Laughing Out Loud and Other Terms
The English idiomatic phrase Laughing out loud, has become LoL in text messages and emails and has a structure I find rich food for investigation.
I consider it an idiom because of the word out. We use out in a variety of ways in this language. Out can mean something not in a class of things, for example: take that one out, this idea is out, pick one out of many and so on. It can also mean to leave as in I'm going out. When compounded with another word it can mean a multiplicity of things. Though, the word is not always compounded. Here are some examples:
Outside: Not within the boundary of some defined space.In abstraction this word is used in reference to a multitude of things, for example concepts: This is outside the scope of our present study.
Get Out: Imperative, demanding the subject the leave in non-slang usage.
Knockout: to be rendered unconscious, in slang usage.
Blowout: an explosion of a tire, in slang usage.
And the list goes on. As you can see, the usage of this word can be altered in meaning. But, Laughing out loud really means to laugh aloud. You can replace the out loud with aloud and the meaning is the same. So, why not say laughing aloud? I surmise that the word aloud has become a little dated in modern English usage. It's not extinct yet, but it's on its way to being just that. You don't hear people in conversational English saying things like this:
After he pulled that trick in the library no less, I told him aloud, don't do that. Of course, everybody turned around and looked at me, but he had to be told.
You might hear someone say the following in context:
Now, would you say it aloud, instead of to yourself? In the case when a person mumbles to themselves. But out loud is still more likely to be heard even in this case. From personal experience I can't think of any time I've heard anybody use aloud in speech in years. It is much more likely the speaker above would have said I said out loud…etc.A quaint feature of linguistic change in language is words don't develop logically. The word aloud never developed a cognatic opposite by the use of a prefix. If it had, would have the word: unloud, which structurally makes sense. But no such word exists in English. It is interesting to note, that unloud would have had ambiguous meaning had it arisen. unloud would not have meant quiet, just not loud. Ambiguity is often why words fall into disuse in spoken and written language. Ambiguity may have been the reason why this non-word never arose.
Laughing out loudis here to stay. At least until some other phrase replaces it. Can you think of an opposite construction? It's harder than you might suspect. I have been considering Secretly Laughing (SL), but this seems too poetic for everyday speech. What about Laugh in secret?This would become LIS. I bet somebody's already come up with this phrase. Hey Suppressing my Laughter (SML)! This phrase seems to capture the true opposite of LoL. Here is a real twist. What about For crying out loud? This idiom is something that only English speakers could understand. It's an interjection expressing irritation with something (or someone). It's abbreviation is FCOL. Can anybody think of it's opposite? I can’t! Remember the construction would have to express what the idiom expressed but the opposite. FCOL opposite would have to express one's pleasure with a situation or person, idiomatically too! No small order to say the least. First thing to remember is you can't use FCOL as a model. No negation of this phrase with a word like not or no inserted would make much sense. Example: That's wonderful for not crying out loud. Such an interjection would draw a confused frown from any listener. It is a challenge.
Robleh Wais 8/9/09