Poll: LOL and OMG are now words?

[Woodsey]

But they are NOT words...they are...well, i dont remember the actual word, but they are multiple words.

Acronyms can go in the dictionary, as can slag.

People actually voted for "Yes" ?

Please excuse me while I go hang myself.

This has set a precedent. Prepare to watch civilization crumble.

I'm pretty sure Chaucer was criticised for "ruining" the language, and Shakespeare used to just make words up.

OT: LOL isn't pointless, its just become ironic, in that you only say it out loud when you're not actually laughing.

Its not a matter of can, its a matter of should...
It should not.

Do people use them? Yes.
Do they have meaning? Yes.
Are they widespread? Yes.

Qualifies for a dictionary entry in my mind. If we went by how you lot think, we'd still be talking the same way we did 1000 years ago. Its kind of like conservatism - ultimately pointless, because everything changes anyway, no matter how much you try and delay it.

People will use it whether its in the dictionary or not, so again, I don't really see the issue. Likewise, you're not forced to use it because its in the dictionary.

 

[shadyh8er]

Soooo, does this mean we'll get to use them in essays and such?

 

[GiantRaven]

And there was me thinking a dictionary was for showing the definition of a word when you don't know what it is. If something such as 'lol' or 'omg' is incredibly commonly spoken, it only makes sense to include them in a dictionary so people can look up what they mean.

I really don't get what the big deal is here at all.

he understandably doesn't speak to me much anymore

It's hardly surprising, considering how rude you seem to have been towards him. I really hope you aren't trying to show some point of superiority here.

Soooo, does this mean we'll get to use them in essays and such?

What would the context be? I can't see a situation where using 'lol' in it's general form would be appropriately placed within an essay.

Being able to work it in would kick ass though.

 

[Kiyotaki]

People actually say the words LOL and OMG all the time and what if some pour soul doesent know the word, at least that soul npw has the comfort to look it in a real dictionary

 

[Toriver]

I would say that LOL makes sense, but not OMG. I haven't ever heard someone actually try to pronounce OMG as an actual word, as in putting the letters together into one continuous sound. I've heard LOL pronounced as "lawl" plenty of times, and I can see contexts in which it would be used. But OMG? How in the hell would you pronounce that? Where would you use it? What exactly would its definition be? LOL would obviously be a verb for "to laugh out loud", perhaps among other meanings, but OMG? I can't think of any real meaning outside use as an interjection for "oh my god", which really does not give it any other meaning or use outside of being an acronym, and last I checked, pure acronyms, such as USA and FBI, aren't exactly considered one word either. So yeah, I say, LOL = yes, OMG = no.

 

[Lukeje]

Hmm... so I actually just looked up the record for `OMG' in the OED; the first citation they use of it is from 1917. I really didn't expect it to be that old...

The first reference for `lol' is however 1990 (more the sort of age I was expecting).

 

[Zechnophobe]

LOL (lol) and OMG (omg) have both been put into the Oxford English Dictionary.
I think this is sad news and they should have been kept to the internet, you can't even say lol when smiling or laughing, so it's it's effectively...pointless, unless you use it like a slow clap, as mentioned in the article.
What are your opinions on this?

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12893416

It really isn't that complex.

1) Do people commonly say lawl or ohemgee?
2) If yes, put their definition in the dictionary

This is what dictionaries are for.

 

[theultimateend]

LOL (lol) and OMG (omg) have both been put into the Oxford English Dictionary.
I think this is sad news and they should have been kept to the internet, you can't even say lol when smiling or laughing, so it's it's effectively...pointless, unless you use it like a slow clap, as mentioned in the article.
What are your opinions on this?

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12893416

I think back to the day when an ancient man said:

"Oh really? Are you honestly telling me that "What" is now a word? This is nonsense! Only a fool would use that word! Our language is dying."

LOL (lol) and OMG (omg) have both been put into the Oxford English Dictionary.
I think this is sad news and they should have been kept to the internet, you can't even say lol when smiling or laughing, so it's it's effectively...pointless, unless you use it like a slow clap, as mentioned in the article.
What are your opinions on this?

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12893416

It really isn't that complex.

1) Do people commonly say lawl or ohemgee?
2) If yes, put their definition in the dictionary

This is what dictionaries are for.

Don't you dare bring reality into this discussion! Being a language hipster is all I have left!

 

[Lukeje]

I don't accept this. Please try again. I understand the evolution of language that is differed by location and such but really? The first person i see using this out loud is getting punched. And before someone says something about me being close minded and that this is how the world works or some other bullshit know this. I don't care. I understand how this isn't the death of "Culture" but why do something so stupid as to add "lol" "omg" to the dictionary. Why not add something like Thrice?

Thrice is in the OED. It has been since 1912.

 

[azurine]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHY CRUEL WORLD? WHY?!?

 

[Dystopia]

Just chiming in to say that is both disturbing and upsetting. Way to ruin the English language, Internet

 

[TheIronRuler]

They are abbreviations, but in my language similar words become formal, though a golden apple being an orange (abbreviation) in my language makes sense to some extent, but this is simply idiotic.

 

[Bobbity]

So it would seem. I do actually tend to say lol as a word now, rather than LOL, so for me, that, at least, is right.

 

[dmase]

The definitions aren't for you there for posterity. They are a cultural phenomenon of abbreviation guaranteed to be used well through the information age.

OR

Old people kept complaining about how they didn't know what the whippersnappers where saying online.

 

[Saelune]

But they are NOT words...they are...well, i dont remember the actual word, but they are multiple words.

Acronyms can go in the dictionary, as can slag.

People actually voted for "Yes" ?

Please excuse me while I go hang myself.

This has set a precedent. Prepare to watch civilization crumble.

I'm pretty sure Chaucer was criticised for "ruining" the language, and Shakespeare used to just make words up.

OT: LOL isn't pointless, its just become ironic, in that you only say it out loud when you're not actually laughing.

Its not a matter of can, its a matter of should...
It should not.

Do people use them? Yes.
Do they have meaning? Yes.
Are they widespread? Yes.

Qualifies for a dictionary entry in my mind. If we went by how you lot think, we'd still be talking the same way we did 1000 years ago. Its kind of like conservatism - ultimately pointless, because everything changes anyway, no matter how much you try and delay it.

People will use it whether its in the dictionary or not, so again, I don't really see the issue. Likewise, you're not forced to use it because its in the dictionary.

I am definatly someone who thinks that language should go with the times, but slang is slang. I really do not condone people talking like idiots (hene why I will never support..."ebonics")

 

[Midnight Crossroads]

People need to get over this. If q.e.d. can be in the dictionary, so can lol and omg. Would you consider quod erat demonstrandum unsuitable for the dictionary because philosophers and mathematicians decided to be lazy?

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

Every time I hear someone say 'lol' or 'omg' out loud I have the sudden urge to punch them in the face. Urban dictionary most definitely, but not the Oxford/Webster/whatever dictionary. That's just ridiculous, besides saying 'lol' is kinda redundant to me, you are already laughing, why are you saying that?

Call me whatever you like, I really don't care, but this is the kind of shit that annoys the hell out of me.

 

[Lukeje]

I don't accept this. Please try again. I understand the evolution of language that is differed by location and such but really? The first person i see using this out loud is getting punched. And before someone says something about me being close minded and that this is how the world works or some other bullshit know this. I don't care. I understand how this isn't the death of "Culture" but why do something so stupid as to add "lol" "omg" to the dictionary. Why not add something like Thrice?

Thrice is in the OED. It has been since 1912.

Then which Dictionary isn't it in? Websters?

I have no idea. It seems to be in the online Merriam-Webster.