I have been pondering about writing something about lolcats for quite a while, but lots of people have been commenting on them, so I have held back. However, I am increasingly concerned about the widespread tendency of people to understand lolcats as devoid of any education and sophisticated use of language. Some people patronizingly link lolcat-language to babyspeak. In order to draw attention to the growing discrimination against lolcats based on their perceived disability to write purrfick grammr I decided to make this small survey of lolcat literacy available to my discerning readers.
Consider this stereotypical view of lolcats, blatantly accused of causing illiteracy!
Lolcats are being accused of degrading the English language with their ignorance and apathy.
Contrary to popular belief many lolcats have a keen interest in language and learning. In fact, many lolcats claim desks and libraries to be their favourite places.
lolcat imporving her range of vocabulary
lolcat lost in reading
lolcat browsing library
lolcat grabbed by story plot
It is not just the materiality of books locats are fascinated with. Lolcats love reading books. Studies have shown that lolcats prefer reading novels of the fantasy genre over all other genres. Lolcat reading includes Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings”, C.S. Lewis’ “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” and of course, “Harry Potter” by J.K. Rowling.
The following case study shows that lotcat literacy is a situated social practice.
The average lolcat overcomes initial difficulties motivated by her desire to communicate and stay in touch.
Locats have shown a great admiration for the beauty of the English language, always trying to improve their literacy skills, expanding their range of vocabulary, and even master punctuation.
Literate lolcat improving her grammar.
Lolcat using apostrophe where it should.
Here are some samples of lolcast using big words almost correctly. This serves to show: lolcats are not cognitively challenged!
Lolcts have a also a great affinity for computers. Most of them are digitally literate, many of them keen bloggers or wikipedia editors. An empirical study of over 1500 cats has shown that 89% percent of lolcats own a computer and a high speed internet connection. (Infintecate.com 2007)
Lolcat demography
Here is a sad example of lolcat discrimination - an innocent lolcat accused of stealing the internets, while in reality many lolcats are highly trained computer specialists.
Discrimination against lolcats has been compared with sexual and racial discrimination, however leading lolcats claim that it is all about being a cat. Some people express such phobia of lolcats that they want to get rid of them alltogether. “We must rid the internet of not only LOLCATs, but of all cats.” says downwiththeinternets, (2008)
Despite all prejudices, discrimination and social disadvantages and long gruelling work hours many lolcats are successful high school and university graduates. However, until now only a few are holding respectable teaching and research positions in universities.
Lolcat studying for exam.
Lolcat writing dissertation.
Studies have shown that lolcats on average do not cheat or plagiarize more that the human population.
Lolcat scholars are known to employ creative methodologies, thinking both inside and outside the box.
Lolcats have been accused of being politically indifferent by being impossibly cuddly. But having attractive looks does not indicate low intelligence (necessarily)! Some lolcast have been forming oppositional political movements, as you can see here - a radical locat activist politizising - dismissing derogative assumptions about lolcat language and culture.
We would argue with Ethan Zuckerman that “Web 2.0 was created to allow people to share pictures of cute cats.” Zuckerman states that pictures of cute cats may be an important part of political activism as “making activism viral probably means making it funny as well as political and heart-wrenching.” (The Cute Cat Theory of Digital Activism, 2008)
Locat theorizing
It is about time locats receive the respect they deserve. The MIT is one of the first universities to open their catdoors to lolcats and locats lovers. Read more about a recent lolcat panel discussion “I can haz case study?” at ROFLcon held at the MIT.
