Is That an Emoticon in 1862? in NYT

[Jocelyn Limpert]

To me, as an editor, it looks like a typographical mistake, transposing the
semiocolon and the final parenthesis -- nothing more than that/

Jocelyn Limpert


On 1/19/09, Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu> wrote:
>
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Shapiro, Fred" <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Is That an Emoticon in 1862? in NYT
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> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I'm surprised that J8L quoted me.  I thought I didn't have anything to say
> of any value.  My initial reaction was that this was just too early to be an
> emoticon, but she persuaded me to soften that stance a bit.
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
>
>
> ________________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Grant
> Barrett [gbarrett at WORLDNEWYORK.ORG]
> Sent: Monday, January 19, 2009 6:14 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Is That an Emoticon in 1862? in NYT
>
> Our own Fred Shapiro is quoted in this article about whether a
> semicolon next to a close parenthesis in 1862 is an emoticon or a
> mistake.
>
> http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/19/hfo-emoticon/
>
> > In the transcription of President Lincoln's speech, which added
> > comments about applause and shouts from the audience was this line:
> >
> > "...there is no precedent for your being here yourselves, (applause
> > and laughter ;) and I offer, in justification of myself and you,
> > that I have found nothing in the Constitution against."
> >
> > Bryan Benilous, who works with historical newspapers at Proquest,
> > said the team felt the ";)" after the word "laughter" was an
> > emoticon, more than a century before emoticons became a widespread
> > concept.
>
> Grant Barrett
> gbarrett at worldnewyork.org
>
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