Source: @TheDogInABag via Instagram
Since the rise of pet posts, especially memes, you
may have come across terms that you don’t recognize. You are not alone.
In years past, cats were all the rage on the internet. Grumpy Cat, for example, is an American internet celebrity cat. Many know her for her permanently "grumpy" facial appearance. She has been used in a variety of memes and internet posts, but that is the past. Even though there are more cat owners in the United States, the internet has gone to the Dogs!
According to Instagram, 22 of the 50 most followed
pet accounts are dog related compared to 18 which are cat related. This has led
to an explosion of dog specific internet language called DoggoLingo.
Wikipedia defines DoggoLingo as an internet
language trend that is created from word conversion, meme lexicon, and
onomatopoeia. In other words, an online pet language filled with made-up words
that often accompany pictures or memes of dogs created by dog lovers.
Think this is silly? Well, in 2017, Merriam-Webster
added the word "doggo" to its list of "Words We're
Watching." For many pet owners, this was the first time they'd heard the word.
Since then, a kind of internet slang for pet owners has emerged with words like
"doggos," "puppers," and "pupperinos."
More confused than ever? Braxton’s is here to help. According to Oxforddictionaries.com, “Two especially popular purveyors of DoggoLingo are the Facebook account Dogspotting, which has more than 635,000 members, and the Twitter account WeRateDogs, which boasts an incredible 2.64 million followers (at time of writing).”
Here is a sample
glossary that draws on both:
If you are still confused, check out BarkPost’s Wagster’s Dictionary, which includes pictures with each definition or the Lucid Chart Video below.
If you are fluent in Doggo Lingo, we would love to
hear from you. Share your use of Doggo Lingo or any original terms with us in
the comments section.