LOL, Man

Do you find yourself speaking in abbreves? Using emoticons in text messages? Or even in work-related emails? Everyday English is incorporating more and more Internet-speak, which is changing the way we communicate, according to National Public Radio.

According to the article, serious techies are the first to use these new words and phrases, but it's inevitable that they eventually filter down to the average person's vocabulary:

The migration pattern of Internet-originated words tends to move from intense computer users, such as programmers and online game players, to computer users who feast on words, such as journalists, broadcasters and advertisers. From there, words flow into everyday usage.

"The English language is something that will never be permanent and will be changed by technology," says Anthony Burke, a digital consultant at Toronto-based WSI Marketing.

But no matter how ingrained these new terms are in your vocabulary, there are times when they are appropriate and times at which they aren't. For example, :P probably doesn't belong in a professional email, no matter how chummy you are with your supervisor. And consider whether the recipient of said email will understand what "ROFL" means.

Lance Armstrong, pro cyclist and spokesman for RadioShack, which sponsors his team, mocks the out-of-control use of Internet shorthand and emoticons in a recent commercial.

"No colon-parentheses smiley faces, no fancy bracketed mustaches, no semi-colon hotwinks," he says. And don't get caught using "LOL" either -- or he'll stop pedaling altogether.