1. Is the smiley face is going to become the first new punctuation mark since the Middle Ages? On the one hand, it conveys something that the other punctuation marks can't (like, I'm being ironic, or trying to be funny). On the other hand, if I need to use a smiley face to tell the person I'm writing to that he or she shouldn't take what I just said seriously, I'd rather say it better so it's clear, or not say it at all. I'm reminded that in primate body language (that includes human body language), the baring of teeth (smiling) can be a sign of submission: "I'm not a threat to you". Does it mean something that few if any men use smiley faces in their writing? :)
2. Is "strategery" is going to insinuate itself into American English? I heard two people use the word in conversation this week. They prefaced it with something like, "As George Bush would say, 'strategery' . . ." But it's a catchy word ("strategery"), and if people keep saying that, it's going to become like "The Three R's", or "ginormous", words/phrases that people use as a joke so often that they go beyond cliche and start to actually mean something.
1 comment:
Too much time alone with your thoughts can make you crazy. Trust me, three days a week I commute up to three hours a day. I'm bananas!
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