Internet slang
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- This article discusses general features of Internet slang. For detailed usages, see List of Internet slang phrases.
Internet slang is slang that Internet users have coined and promulgated. Such terms typically originated with the purpose of saving keystrokes, and many people use the same abbreviations in text messages. They are also very commonly used in instant messaging services such as AIM. The terms often appear in lower case, with capitals reserved for emphasis; for example, the pronoun "I" often appears simply as "i".
Like most jargon, Internet slang aggrandizes author and reader, causing them to appear as having specialized knowledge of an already complex medium. However, there are cases where using Internet slang with a straight face is considered ridiculous, due to association with the stereotype of the Internet newbie. Because of this, several Internet slang abbreviations and spellings are most often used ironically.
History
Many of the terms originated to save keystrokes or bytes in the days of low bandwidth links, comparable to the abbreviations used in wireless telegraphy and telegrams, so can be seen from the earliest days of bulletin board systems. A handful (for example, ASAP, PO'ed) far pre-date computers. The three-letter acronym remains one of the most popular types of abbreviation in computing and telecom terminology and slang. Similar systems have since come into use with users of text-messaging wireless telephones.
With the rise of instant messaging services (ICQ, AOL, and MSN, among others) the vocabulary has expanded dramatically. The abbreviations used in this medium share much with SMS language.
Formations of slang
Sometimes users make up abbreviations on the spot, therefore many of them can seem confusing, obscure, whimsical, or even nonsensical. Another feature common to Internet communication involves the truncation and morphing of words to forms that users can type more readily, and quickly. When new terms of internet slang are created, it takes time for them to become widely accepted. A small ring of friends using an instant messaging client most of the time is not enough. Web forums are a way to get new terminology out on the net, and accepted and used by a wide range of members of the internet community.
Typos
Occasionally, a simple typo can result in the formation of a new term, for example, "teh". This originated as a typo of "the", and often pops up spontaneously when typing fast. It has become so common, that it is now sometimes deliberately used. The same applies for the term "liek" (like), and "whta?" (what).
A good example of this deliberate typo is the term "pwned" or "pwn3d" (a 1337 version). These words are meant to say owned, but due to a mis-type originating in several online computer games, they have become widely used in internet gaming. Not only this, but the term pwned is also meant to be used as player-owned. It can be considered a typo in certain cases, while in others it is used deliberately.
This kind of Internet slang is most often used to deride the behaviour of script kiddies and newbies.
Examples
Single letter abbreviations
Typically, for simple words, a single letter, homophonic abbreviation is used:
- u - you
- y - why
- c - see
- r - are
- o - oh
- k - o.k./okay
- a - eh
- h - age
- 2 - to, or too
Double letter abbreviations are also used:
- kl - cool
- ur - your or you're
- kk - ok cool (newb)
- rl - real life
In some cases, there is also triple letters or more:
- brb - be right back
- g2g - got to go/good to go
- gtg - got to go/good to go
- pos - parent over shoulder
- idk - i don't know
- cuz - because
- ttyl - talk to you later [originally developed by the deaf on teletype machines]
- lol - laughing out loud [a user says this when something is funny]
- afk - away from keyboard
- asl - age/sex/location
- o'rly - oh really
- omg - oh my gooodness/gosh
- ROFL - Roll on floor laughing
- LMAO - Laughing my ass off
- ROFLMAO - Roll On the Floor Laughing My Ass Off
- STFU - shut the fuck up
- omg - oh my God
- leikzomgwtf - like, oh my God, what the fuck
A new backlash revolution has already been started to stop the use of the abbreviations:
- PUKING - People Using Krappy IM Nerdy Gestures
- KAE - Kill All Emoticons
Acronyms & abbreviations
Acronyms are probably the most used variation of internet slang. As opposed to typing out a long character string of multiple words, a simple 3 or 4 letter acronym can be used to express your point. A good example of this is "lol", which is commonly used to replace "laughing out loud" or "laugh out loud", to express laughter, or "rofl" (Rolling on floor laughing) to express a lot of laughter, along with "lmao" (Laughing my ass off). These two terms have created a vast internet sub-culture, with many variations and spin-offs.
Emoticons (smileys)
Emoticons - also known as smileys - are a form of ASCII art where a short sequence of printable characters is used to resemble a facial expression and convey an emotion.
The basic "western style" smiley is :-), where the colon represents the eyes, the hyphen for the nose (which is, generally, overlooked,) and the parenthesis for the mouth - hence the name. They may be more easily recognised by tilting one's head to the left. A great many variants exist.
The other major style of emoticon, which does not require the viewer to tilt their head, evolved in East Asia. In the basic smiling manga emoticon, ^_^, the carets represent the eyes, and the underscore a mouth.
133tspeak
133tspeak is another form of mispelling words, except with numbers. Some examples include:
- A = 4
- B = 13
- E = 3
- L = 1
- S = $
- T = 7
And some words:
- Two/to,too = 2
- For = 4
- Ate = 8
And some numbers are even used as symbols. The most common one is a heart, which is represented with a "<3" symbol.
Here is a complete alphabet for 1337Speak.
A = 4
B = 8
c = <
D = |)
E = 3
F = |=
G = 6
H = |-|
I = | v
J =
K = |<
L = |_
M = /\/\
N = /\/ v
O = 0
P = |>
Q =
R = /*
S = 5
T = 7
U = |_|
V = \/
W = \/\/
X =
Y = */
Z =
Format tagging
Many internet users are also programmers. Due to this fact, a variation of tagging meant to resemble XML or HTML code is used to give emphasis on posts on blogs, forums, or message boards. For example, in HTML, when "<b>" and "</b>" are placed around text, a web browser will display it in boldface. Because emotions and inflection do not apply to text, Internet users will feign XML tags for such emphasis, such as "<sarcasm>…</sarcasm>" "<rant>…</rant>" or "<white lie>…</white lie>". These "tags" are often meant to be generally humorous or informative. The opening tag may also sometimes be omitted when a block of text's designation as such is not meant to be known at first, such as when a sarcastic comment is made and only after the reader finishes it do they see the closing </sarcasm> tag and realize the intent of the message.