Slashdot Mirror
Banned Words List Carries Its First Emoticon
DynaSoar writes "Lake Superior State University in Michigan's Upper Peninsula ('The land of four seasons: June, July, August and Winter') has just published its 34th annual List of Words to Be Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness. Besides such unsurprising inclusions such as 'green' corporations being 'game changing' due to concern with their 'carbon foot print,' this year's list contains an emoticon for the first time — not a smiley face or variant, but the 'heart' symbol made from the characters 'less than' and 'three.' It's perhaps a sign of the evolution of language, or at least of this volunteer linguistic watchdog group, that a symbol compounded of two characters, neither of them a letter, is considered not only a word, but a particularly egregious one."
Let's celebrate.
\o/
Since the article doesn't explicitly list it, the banned emoticon is 3.
http://www.lssu.edu/banished/current.php They appear to either hate political discourse or the sound-bite products of political discourse.
What a bunch of loosers!
<3 is supposed to be a heart!? And all this time
I thought it was mammaries or butt-cheeks, depending
on the context.
The "cue the foo posts in 3, 2, 1..." posts will commence with no subsequent foo posts in 3, 2, 1...
Or maybe ban the losers who constantly spell lose as loose.
If I had an Ass, I'd call it Fanny Bottom, then I could slap my Ass; Fanny Bottom, on the Arse.
Cue a bunch of humor-impaired Slashdotters exploding in 5...4... Shit, too late.
isn't "kiss my ass" ?
That explains a lot.
3...........2............1...........
8====D
Okay yes we can ban that one.
A long time ago my friend had a AIM screen name. It involved the "3", well it took me months to understand why it was in the screen name.....that helped to explain why people were using it on forums and such.
I mean WTF, a 3 plus is not a heart. Only people that think it looks like a heart would invent something so stupid.
I love censorship. 3 ... 3? ... oh dammit. Slashdot has ruined my opportunity to be ironic.
Some no-name college makes a list of phrases that they think are stupid and they get on the news.
Someone sees '<3' and nerdgasms. The aftermath is left here on Slashdot.
This is not news, it's spam.
Move along please.
What's that one bash.org quote?
a: I love her with all my 3
b: You love her with all your less than three? Inches?
And all along I thought it <3 stood for Boobs on a cone.
I <3 monkeys and have set up a green organization so to achieve our directive and maintain a low carbon footprint, along with my wife to protect them. My wife is a bit of a Maverick and is trying to run for president but I am ok with being First Dude.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Does anyone else remember when their teacher used to make the comment "'Ain't' is not a word... it isn't in the dictionary." Then finally someone looked it up and it WAS in the dictionary? People define the language, the language doesn't define the people. Those grumpy folks publishing this stuff need to remember that.
If they really wanted to preserve English, they'd still be using "thou" and whatnot. Don't get me started on why the Bible is usually still in Old English... Most people don't even realize that it's already a badly translated mix of Aramaic and such. Thankfully, it's been retranslated finally into the "new international version".
Oh great, now I'm ranting. I should get university backing and publish an official list of pet peeves too.
Americans leave out the "u" in colour, armour, neighbour, etc. We no longer pronounce "night" as [ni:xt] or [ni:t] (IPA). We could come up with a huge number of examples, but why bother? Language evolves over time, words lose or gain meaning. It's a natural process. You'd think an academic institution would understand this simple concept, but I guess grabbing headlines is more important than practicing proper academia.
Emoticons are just an evolution of a new language. It's actually quite extraordinary. We have now created symbols that can represent simple meanings cross-culturally and cross-linguistically, and these symbols are popularized in large part by the youth of the world. They are creating a whole new language right before our eyes. I wouldn't be surprised if we would soon be able to communicate simple messages between different cultures that speak different languages via symbols (some would argue we already can). It's a shame that institutions such as this one and the "get off my damn lawn" crowd are ridiculing such an extraordinary example of the human ability to adapt and break down communicative barriers.
