I've started reading a few yahoo-groups...

[conuly]

And on one of them there's an interesting discussion going on about smileys and how people interpret them. What's really interesting is that all the ones people are listing are the "sideways smilies" like :( :) and the ever-popular :P with their variations (=P, :-P). Nobody has mentioned what I tend to think of as "anime smilies" (since so many of the friends who use them are so such fans of the genre) such as (^_^) and the like. I'm so used to seeing those instead of the "sideways" version that it's starting to honestly look strange, a conversation about smilies that DOESN'T MENTION THESE. However, there are a number of people speaking up for things like (grin) which I don't see often most places. I'm more likely to see *grins* instead.

Anyway, this got me thinking, anybody want to list the smilies/similar things they use, and what THEY mean when they use it? And, maybe, since I'm all curious now, where they first started using it (if they can remember)? Pretty please?

Comments

[velvetchamber.livejournal.com]

: þ This is my equivalent of : p, only it looks better (I hope you see the Icelandic letter, and not just a string of symbols) and it is a sign of slight mischief. Otherwise I usually use things like *chuckles* and *grin* with perchance a : ) fellow thrown in. But here on LJ, I usually let my usericon do the trick, since the majority of them displays some emotion or a mindset.

[conuly]

I see it. What sound does the letter make?

[codeman38.livejournal.com]

I mentioned this on another of the Yahoo groups I'm on (ironically enough): it's called "thorn", and it's pronounced like the "th" in "think".

And yes, I did sign the message "codeman þirty eight". :)

[conuly]

I know that's what it means in old english, I wanted to confirm it's the same in... um... *blanks* Well, anyway, thankies.

[velvetchamber.livejournal.com]

It is usually written "th" in English, Þór would then be Thor. It is never in the middle of a word, unless the word is a conjunctioned word. It is not spoken the same was as "th" though, you exhale more sharply and with your tongue closer to your teeth, so as to force the sound a little more, without blocking it, and it is not vocalized.

[conuly]

Is that a voiced edh or an unvoiced eth or both? I think Thor is unvoiced, but I'm never sure.

[velvetchamber.livejournal.com]

Þ (thorn) and ð (eth) are sort of related. As I said, þ is practically never inside a word, and likewise ð is never at the beginning of a word. Ð is spoken more on the inhale and is vocalized. Þór is not vocalized.