Lolcat

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A lolcat is an image combining a photograph, most frequently a cat, with a humorous and idiosyncratic caption in (often) broken English—a dialect which is known as "lolspeak", or "Kitteh!". The name "lolcat" is a compound word of "LOL" and "cat".[1][2] Another name is cat macro, being a type of image macro.[3] Lolcats are created for photo sharing imageboards and other internet forums. Lolcats are similar to other anthropomorphic animal-based image macros such as the O RLY? owl.[4]

The term lolcat gained national media attention in the United States when it was covered by Time,[5] which wrote that non-commercialized phenomena of the sort are increasingly rare, stating that lolcats have "a distinctly old-school, early 1990s, Usenet feel to [them]." The superimposed text is usually assumed to be uttered by the cat in the photograph. There are parallels between the language used in lolcats and baby talk, which some owners of cats often use when talking to them.

Format

A lolcat image using the "I'm in ur..." format.

These images usually consist of a photo of a cat with a large caption characteristically set in a sans serif font such as Impact or Arial Black.[6] The image is, on occasion, digitally edited for effect. The caption generally acts as a speech balloon encompassing a comment from the cat, or as a description of the depicted scene. The caption is intentionally written with deviations from standard English spelling and syntax,[6] featuring "strangely-conjugated verbs, but a tendency to converge to a new set of rules in spelling and grammar."[7] These altered rules of English have been referred to as a type of pidgin[6] or baby talk.[8] The text parodies the grammar-poor patois stereotypically attributed to Internet slang. Frequently, lolcat captions take the form of phrasal templates.[8] Some phrases have a known source[9], while others seem to be specific to the lolcat form.

Common themes include jokes of the form "Im in ur noun, verb-ing ur related noun."[10]. This construction is a snowclone stemming from the phrase "I'm in ur base, killing ur doodz," which became a common meme in several real-time strategy computer games. "subjects: i has dem" show the cat in possession of multiple, identical objects, whereas "I has a noun" pictures show a cat in possession of an object. "Invisible noun" show pictures of cats apparently interacting with said invisible object.[10] The related "flavor" (spelled "flavr" in lolcat) shots specifically show a cat (or another animal) licking/eating an item, person or animal (including sometimes themselves) and remarking how "[noun] haz a flavr."[11] "My noun, let me show you it/them" pictures are accompanied by cats apparently presenting or offering an object. Another common lolcat displays a cat with a specific look, which is described by adjective, and the text, "[adjective] cat is [adjective]", "[adjective] cat is not [adjective]" or "Your offering pleases [adjective] cat." A version of this is also stated as "adjective cat is not amused", or "[adjective] cat has run out of [adjective]" (when the cat in related picture seems to be feeling the opposite of the adjective used to describe it.) Photographs exhibiting the red-eye effect might be captioned with text concerning "lazers", such as "Imma chargin' mah lazers".

File:Cat-cheezburgur-bird-2.jpg
Lolcats are often associated with cheeseburgers.

New themes continue to spring up. One theme is some variation on "noun... We/I verb them/it". Another follows the rough format of "activity... ur doing it right/wrong". Another is "activity... brb [be right back]". Yet another is "noun has a adjective," with a photo of a cat whose expression epitomizes that adjective (for example, an angry-looking cat is referred to as "an angry").[12][13]

There are several well-known lolcat images and single-word captions that have spawned many variations and imitations, including "Ceiling Cat" and "Basement Cat" (or occasionally "Floor Cat") which have become the lolcat metaphors of God and Satan, respectively. Others include "I can has Cheezburger," "monorail cat," "I [verb]ed you a [noun], but I eated it", "hover cat", "Oh Hai I upgraded your RAM," "WANT", "DO NOT WANT!", "Fail",[14] "Nom Nom Nom" (used for eating), "Halp!", "Invisible [object or action]", "Proceed," and "Pew pew pew" for shooting. A related phenomenon uses photos of an elephant seal ("lolrus") on the search for a blue bucket ("bukkit").

History

A cat in an iMac

All of the first cat macros originated from the anonymous imageboard ebaumsworld sometime around 2005.[15][16][17][18]) The News Journal states that "some trace the lolcats back to the site ebaumsworld, which features bizarre cat pictures on Saturdays, or 'Caturdays'." Ikenburg adds that the images have been "slinking around the Internet for years under various labels, but they didn't become a sensation until early 2007 with the advent of I Can Has Cheezburger?"[19] The first image on "I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER?" was posted on January 11, 2007 and was allegedly from the Something Awful website."[20][21] Lev Grossman of Time wrote that the oldest known example "probably dates to 2006",[22] but later corrected himself in a blog post[23] where he recapitulated the anecdotal evidence readers had sent him, placing the origin of "Caturday" in early 2005. The domain name "caturday.com" was registered on April 30, 2005.

