Internet slang

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This article discusses general features of Internet slang. For detailed usages, see List of Internet slang.

Internet slang is slang which Internet users have coined and promulgated. Such terms typically originated with the purpose of saving keystrokes: many use the same abbreviations in text messages. The terms often appear in lower case, with capitals often reserved for emphasis: The pronoun "I", for example, often appears simply as "i".

To avoid misapprehension and clarify the author's intent, netizens may use emoticons. Emoticons (or smilies) such as :) may be used both genuinely and sarcastically; for example the :P emoticon, can express either genuine amusement and a sense of fun, or a negative sarcastic comment on something. Deciphering and understanding what was written per se versus the author's intent is part of the Internet's attraction and enjoyment. Like most jargon, Internet slang aggrandizes author and reader, causing them to appear as having specialized knowledge of an already complex medium.

Internet slang perhaps has a higher learning curve than face-to-face slang, as face-to-face slang can often be deciphered from the context of the facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice.

Origins

The vocabulary of Internet slang (or chatspeak or netspeak) draws from many different sources — typically environments that placed value on brevity of communication. Some terms, such as FUBAR have roots as far back as World War II.[1] Other terms come from more recent forms of communication, such as TTY and IRC.

Chat acronyms originally developed on pre-Internet 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.

Aside from instant messaging programs another realm full of online languages exists: the Internet gaming world. One of the most popular forms of video game slang has become known as H4x0r (Haxor, meaning hacker) or as 13375p34k (in leetspeak). For parents today, learning the online language can play an important role in maintaining the online safety of children. An article produced by Microsoft may help parents begin to understand some of the things their kids say in-game. (Many of the more knowledgeable "online gamers" consider this article unhelpful, especially for Microsoft's attempts to interpret 1337 speak.)

Note that many more serious internet users regard leetspeak as a trademark of people who don't know what they're doing. In these circles, leetspeak is almost always used sarcastically if at all. Such people may also label the use of leetspeak, excessive use of abbreviations, and incorrect spelling and grammar as simply rude, and a sign of laziness. In addition, sometimes chatspeak or leet can be so illegible that it becomes an annoyance for those who wish to read it.

Sometimes users make up Internet abbreviations on the spot, therefore many of them can seem confusing, obscure, whimsical, or even nonsensical. This type of on-the-spot abbreviating leads to such things as: OTP (on the phone) or the less common, OPTD (outside petting the dog). Another feature common to Internet communication involves the truncation and morphing of words to forms that users can type more readily. Examples of this include:

  • addy — "Address" (plural: "addys")
  • pic — "Picture" ("pics", "pix" or "piccies" for plural)
  • proggy — "Computer program"
  • prolly — "Probably" (also "probs")
  • sig — "Signature" (also "siggy")
  • asl? — "Age/Sex/Location?" (also "a/s/l?"; a phrase often used in internet chat rooms)

The form "teh" offers a special case of this transformation. This originated as a corruption of "the", and often pops up spontaneously when typing fast. So common has it become, in fact, that it has made the jump to deliberate usage. Typically it occurs in situations where the writer presents as self-consciously enthusiastic, mimicking the less-grammatical Internet newbie: "That movie was teh suck!!", "The fight scene with all the Agent Smiths was TEH AWESOME", etc. It occurs most commonly in "teh suck/orz", "teh lame," and "teh cool". Jeff K. of Something Awful popularized this sarcastic usage.

Similarly, netizens may use the word "liek" or "leik" as sarcastic misspellings of the word "like", as in "I LIEK PIE". It often implies an insult to one's intelligence and/or typing ability. "Liek" is also often used as a geeky way of typing the preposition like, for example in the phrase "...and I was liek...".

Internet abbreviations evolve and change continually. Online games provide a good place to observe language variation in use. Often, people uninterested in computer programming do not understand the more classically "nerdy" phrases like "2B||!2B" (which means "to be, or not to be"), thus such usages become useless or appear only in minority forums.

From the days of FIDO mail when many computers ran DOS we find <G> meaning "Grin", <BG> "Big Grin", <VBG> "Very Big Grin", and of course <VBSEG> "Very Big Shit-Eating Grin". Lower-case variants (<g> and so on) are also used.