Me: LSSU! <3 :( :D
LSSU: </3
Me:
LSSU: ( ^_^ )
LSSU: <(^_^<)
LSSU: (>^_^)>
LSSU: (o^_^)O
LSSU: O(^_^o)
Me:
LSSU: (>O<)
Me: D:
8======D I mean really! :D
Where's the ASCII Goatse guy when you need him?
We figured out a long time ago that it's easier to elect seven judges than to elect 132 legislators.
Variants include /3 for a broken heart, $ to convey a financial motive for love, and 4 as the superlative of 3.
I'm always amused how people -- who will defend to the death the word "hacker" 's right to still today mean what it did for three weeks in 1994, despite over a decade of evolutionary use to the contrary -- insist that emoticons retain any value outside of of a fat-fingered person's text messaging.
There is an art and a skill and a subtlety to the written word, something we developed over thousands of years of evolution. When I see our species reverting to pixelated cave pictographs, it makes me wonder whether stone knives and bearskins are next.
</3 Lake Superior State University
Language is whatever conveys meaning that is mutually understood between the speaker and the listener.
English, in particular, has no governing body that dictates the proper use of the language. I am fairly offended that these people have appointed themselves as some kind quasi-arbiter of our language.
People who say "sheeple" have about as much sophistication as an AOL user, and in fact are probably actually AOL users.
(_)_)/////////////////////D OMG I got Filter error: Please use fewer 'junk' characters. I cant use fewer characters, then it wouldnt be to scale...
We don't care 'cause UPers are savages.
Signed,
All Us Trolls
Very very /3
What is the answer to life, the universe, and everything?
2!
Well, you're only half right...
How about 3? Or maybe 3{.
My personal favorite ..!.
/\/\icro/\/\uncher
For some time now I've been using >=3 as an emoticon for "hate". Rarely do people seem to get it, though.
Armor, Armour, Armer all all pronounced the same way. Language relates to the spoken word, how it is spelled is up to the intellectuals and academicians. Spelling makes not difference in language. Which is why it surprises me that a symbol that has no unpronounceable is included in this tongue in cheek policing of the language.
I read Slashdot for the headlines, because the headlines, unlike the articles, are usually original and never duplicated
my day has been made. best O-T ever. and ben is my hero.
"Vista"........AKA Mojave
=O=
I always thought it was a buttcone.
many people seem to think they can make any boring name sound more attractive just by adding the word 'monkey' to it," wrote Rogier Landman of Sommerville, Mass.
That would be Somerville. Right up there with loosers and there/there/they're and are/our
one of them is filtered as insightful +5
You speak London? I speak London very best.
Get out of here; Slashdot is for kids!
--
http://www.madonna.com
That's because that's obviously the evil-cat-mouth smiley. Come on.
-- Lattyware (www.lattyware.co.uk)
"Less than three music" is a nice radio station
How can anything in Michigan be removed from the Queen's English?
Won't they have to tear up the declaration of independence (I think perhaps that should be in capitals:-) )
Even Her Majesty's own subjects don't speak whatever the Queen's English is. Just listen to the now invisible glottal stop in estuary English (cue Amy Winehouse album) "To'al" or the south's strange pronounciation of Wednesday as Wendsday.
If Michigan wants to rescue the Queen's English, I suggest they email an apology to Our Lizzie at Buck House, send a back payment for all that unpaid stamp duty, start drinking tea again, change all of their Boulevards back to streets, start driving on the wrong side of the road again, charge citizens over one hundred pounds per year to watch the telly, start making films at Hollywood, rename (American) football to armoured-rugby and then start playing (proper)football again and declare President Elect, Barack Obama King...
I could go on...
Posts, MyBio or Sig, may contain satire, sarcasm, bolded nouns be sardonic or even witty & be Church of SD
Seriously? Someone decided that an emoticon for the heart should be banned altogether?
