Language is always evolving, which can make deciding how to convey your brand’s message a bit confusing. We have trending words that pop culture brings into our vocabulary and phrases that spawn from regional dialects. We have rules of speech here one day and then gone the next. Of course there are grammar rules that will always hold true but that doesn’t mean that some don’t evolve to fit the nature of our speaking habits.
Don’t end a sentence in a preposition.
Ain’t is not a word.
Never start a sentence with a conjunction.
Your body can not be described as bootylicious…it isn’t a real word.
We’ve all heard these comments before, but that doesn’t mean they hold any place in today’s language structure. There will always be “grammar snobs” who insist on speaking and writing according to the rules they were taught growing up, those who refuse to admit that the rules were just guidelines meant to establish a foundation. These people should not stop you from embracing the evolution of language though.
A hot trend popping up all over the place is the use of emojis to replace words. Heck, I have witnessed entire conversations take place with only emojis. While I admit to being a bit slow to jump on this particular bandwagon, I still find it fascinating. Language is not only spoken, it is visual. This method of communicating does not make anyone less intelligent than a person who writes in complete sentences when sending a text.
Everything has its place, so I wouldn’t try using emojis in a professional setting, but hey, if a Beyonce lyric can make it into the dictionary, using an emoji to express yourself now and then isn’t a bad thing. Emojis are currently used heavily in marketing strategies to grab attention and promote the fun nature of certain brands. For more information on how a visual language can benefit your brand, visit our blog, The Importance of Developing a Visual Language.
Considering language is constantly evolving, what we think of as slang today may be completely acceptable tomorrow. As long as your message is being conveyed, how you deliver it is up to you and your particular style. Whether you want to – haha, lol, laugh out loud, or ? – the message that you find something funny will be conveyed. It is important to find the tone of your brand and then use language to match that.