U.S. organisations, whose names I am not at liberty to disclose.

I was involved with Kent Union, the University of Kent's student union, undertaking voluntary, non-salaried, elected positions between early 2009 and mid-2010.

No other company, body, government department, non-governmental organisation or third sector organisation employs me or pays me a salary in any capacity whatsoever.

As a freelance journalist, whenever expenses are given and taken by a company that is not CBS Interactive, these will be disclosed in each relevant post to ensure transparency.

I currently work with a UK law enforcement unit, but this is an entirely separate position which bears no connection to other work.

(Updated: 23rd October 2011)

Biography

Zack Whittaker

Zack Whittaker, criminologist who studied at the University of Kent, UK, is a journalist, writer and broadcaster.

After studying criminology at university, though still in his early-20's, he has already had a series unconventional work and voluntary positions. He has worked with researchers studying neurological illnesses like Tourette's syndrome (which he suffers from), has given lectures on the nature of disabilities in the public community, and occasionally ends up speaking on television and radio discussing the events of the day.

He first had academic work published at the age of 22, then still an undergraduate, and has been cited by a wide range of publications: from the Huffington Post, Business Insider, AllThingsDigital, The Atlantic Wire and CBS News.

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RE: 'OMG', 'FYI', 'LOL' and a love heart graphic enters Oxford English Dictionary
jeeves1 Updated - 5th Apr 2011
@Ludovit
"to not use" is a split infinitive
View in thread
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RE: 'OMG', 'FYI', 'LOL' and a love heart graphic enters Oxford English Dictionary
Ludovit 28th Mar 2011
Our use of the English language has deteriorated beyond saving unless drastic measures are taken.

Most people I know under the age of 25 can't spell, and have no idea how to use proper grammar. I try desperately to not use acronyms, but still end up using them when my texts get over the 140 character mark, and I know my grammar has deteriorated as well.

I honestly think that the school systems and their dependance on computers is too blame, assignments should have to be hand written, not typed out on a computer where grammar checking and spell checking can be done for you, and bad spelling and grammar should be penalized heavily.

JMHO

Ludo
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Contributr
RE: 'OMG', 'FYI', 'LOL' and a love heart graphic enters Oxford English Dict
zwhittaker 28th Mar 2011
@Ludovit Try reading this piece by a friend of mine at the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10971949 - it's an interesting analysis of how language is changing, and whether it's a good thing or not. Stephen Fry is surprisingly a big advocate of 'changing language' - I'll try and link to the video, but can't seem to find it...
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RE: 'OMG', 'FYI', 'LOL' and a love heart graphic enters Oxford English Dictionary
Ludovit 28th Mar 2011
@zwhittaker Thanks Zack ... I think I found the video ... is this it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

Ludo
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Sorry, duplicate entry, just ignore this
Ludovit Updated - 28th Mar 2011
NT ...
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RE: 'OMG', 'FYI', 'LOL' and a love heart graphic enters Oxford English Dictionary
Aerowind 28th Mar 2011
@Ludovit I wouldn't normally point this out, but you used too instead of to in the first sentence of your last paragraph. Lectures on grammar sort of need to be grammatically correct to hold any weight.

That said, I do agree with you. I proofread a lot of stuff for my friends at college and I'm honestly surprised they got in at all. It's dreadfully atrocious.

I'm fine with webspeak...on the web. Acknowledging them as real, legitimate words, though, is silly.
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RE: 'OMG', 'FYI', 'LOL' and a love heart graphic enters Oxford English Dictionary
Ludovit 28th Mar 2011
@Aerowind Thank you for pointing out my error (I am aware of the difference between to and too, and when to use them. This was a typo). I will leave it uncorrected as it, in a way, points out that even those grammatically conscious do make errors, and should try harder in this day and age to proofread our own work.

Ludo
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FYI
EnglishBoy 2nd Apr 2011
@Aerowind "Dreadfully atrocious"? Surely that implies that there is something out there that is atrocious that isn't dreadful? Is "redundant" in the dictionary?
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RE: 'OMG', 'FYI', 'LOL' and a love heart graphic enters Oxford English Dictionary
Godolphin 29th Mar 2011
@Ludovit
Ludo when writing a criticism of spelling and grammar you should always check your own. It's simpler to rectify on a computer than having to re-engrave a stone tablet. Language has always moved with the times, gadzooks!
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RE: 'OMG', 'FYI', 'LOL' and a love heart graphic enters Oxford English Dictionary
Ludovit 29th Mar 2011
@Godolphin Thanks Godolphin ... as noted in the post above yours, and two below yours (now three), my error was admitted as a typo, and it was decided to leave it as it is for the reasons stated in the above post.