Common examples

Main article: List of Internet slang
  • Common disclaimer phrases (sometimes called "parentheticals") also often contract into acronyms — they tend to occur at certain points in a sentence, which can facilitate decoding. By far the most common of these are "lol", "lmao", "rofl", "omg", "brb" and "wtf". This is a fraction of the full list, but some of these disclaimers include:
    • 10Q: Thank You
    • 1337: see L33t (awesome or great)
    • AFK: away from keyboard
    • AFAIK: as far as I know
    • ASAP: as soon as possible
    • ATM: at the moment
    • B&H: Bitches and Hoes
    • Bai2u: 'bye to you' goodbye
    • BBIAB: be back in a bit (used to express a longer time of absence than with brb)
    • BBL: be back later
    • BBS: be back soon
    • BRB: be right back or bathroom break (very commonly used)
    • BTW: by the way
    • Bump: used in forums to bring a post to the top of the forum list (a common backronym for "bring up my post")
    • CYA: see ya, or see you later (also CU) (or, less commonly and depending on the context, cover your ass)
    • DMY: don't mess yourself (used to tell someone they are overreacting, seen on The Simpsons as a spoken abbreviation)
    • DW: Don't Worry
    • F2P: free to play
    • FFS: for fuck sake
    • FTL: for the lose (used to dislike something)
    • FTW: for the win (used to express enthusaism or approval) (Less commonly known as "Fuck the world")
    • FU: Fuck you
    • FYI: for your information
    • FYSIWALOL: finding your saying interesting without actually laughing out loud
    • G2G or GTG: got to go or good to go
    • GG: good game or good god
    • GF: Good Fight
    • GJ: Good Job
    • GL: good luck
    • GN8: good night
    • GTFO: Get the fuck out
    • GTH: go to hell
    • GOOMH: Get Out Of My House
    • GLLN: Got Laid Last Night(?)
    • Hai2u: 'hi to you' hello
    • HOMG: Ho my God
    • HTH: hope that helps or happy to help
    • IANAL: I am not a lawyer (used when offering amateur commentary on a legal case)
    • IAS: I am smiling (not quite "lol")
    • IDK: I don't know
    • IIRC: if I recall/remember correctly
    • IMO: in my opinion
    • IMHO: in my humble/honest opinion (derived from IMO or vice-versa)
    • IRL: in real life
    • JIC: just in case
    • JK: just kidding
    • JW: just wondering
    • KIT: keep in touch
    • KK: okay
    • kthxbye: Shorter, and faster, way of saying "Okay. thank you. Good bye".
    • Lag: where a connection is not as fast as others making the game lag behind
    • L33t: elite
    • LFG: looking for group (used mostly in MMORPGs)
    • LFT: looking for team (used mostly in MMORPGs)
    • LOL: laugh out loud
    • LMAO/LMFAO: Laugh my (fucking) ass off
    • L2P: learn to play
    • LYLAS: love you like a sister
    • MOFO: MotherFucker
    • nOOb: Newbie, often one who dies alot in their first few times in games online
    • N1: nice one
    • NIFOC: Naked In Front Of Computer
    • NP: no problem
    • NS: nice shot (Commonly used in Gunbound)
    • NSS: no shit sherlock
    • NT: nice try (Commonly used in Gunbound)
    • NVM: nevermind
    • NSFW: not safe for work (often used as a warning that a link contains racy or pornographic images)
    • NWS: not work safe
    • OAC: Only At Crooms
    • OMG: oh my god
    • OMFG: Oh My Fucking God/Sh
    • OMGWTFBBQ: combines the terms OMG, WTF, and BBQ. (can also be used as a mockery of newbies who express surprise at commonly known facts, or in self deprecation)
    • OMW: on my way (usually used in ORPGs)
    • OH NOES: oh no
    • OP: original post/original poster (referring to the first post in a thread)
    • OTOH: on the other hand
    • ORV: orita vengo (used in Spanish)
    • P2P: pay to play, player to player, or peer to peer
    • PK: Player kill
    • PVP: Player vs. Player
    • PVE: Player vs. Enemy/Environment
    • PWN: (p)owned. Usually referring to someone in a video game being decidely beaten by another player.
    • PEBKAC: problem exists between keyboard and chair
    • PO'd: pissed off
    • QFT: quoted for truth
    • QQ: cry more (meant to look like eyes with tears dripping from them)
    • QT: cutie
    • RE: returned or back or rematch
    • RM: remake
    • RIFK: See ROFL. Originally a typing error of ROFL, it is now puposely used in place of ROFL. Some, however, refer to it as Rolling In the Floor Kicking (But you can't roll IN a floor, can you?). Others say it is Rolling In teh Funneh Kookies (which doesn't make sense either).
    • ROFL: rolling on floor laughing
    • ROLF: rolling on laughing floor
    • ROFLCOPTER: retardation of ROFLMAO
    • ROLFCOPTER: even bigger retardation of ROFLMAO (rolling on "laughing" floor)
    • ROTFL: rolling on the floor laughing
    • ROTFLM(F)AO: rolling on the floor laughing my (fucking) ass off
    • RTFM: read the fucking manual
    • SAOM: shitting all over myself (alternative to ROFL)
    • SGTM: Silently giggling to myself
    • SFW: safe for work
    • SIF: As if
    • SU: shut up
    • STBY: Sucks to be you
    • STFU: shut the fuck up
    • STFUPPERCUT: shut the fuck upper cut!
    • STHU: shut the hell up
    • TBA: to be added or to be announced
    • TBH: to be honest
    • TK: Team Kill
    • TT4N: ta ta for now
    • TTYL: talk to you later
    • TTYS: talk to you soon
    • TY: thank you
    • TYVM: thank you very much
    • THX: thanks
    • YW: you're welcome
    • WB: Welcome back
    • W/E(W\E)(W.E)(WE): whatever
    • WD: Well done
    • WS: work safe
    • WTH: what the heck/hell
    • WTB: want to buy
    • WTG: way to go
    • WTF: what the fuck
    • WTS: what the shit or want to sell
    • WTT: want to trade
    • WTV: watching tv
    • WUU2: what you up to
    • WU@: what/where you at
    • ZOMG: variant of OMG, taken from a typo of hitting the 'z' next to the left shift (typically when very excited)

External links

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