More recently, the syntax of lolcat captions was used as the basis for LOLCODE, an esoteric programming language with interpreters and compilers available in .NET framework, perl, etc.[2][24][25]

Precursors

Icanhascheezburger.com CEO Ben Huh has postulated that the iconic 1970s motivational poster featuring a suspended cat clinging to the knotted end of a rope with the caption Hang in there baby! can be construed as the most direct precursor to the LOLCat phenomenon.[26]

Offshoots

LOLCat Bible
Full nameLOLCat Bible Translation Project
LanguageEnglish
AuthorshipCollaborated (Wiki)
Textual basisLOLcat
CopyrightGNU Free Documentation License
Genesis 1:1–3
Oh hai. In teh beginnin Ceiling Cat maded teh skiez An da Urfs, but he did not eated dem. Da Urfs no had shapez An haded dark face, An Ceiling Cat rode invisible bike over teh waterz. At start, no has lyte. An Ceiling Cat sayz, i can haz lite? An lite wuz.
John 3:16
So liek teh Ceiling Cat lieks teh ppl lots and he sez 'Oh hai I givez u me only kitteh and ifs u beleevs in him u wont evr diez no moar, k?
  • Penguin/Gotham to produce "I Can Has Cheezburger?: A LOLcat Colleckshun" available for presale at http://www.lulzftw.com and slated for wide-scale release on October 7th, 2008.

Ceiling cat

"Ceiling Cat" is a character spawned by the Lolcat meme. The original image was a Lolcat image macro with a picture of a cat looking out of a hole in a ceiling, captioned "Ceiling Cat is watching you masturbate." There followed numerous image macros with the format "Ceiling Cat is watching you [verb ending in/rhyming with -ate]" with Ceiling Cat superimposed in the upper left hand corner of an image macro depicting the appropriate action.[28][29][30]

Related phenomena

Padonki, a Russian-language slang, has become a phenomenon similar to LOLspeak.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lolcats.
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References

Inline

  1. ^ Robin Amer (2007-04-14). "I Can Has Talking Animals?". Open Source. Retrieved 2007-04-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ a b Dwight Silverman (2007-06-06). "?". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-06-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Randy A. Salas (2007-06-09). "Laugh at cat humor". Akron Beacon Journal, Star Tribune. Retrieved 2007-06-17. At first, they were called cat macros, but now go mostly by the name lolcats. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Agger, Michael (2007-05-21). "Cat power: You cannot resist lolpussy". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2007-05-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Grossman, Lev (2007-07-12). "Cashing in on Cute Cats". Time Magazine. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "accessdate 2007-07-12" ignored (help) Partial scan of the print edition: http://fcrunk.wellimean.com/memes/catstime.jpg
  6. ^ a b c Anil Dash (2007-04-23). "Anil Dash: Cats Can Has Grammar". Retrieved 2007-05-03. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ Annalee Newitz (2007-04-27). "I'M IN YR X Y-ING YOUR Z -- A Grammar of Lolcats". Table of Malcontents, a Wired blog. Retrieved 2007-04-29. These images... usually include a cute cat saying something related to buckets, cheeseburgers, or whatever else with strangely-conjugated verbs. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ a b Mark Liberman (2007-04-25). "Language Log: Kitty Pidgin and asymmetrical tail-wags". Retrieved 2007-04-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ Scott Gilbertson (2007-06-04). "Jokes For Nerds: Schrödinger's LOLcat". Compiler, a Wired blog. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ a b Jay Cridlin (2007-06-01). "This be funny storyz". Tampa Bay Times.
  11. ^ "Lolcats serched 4 ur wurdz ["flavor"]". Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures — I Can Has Cheeseburger?. 2007-01-12. Retrieved 2008-01-03. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "gitz back". icanhascheezburger.com. 2007-08-06. Retrieved 2008-08-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "ur bag has an angry". icanhascheezburger.com. 2008-07-15. Retrieved 2008-08-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ Microtrends: Failure - Times Online
  15. ^ TheStar.com | living | Funny how `stupid' site is addictive
  16. ^ "Iz not cats everywhere? Online trend spreads across campus".
  17. ^ smith, david. "the unseen face behind today's counterculture". Retrieved 2008-08-25.
  18. ^ WHOIS domain registration information results for lolcats.com from Network Solutions
  19. ^ "Lolcats' demented captions create a new Web language", Tamara Ikenberg, The News Journal, 9 July 2007
  20. ^ About « Lolcats ‘n’ Funny Pictures - I Can Has Cheezburger?
  21. ^ "Original Picture, cheezburger, ICANHASCHEEZBURGER, 26 September 2007 http://icanhascheezburger.com/2007/01/11/i-can-has-cheezburger/
  22. ^ Lev Grossman (2007-07-12). has also spawned the digg dog which is part of the popular site titled digg.com "Creating a Cute Cat Frenzy". Time (magazine). Retrieved 2007-07-16. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ Lev Grossman (2007-07-16). "Lolcats Addendum: Where I Got the Story Wrong". Time (magazine). Retrieved 2007-07-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ It's the Gospel according to kittah - Los Angeles Times
  25. ^ The Modesto Bee | The Gospel according to kitty
  26. ^ http://revision3.com/internetsuperstar/icanhas Internet Superstar
  27. ^ Guzman, Monika (2007-10-19). "Time Killer: The "lolcat" bible". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2007-12-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  28. ^ a b Amter, Charlie (2007-12-16). "Lolcat Bible Translation Project presents the Gospel according to Fluffy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2007-12-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  29. ^ Horan, Brianna. "How one hungry 'kitteh' can has the Internet lol". Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  30. ^ Guzman, Monica. "Time killer: The "lolcat" Bible". Retrieved 2008-06-18.

General

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