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LOL, OMG and ♥ Added to Oxford English Dictionary

REAL WORDS

Notes “more than a simple abbreviation going on.”

cheats/2011/03/24/lol-omg-and-added-to-oxford-english-dictionary/omg_fiio4p

OMG, we ♥ this news, LOL! The Oxford English Dictionary added the three “initialisms” OMG, LOL, and ♥ Thursday, making them real words worthy of etymological recording. The OED said these words “are strongly associated with the language of electronic communications.” Don’t get tied up in the abbreviation, the OED said, since the dictionary notes “there often seems to be a bit more than simple abbreviation going on.” This means that “LOL” had included in its definition that it can “parody the level of unreflective enthusiasm or overstatement that can sometimes appear in online discourse, while at the same time making oneself as an ‘insider’ au fait with the forms of expression associated with the latest technology.” Here’s a little trivia for the “younger generation” OED associated these terms with: OMG first appeared in a personal letter in 1917 and LOL dates back to 1960, although it appeared as “little old lady.”

Read it at The Huffington Post