I’m puzzled.
Cats. They’re the kings of the jungle. The aloof animals who will let you pet them… but only on their terms. Basically, cats are just too cool for everything. They’re kind of the original hipsters.
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Growing up, I was fairly certain that cats were the smartest creatures out there. Take Garfield, for example. He might be fat and lazy, but he’s also clever and well-spoken. (Well thought-bubbled?) In contrast to sweet, lovable, dim Odie (and hopeless Jon), Garfield was clearly the brains of the operation.
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My first cat, Buttercup, also gave off an air of superiority. She seemed pretty sure that she was… the cat’s pajamas. I wasn’t quite sure where the dogs and I fell on the intelligence continuum, but I knew that it was somewhere below the cat.
So, why did the Internet decide that cats have poor grammar and spelling skills? Honestly, it wouldn’t really surprise me to learn that cats actually speak in Elizabethan English. I’m not joking. Cats probably judge our grammar. (I’m pretty sure that this cat does. And this one just judges us. For everything. I told you cats were hipsters.)
I’m genuinely curious. Who decided that if adorable animals could talk, they’d sound like they recently suffered some sort of head injury? It’s fascinating that lolcat has become its own weird language. You can even translate regular English into lolcat (and it seems that lolcat has its own set of rules) – hence the grammatically tortured title of this post. (You can also read the Bible in lolcat, if that’s your jam.)
Don’t get me wrong… I’m as charmed by emoticats as the next gal. However, this whole phenomenon is beyond my comprehension. I know that some of you out there may be more comfortable with lolcat speak than I am – if so, care to enlighten me? (I mean, the guy who founded that Cheezburger site is obviously doing pretty well for himself, so perhaps I’m the one who is missing something here.)
Maybe cats are actually behind this whole LOLCat thing… they’re lulling us into a false sense of security. Then they’ll make their move.
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You’ve been warned.
Do you speak lolcat? I’d love to hear why it appeals to you. If you’re not a fan, why not? What do you think cats would sound like if they could talk to us?
I know a lot of people who use it for dogspeak and Greyhound speak on message boards and Facebook, too, and I don’t get it. I mean, Greyhounds were raised as the companions of royalty and nobility. I think they’d talk a little more intelligently than a lot of people give them credit for! I’m in your camp on this one!
houndstooth recently posted..A Lovely Fall Weekend
I can’t even imagine a regal greyhound talking like that – madness!
True confession: sometimes (although not always) when people leave comments written as their dog, I can’t even read them. I don’t get a lot of them on my blog, but I see them around. English is an imperfectly functional language on its own; I don’t see any reason to make it “cutesy.”
Jessica recently posted..An open letter:
hahaha 🙂 “Maybe cats are actually behind this whole LOLCat thing… they’re lulling us into a false sense of security. Then they’ll make their move” This made be laugh. You might just be right 🙂
Christopher recently posted..Merry Products Pet Cage with Crate Cover
I’m pretty sure you and I had this conversation. I don’t get it, I don’t like it and I think it ‘dumbs down’ the animal.
Jodi recently posted..She Just Needed a Chance!
I’m glad I’m not the only one! I thought I was the only one who gave my animals more credit for being able to speak and write properly.
This speak started way before LOL Cats though. I had a friend back in the late 90’s who would send emails from her Greyhound. I started deleting them because it took way to much time and brain power to translate. I’d rather hang around my critters who can converse more appropriately.
dawn recently posted..Wordless Wednesday- New Additions
We should be afraid….very afraid.
I definitely see cats speaking Elizabethan English over anything else. At least most cats I know.
Occasionally I write as my animals and the first couple times I threw some bad grammar and misspellings in there. But I’m not completely comfortable with that so have been doing less and less of it. Honestly, I think it just comes from thinking of our pets as our kids, so it’s natural to want to give them a child’s voice.
Jan K recently posted..FitDog Friday – Hike to Welton Falls
That’s a good point – I bet that has a lot to do with it.