Rene Descartes walks into a bar.
The bartender recognizes him and says, "So, Rene, do you want a martini?"
"I think not," Descartes replies.
POOF! He disappears.
(Clarification needed?)
The web is a funny place. For the last month the most popular website on Wordpress has been I Can Has Cheezburger, a site to which people submit pictures of their pets, complete with funny captions. The captions are written in pet language. Yes, I said pet language. LOLCat, to be precise.
What amazes me is not that the site exists, or that thousands of people caption and send in pictures of their pets, which, according to the site's rules, become the property of the site's owners who can do anything they want with it (including advertising their site or making money without royalties to the owner.)
Nope, what amazes me is that the rules for the pet language, which are spelled out on the site--written in LOLCat--are being followed by everyone who submits a picture. I am amazed. I haven't seen so much strict rule following since I arrived at the airport in what was then East Berlin.
The same people who won't move out of their lane when a blaring fire engine is behind them, know "kitteh" in the subjunctive. My clients don't want to follow simple grammar rules, all the while telling me they can't learn them now.
Yet all these people on a funny picture website know the ins and outs of Caturday and the walrus's bukkit. Cheezburger has 'em lined up speaking fluent 'lolcat' fluently. Amazing. Must be an immersion language.
About the Author: Quinn McDonald is a writer and nationally-known speaker who has achieved the "Professional" designation from the National Speakers Association. Contact Quinn through her website, QuinnCreative.com.
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