Sounds to me like someone got dumped for the umpteenth time in a row, can't even get his mother to go to lunch with him, and is still carrying a grudge that the Valentine he made with crayons, construction paper, and glue and gave to his second grade teacher ended up in her trash basket by the end of the school day folded around a gray wad of chewed DoubleMint gum.
*** *** You're just jealous 'cause the voices talk to me... ***
I tagged this article... wait for it... </3
Americans don't "leave out" the 'u' in 'colour'. Americans simply don't know it is supposed to be there in the first place. The agnorant "leave out" theory is nothing more than a primitive way to cover up their embarrassment when they finally discover that it is actually spelled with 'u'.
The word 'evolution', when used in the contexts like this one, is supposed to mean the progressive developments in the language, not just any arbitrary change. The distortions of English language introduced by virtually illiterate Americans don't qualify as evolution.
...do a bunch of UPers get to say what should and should not be in the Queen's English.
Looks like a mutates penis symbol.
Why do you put the '=' in there?
You're an idiot, no wonder people don't get it. Come up with something original and good ya dork.
=O=
(I wonder if he makes the list next time ?)
Americans don't "leave out" the 'u' in 'colour'. Americans simply don't know it is supposed to be there in the first place. The agnorant "leave out" theory is nothing more than a primitive way to cover up their embarrassment when they finally discover that it is actually spelled with 'u'.
I think Americans will be better off not taking spelling lessons from someone who cannot properly spell ignorant.
It's a lion - quick, get in the car !
>:3
There's a Russian joke about emoticons (I'm sure totally made up).
During his first orbit, Yuri Gagarin was asked if he was enjoying the view, to which he responded "the view is three equals eight."
3=8 ("zayebis!" or rough equivalent of "fucking awesome!")
You kinda have to have you mind in the gutter to see this one (but I'm sure most slashdotters will do just fine ;)).
If you open yourself to the foo, You and foo become one.
Hah-ha! You've fallen into GP's trap -- he's redefined "old" to mean "early modern." Because languages change over time, and early modern definitions are forced to give way to frobble glorkle prabulax.
$META_SIG_JOKE
Why would a school in Michigan care about the Queen's English? We dont' speak the Queen's English; we speak American English.
That's because that's obviously the evil-cat-mouth smiley. Come on.
Or a sad chef..
I'm sorry, but emoticons, among other butchery of the english language in instant messaging, R&B, pop, and rap are not legitimate, and are in fact a sign of the devolution of the human species.
I find it interesting that it did not require a civilization shattering catastrophe for a dark age to begin to dawn.
Barbarism should be actively curtailed though.
VLC FOR MAC IS DYING! IF YOU DEVELOP, PLEASE SAVE IT!!
If :) is a smile then the bottom is to the right. 3 would be a ball sack then.
Why would people assume that all the other emoticons have the bottom on the right then switch it up for 3? Is there any other emoticon that the bottom is on the left?
They appear to either hate political discourse or the sound-bite products of political discourse.
They clearly love irony though. A US university trying to ban words from the Queen's English?
The "u" was removed by Noah Webster. There were some other intentional changes, like "aluminium" -> "aluminum". The purpose was, among other things, to differentiate the language from British. Of course, this all happened at a time when spelling wasn't fully standardized, so neither British nor the Americans were had the "correct" spelling for the other side to bastardize.
As for language evolution: its sole purpose is not to progress in a positive direction, but to progress in such a way that the speakers are able to express what they want and need to express. If that means simplification in syntax or morphology or whatever, then so be it. Any other standard for language evolution is groundless. The rest of your rant is just ignorant and hateful BS.
Butchery...or an evolution for more effective communication over a limited channel? As for rap and R&B, there's no butchery there at all, it's just based on a different dialect of English.
I don't understand where these "decline of civilization" people come from and how they so ironically prove the point they are making by being complete and utter idiots who make groundless and ignorant claims without any qualification whatsoever.
Samuel L Jackson was in that, right?