Thanks for noticing, and pointing it out to me.

Ludo
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Just saying.....
EnglishBoy 2nd Apr 2011
@Godolphin Surely any proofreader worth his muster would have noticed that the incorrect verb was used at the end of the last paragraph? In the sentence "I honestly think that the school systems and their dependance on computers is too blame", you mention the incorrect spelling of the word "too" (at least three times), but you say nothing about the fact that the verb should be in the plural, as in "I honestly think that the school systems and their dependance on computers ARE too blame".
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Correction "lol"
EnglishBoy 2nd Apr 2011
@Ludovit Surely if you have perfected the English language, you know that you should not be writing "I try to not use acronyms". The correct way to put it is "I try not to use acronyms". Just an FYI. Or is that TMI?
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RE: 'OMG', 'FYI', 'LOL' and a love heart graphic enters Oxford English Dictionary
JohnOfStony Updated - 4th Apr 2011
@EnglishBoy. Wow! You're hotter on picking up errors than I! I get accused of being pedantic and told that "language is a living changing thing". Yes, but that's no reason not to make an effort to write and speak English correctly. I hope I have not made any errors here for you to find!
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RE: 'OMG', 'FYI', 'LOL' and a love heart graphic enters Oxford English Dictionary
JohnOfStony 4th Apr 2011
@Ludovit. I agree about spelling and grammar. "Dependence" is the correct spelling and you've used "too" which means also instead of "to" which is the correct spelling of part of the infinitive of a verb (e.g. to blame). Finally one of my pet hates is the use of "acronym" instead of "abbreviation". An acronym is an abbreviation that makes a word, e.g. LASER (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) is an acronym. FYI and OMG are not acronyms; they're abbreviations. I must find or develop a website for English grammar and spelling.
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RE: 'OMG', 'FYI', 'LOL' and a love heart graphic enters Oxford English Dictionary
jeeves1 Updated - 5th Apr 2011
@Ludovit
"to not use" is a split infinitive
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RE: 'OMG', 'FYI', 'LOL' and a love heart graphic enters Oxford English Dictionary
dave@... 28th Mar 2011
WTF and OMG don't you know the diff between to, too and two. FYI it should have been "to". Actually I was LOL when I read your typo.

Thought it was funny as my digits slip and double type also. I don't touch type but hunt and peck. Its slow and sloppy but it works. As long as we do our best to catch most things and understand and not be toooo critical of other people's mistakes.
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RE: 'OMG', 'FYI', 'LOL' and a love heart graphic enters Oxford English Dictionary
Ludovit 28th Mar 2011
@dave@... I'm actually a little embarrassed because I too (notice the correct usage) LOL at errors in peoples posts that are trying to correct others. I would like to (correct usage) point out that at least there weren't two (correct usage) grammatical errors in that post ... happy.

As a side note, a friend had to tell her grandmother that WTF stood for Welcome To Facebook ... trust me, that didn't work out to well as grandma's Facebook introductions began starting with WTF ...

Ludo
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I use LOL all the time
LTV10 28th Mar 2011
People need to know that I'm laughing at them at how ridiculous they sound.
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Don't mess with gramdma.
dave@... 28th Mar 2011
@Ludovit
Grandma may be in the "big house" (ie. lodge or long term care facility) but she takes no prisoners.

