I saw this picture the other day and was fascinated by the slogan.
cc licensed ( BY NC SA ) flickr photo shared by gcouros
Now I know that there are other issues with the advertisement, but I am going to focus on the use of the acronym “LOL” in the ad.
As I drove by this, I could just hear the arguments regarding how the english language has eroded with the use of acronyms in sentences. Many people of my generation and older, might not even know what “LOL” stands for (laugh out loud) or what it even means. Yet language continuously evolves and grows, and to be honest, many people now would be totally comfortable with what is written in this ad. Are the people that don’t understand what “LOL” means becoming illiterate? How wrong is it to use this in this ad?
Then I found this picture.
What do the two images have in common?
When I have asked some people, they do not see the similarities. Yet, the term “Scuba” is also an acronym (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus), but just one we are comfortable with because we grew up with it.
I guess we have been screwing up the language for a long time. Or, does language just continuously evolve?
Thoughts?