All this time I thought it was an elite club that I wasn't a part of. I had hoped people mistakingly believed I was already part of the gang and could skip the initiation.
"I guess I'm gonna fade into Bolivian."
Us mathematicians use a different symbol:
Î>0
(best viewed with UTF-8)
they must be mavericks for banning all those words. That's the change our language needs.
Yes it means love, but it is a specific slam on polygamy. (apparently self love is OK though)
In celebration of the end of 2008, let me take a bullet for all /. Grammar Nazis by condemning The F******* Summary for this linguistic turd:
particularly egregious
Rich And Stupid is not so bad as Working For Rich And Stupid.
I expect it's closer to the third theory (not listed in your post), which is that it's inspired by animals of some sort. for example, mating swans make something quite close to a heart shape. same thing with dragonflies
It's not stupid. It's Advanced.
They missed "intertubes" and "looser" used as a noun (as in "your a looser").
I'm a Programmer. That's one level above Software Engineer and one level below Engineer.
just a really long nose.
You've got to be lying.
Nah. Americans are just more efficient. We don't need those extra letters. The "u" in Armour is probably the boss's relative so that's why it's there. Kinda like that extra union worker who's always leaning on the broom but never sweeping.
Now we see the violence inherent in the system.
and try to reduce your cesium footprint. I know I'll do my part. Happy New Year.
i\hbar\dot{\psi}=\hat{H}\psi
The funny thing about that one is that it actually works on an emoticon on its own - it can be read the same way that :) or XD and so on can.
Clever.
I was almost expelled from junior high over ASCII art and this one brought back some memories. There plenty of emoticons banned after that at that school. Funny how the principal even declared that computers were evil arcade machines that would never be useful in the 'real world'. }=)
(o)
o >
(o)
"It's perhaps a sign of the evolution of language, or at least of this volunteer linguistic watchdog group, that a symbol compounded of two characters, neither of them a letter, is considered not only a word, but a particularly egregious one."
No guy, it's a sign they don't have a list for "emoticons to be banned", nothing more.
Stop trying so hard.
"The government grants you rights, not the other way around."-- beav007. Yes, these people really exist...
i<3 ny
i^2 < 3^2
-1 < 9
i<3 ny? ==> y(es)
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
I wish they would ban them trash words that are spreading like wild even to the young kids at school such as "innit", "bruv", etc..
that's because <3 looks vaguely like a heart whereas >=3 looks very much like an aghast chef.
not for nothing...but >=3 looks like you are pissed off and have balls-on-chin.
pre1970 internet? man your a granpa
i had net in 80 and there was plenty a BBS board and much in way that is now called l33t sp3@k
Clearly we need a government agency to enforce this list, or at least part of it. At the very least, politicians need to be fined thousands of dollars for use of the word "Maverick."
Alternatively, they could just fine news organizations for using catch-phrases more than 20 times a day.
</3
CAn'T CompreHend SARcaSm?
LSU might be in the UP but it's not made up of yoopers. If it was, they would know that the four seasons in the UP are thus:
1. Early winter
2. Mid winter
3. Late winter
4. Next winter
No, actually, we leave it out because it's pointless. Nice try though.
All we have to do now is !(/3)
I <3 that emoticon!
Don't put advice in your sig.
For some time now I've been using >=3
Carl Carrol, is that you?
So </3 is still ok?
Do we need to move on to E> and S2 for <3 replacements now?
It didn't take the 14 year olds long to exploit the Runescape character font to circumvent the chat filters in that game. It won't work here, but in that environment,
as soon as you see "A q p", you know that they are about to draw a penis with the second line of " W".
Brenda would be the sovereign, only a few places like Tonga got to keep their indigenous monarchies. Obama would have to settle for being Prime Minister, or rather Premier, which was the usual term for the chief minister of a self-governing colony. You see, having been in rebellion for 233 years, I don't think we'd trust the Americans with full Dominion status right from the start.
Clearly the most misused word on /. There's even a Wiki entry on its chronic misuse.