ROFL. That made my day.
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Two Errors
EnglishBoy 2nd Apr 2011
@Ludovit There were, however, at least two (correct spelling) grammatical errors in that last post, namely the failure to use an apostrophe in "people's" and omitting inverted commas from "WTF". That said, you have one of the funniest stories to date there happy
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RE: 'OMG', 'FYI', 'LOL' and a love heart graphic enters Oxford English Dictionary
pgrmacdonald@... 28th Mar 2011
I thought FYI was already a business/government acronym long before the internet.
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RE: 'OMG', 'FYI', 'LOL' and a love heart graphic enters Oxford English Dictionary
sonrot@... 28th Mar 2011
@pgrmacdonald@... I remember that back in the 60's
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Oh Dear...
Naryan 28th Mar 2011
You can almost excuse the LOL and OMG... almost. But a picture of a heart? Pronounced "to heart"? This IS a dictionary, right? For... you know... words? That's just an absolute abomination. If it were a person, I would shoot it in the head. Out of pity.
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RE: 'OMG', 'FYI', 'LOL' and a love heart graphic enters Oxford English Dictionary
zydzy 30th Mar 2011
@Naryan - i am very much agree with you man... what is happening to the consultant/s of dictionaries now a days? Why they allow this to happen?
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RE: 'OMG', 'FYI', 'LOL' and a love heart graphic enters Oxford English Dictionary
dh1530 28th Mar 2011
OMG, this is perfect, I agree wholeheartedly, that our younger generation does not know how to spell, nor do they know grammar. I turn off Spell check on my niece and nephew's pc's all the time. I have a friend who somehow has never ever learned that woman and women are 2 different words. She, note, she, always refers to a woman or women as "women". This person also has no idea of the 3 different to's, to, too and two. She refers to all of them as to. This person actually has a college degree...for teaching.... Shame on our educational system.
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RE: 'OMG', 'FYI', 'LOL' and a love heart graphic enters Oxford English Dictionary
Godolphin 29th Mar 2011
@dh1530
An apostrophe does not indicate plurality.
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RE: 'OMG', 'FYI', 'LOL' and a love heart graphic enters Oxford English Dictionary
burrettpeter0@... 28th Mar 2011
I'm going to ghoti all day
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RE: 'OMG', 'FYI', 'LOL' and a love heart graphic enters Oxford English Dictionary
burrettpeter0@... 28th Mar 2011
George Bernard Shaw: the "gh" as in enough, the "o" as in women, and the "ti" as in attention......he also observed that those in US and Britain were two peoples divided by a common language
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RE: 'OMG', 'FYI', 'LOL' and a love heart graphic enters Oxford English Dictionary
Joe1DISH 29th Mar 2011
Well learning some of this has given useful knowledge. I am always on the web chatting it up. I work for DISH Network so I purchased the Google TV. So now I am watching TV and chatting all the time. Have the best of both worlds here. This is great for those who want to watch TV as well as surf.
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Surely two separate issues....
steve_jonesuk@... 29th Mar 2011
...what we have here is an article about deliberate changes in the language (LOL etc) which you may or may not like.
But a lot of the comments are about mistakes - a completely different thing.
I'm all for a "changing language" as long as it's done by people deciding they wish to use the language a different way.
That's not to say that YOU have to like it, of course - everybody has their own opinion.
But it's when non-standard language comes from ignorance that I get angry.
The thought that "flout" and "flaunt" are merging because people don't know the difference between the two is very disappointing.
Similarly, the word "lightning" seems to have an "e" in it these days.
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RE: 'OMG', 'FYI', 'LOL' and a love heart graphic enters Oxford English Dictionary
zydzy 30th Mar 2011
"LOL" is already in the dictionary but in my opinion. We should not put the "lol" in the dictionary. I had a hard time to explain why I know but my point is in the future whatever abbreviation which is not correct and not found in the dictionary which popularized by the internet or used in chatting rooms specially will be part of any dictionary...? How sad.
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RE: 'OMG', 'FYI', 'LOL' and a love heart graphic enters Oxford English Dict
seanpearson020169 31st Mar 2011
Ludo. English is not my first language, but on the subject of grammar and spelling:

- "to not use acronyms" is a split infinitive
- "is too blame" should be "are to blame" as the subject is plural and the wrong spelling of to was used.
- dependance should be dependence

TTFN

- El Tecnico Mejor
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RE: 'OMG', 'FYI', 'LOL' and a love heart graphic enters Oxford English Dictionary
Ludovit 31st Mar 2011
Wow. You are correct, and thanks for pointing them out. As I stated in my original post, I am aware that my grammar has deteriorated.

- "to not use acronyms" should be "not to use acronyms"
- too was simply a typo that I did not catch when I proofread my post.
- yep, you caught me - even though English IS my first language, there are still a few words I have trouble spelling.

Thanks again ... isn't constructive criticism way better than plain old evil criticism?

Note: If you read the link that Zack provides above, you will learn that TTFN was not introduced by Tigger from Winnie The Pooh fame, but a radio show called "It's That Man Again". A fact I never knew.

Ludo
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No need to panic
AnonymousCommentator 1st Apr 2011
True, the world is collapsing around us as LOLs and OMGs enter the OED. But fear not, there are alternatives: see http://unprovokeddigression.com/2011/02/the-world-is-crumbling-lol/
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OMG indeed
HypnoToad72 4th Apr 2011
What next, "you" replaced by "u" and the rest of the hacking down of the once-rich English language?!

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