Guardian (2008) Internet celebs gather to swap memes
Wired (2008) ROFLCon: It’s Not Easy Being Memes
(May 21, 2007) Cat Power www.slate.com/
Chiu Kevin (April 25 2008) Really Short Summary: LOLCATS Panel: I CAN HAZ CASE STUDY? ROFLCon
Dash Anil (April 23, 2007) Cats can has Grammar www.dashes.com/
Dash Anil (April 30, 2007) Cats, Comics, and Closure www.dashes.com/
ELFN 2007 (April 24th, 2007) LOLspeak as a Second Language (LKSL-101) in Five Easy Steps
Green Joshua (2007) Oh Hai! Cats, the internet, and tactical communities #19 receiver magazine www.receiver.vodafone.com/
Herwig, Jana (April 27 2008) Niedlichkeit als kulturelles Bindeglied (Online wie Offline) http://digiom.wordpress.com/
Chris (April 19, 2007) Image Macros: I’m in Your X, Y’ing Your Z www.mentalfloss.com/
icanhascheezburger.com/some-links/
Pedantic overanalysis of LOLcats not pedantic enough, says blowhard www.boingboing.net
Linguistic Mystic ( May 29 2007) im in ur programmz, codin in ur dialect: LOLCode and Feline Dialectology linguisticmystic.com
Linguistic Mystic (Feb 7 2007) im in mai blog, postin’ bout cats: The Cuteness of Grammatical errors linguisticmystic.com
Lischka Konrad (2008) Kindliches Kätzchen-Englisch überrollt Netzforen Spiegel online spiegel.de
Lolcat wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolcat
Lolspeak Wiki SpeakLOLspeak
Merchant Guy (May 28 2007) Lolcats myvedana.blogspot.com
McRaney David (May 8 2007) A Special In-Depth Analysis by - L337 Katz0rz
Newitz Annalee (Jan 22 2008) Evolution Explains Why Lolcats Control Your Mind http://io9.com/
Robin (April 18th, 2007) I Can Has Talking Animals? www.radioopensource.org
Thomas Angela (July 23, 200) Lolcats Literacies: oh hai… pass me teh towel? http://angelaathomas.com/
Zuckerman Ethan (March 8 2008) The Cute Cat Theory Talk at ETech www.ethanzuckerman.com/
Related:
LOLTrek Start Trek meets lolspeak
HOBOTOPIA Hand drawn comic strip about stray lolcats, based on lolcat meme
May 17, 2008 at 2:09 am
Was an excellent read. I am obviously a bit daft when it comes to knowing the entire scope of lolcat relations, but at the same time everyone ought to just shrug and take it for what it is, a funny joke.
Needless to say, the cats win.
May 17, 2008 at 8:47 pm
thanks for your comment :-) I guess there are few people who know all about locats. I just felt like sharing a few of my favorites and take the whole lolcat thing further :-)
May 18, 2008 at 5:09 pm
[...] to, just wrote a very nice article about Lolcats and their misconception as illiterate creatures: lolcat literacy. ‘nough said: Read for [...]
May 22, 2008 at 12:31 pm
What a brillinat post!!! enjoyed it a lot… a post of a viral naure (will sent it all over to those who understand) :)))
TANKZ!
May 22, 2008 at 2:14 pm
In 1979, one of our local schools was required to teach African American children using what came to be known as Ebonics. It recognized that there was an underlying grammar to how the children spoke, and that their language usage was an English dialect, not simply “bad grammar”.
What fascinates me about lolcats is that there is an underlying grammar and orthography. Maybe we can get a federal judge to rule that cats must be taught in their native dialect when they go to school.
May 22, 2008 at 2:45 pm
I read a study about African American children’s talk in that vein - I forgt the reference.
I agree, the longer the phenomenon goes on the more certain spellings and phrases turn into new conventions, like the spelling of “kitteh,” and that process is fascinating to watch. I am all for lolcats being taught their own native dialect :-)
May 31, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Oh Hai !
I fully agree with Sigrid! It is really fascinating to see a “new” language coming into existence and to observes how its own rules are being created by and in its usage.
“Pidgin”does not apply here. “Pidgin” or “Pigeon” finds it origin in wars in which carrier pigeons carried messages and could only carry a limited area of paper, usually sealed in a very small canister attached to a leg. Since writing space was very limited, all sorts of abbreviations were used, leading to “pigeon” speak. (Not only in English).
Furthermore, in English, orthography is, in many cases, “funny”. And so is sentence building (and grammar in general) when compared to other languages that are far more sophisticated like French, German, Russian etc.
So, Lolspeak is a very refreshing alternative that is innovating, funny, simple, logical (!) and kitteh-related. It also makes sense.
When trying to explain some Heisenberg viewpoints to some of my physics students at the university here, I have used lolspeak more than once and it works amazingly well to convey some of the more complex constructions. Of course, I also allow it in exams.
Kthxbai,
Rudolf.
June 19, 2008 at 8:47 am
Vry cool. The lolcat pics I meen. Dun reed wordz less theyz in lolcatz. :)
July 12, 2008 at 12:54 am
Hi Rudolf, sorry I never got round to reply to your thoughtful post. I would love to know more about how you use lolspeak for teaching physics -that really blows my mind!
Sigrid
July 29, 2008 at 5:05 pm
It sounds to me that there’s a little smidgeon of Kazakhstani in LOLCAT. You like?
I’d love to hear what you all think of teh LOLCAT Bible Translation Project:
http://www.lolcatbible.com/index.php?title=Main_Page
August 30, 2008 at 9:24 am
Great post, love it. I’ve been educating some lecturers at the university I work at about lolcats and lolcat speak. I accidentally wrote in lolcat in an email about meeting up for lunch: “can has own foods” or something similar. Now I just need to find more lolcat posts concerning digital literacy and information society and I’ll have them sold on the idea! ;^)