Here, it's misused just like the "troll" or "flamebait" moderation - that is, anything that disagrees with the user's worldview, politics, interpretation of the Constitution, etc.
Slashdot "libertarians": Small government for me, big government for those I disagree with. -1, I disagree with you
Ahem, the Chinese have been using that for millennia now. The Japanese Kanji and the Korean Hanja are ripoffs of the Chinese Hanzi, and, whereas pronunciation and even syntax are different, the meanings are retained, just like in the case of smileys. I'll let you into a secret: in foreign countries we actually do the same for numbers: e.g. "Rocky V" is pronounced "Rocky fem/fuenf/cinque", not always "Rocky five", depending on language, because our digits work just like Hanzi ideograms, or smileys. So it's hardly something new.
Victims of 9/11: <3000. Traffic in the US: >30,000/y
No worries, this is just typical /. give-and-take. And, the NIV is a decent translation FWIW. Happy new year.
$META_SIG_JOKE
Just proving my point. Happy fucking new year, liberals.
Those cheese-eating-surrender-monkeys will be happy to see fewer words in the English language.
"I just can't sit while people are saying nonsense in a meeting without saying it's nonsense" J Watson, Sci Am 288:(4)51
:-)(-:
guess what these smileys are doing....?
Ask Me About... The 80's!
I always thought 3 was a kiss. Gahhh ! Why do I always misunderstand emoticons ?
I always thought <3 was a kiss. Gahhh ! Why do I always misunderstand emoticons ?
I'd pay money to see "perfect storm" go away. People currently use it to represent any situation which contains two or more variables. I literally scream in their faces when they do that.
Lake Superior State University has nothing but >3 for 3. :(
Property is theft.
Obviously I don't hang with the cool kids who use "monkey" as an affix, so are there any examples of this? Or did somebody just make it up and submit it?
>:3
Issa lion! Get in da car!
All rites reversed 2010
if by "a different dialect" you mean illiterate mispronunciation and the inability to use proper diction, then sure.
VLC FOR MAC IS DYING! IF YOU DEVELOP, PLEASE SAVE IT!!
jesus christ it's a lion get in the car!!1
What is "proper diction"? You mean the diction used by standard written English. Well, that's all well and good, but that's just one possible set of words. There's nothing inherently "proper" about it except that it is the current accepted standard for writing this particular language. God did not come down and bequeath unto us mortal humans standard written English. From a linguistic standpoint, it's no more proper than any other dialect's set of words. Now, if you are writing a book, then you definitely need to follow the rules of standard written English and not use dialectical or colloquial words, idioms and grammatical rules. I agree with you there. But in general, it's not "inferior". If you want inferior, try looking at a pidgin, which is actually a true subset language with incomplete rules and minimalist vocabulary and is, of course, illiterate by nature.
Many spoken dialects other than AA ones pronounce words differently from the standard. Often, their pronunciations predate the ones developed by the standard, so they are, from a historical standpoint, more "correct". Yes, dialects are usually inherently illiterate (as the written standard dialect is preferred in modern times when writing, for obvious reasons), but that doesn't make them "mispronunciations" or inferior, in and of themselves. Using them in the wrong situations or with the wrong groups of people is a problem, obviously. But it's a very different problem.
Goodness gracious me!
..
What next? An ascii-art of goatse?
hmmnn. wait a sec- perhaps we should call that ascii arse.
At least, before I get a "there- fixed it for ya!" reply here...
.
.
- aqk
F U
In some contexts, 3 is a furry with a pointed hat.
there is no god but truth, and reality is its prophet
failed primary school math i take it?
Well, shit.
Science is all about firing a drunk pig out of a cannon just to see what happens.
He he he. Apparently, you are unaware of the fact that "agnorant" is a perfectly cromulent word these days. (Welcome to America...)
--Ben Franklin, June 25, 1745
In summary:
Why I like women over 40:
They don't yell.
They don't tell.
They don't swell.
And they're grateful as hell.