1337 speak

For those of you that don't know; 1 = L, 3 = E, 7 = T, so 1337 = LEET, or elite, as in; elite speak. This is a term given to the language used worldwide by young internet users.

Wot = what

U = you

2 = to or too

And so on into infinity.

I came to a horrifying realization; 1337 is the language of the future. It will not exist in the form it currently does but it will be close. What's more, it's so pervasive via the internet, there will come a day when every human being on the face of the planet (probably not in our lifetimes) speaks the same language and 1337, as ridiculous as that language is, is the first step in that direction.

I've always thought of 1337 as unintelligent... and I think most people would agree. However, it is pervasive in both online and real-world communication.

Think about it.

I have to kinda concentrate when I’m reading literature from pre 1700's.

It’s English but it's not English as I know it. I have to kinda concentrate when I'm listing to someone from the deep south. It's English but it isn’t English as I know it. Language is a fluid entity. It changes over time and distance is one primary factor in how it changes.

Most European languages are "Germanic" or, based on what we might vaguely recognize as German. Somewhere along the way French became French, English became English, etc. Today, English is English, not German, but 1337 is also English…

The internet brings the world together. Distance is no longer a factor and communicating requires that you speak the same language as the person you're trying to communicate with. Fortunately for me, English TENDS to be the language of choice for the internet… unfortunately 1337 is the evolution of English on the internet.

History is filled with case and points.

Centuries ago, when moving fertilizer oversees bags of manure were labeled “Ship High in Transit” so they wouldn’t be stored below deck. If they were, methane would build up and fire would explode the ship. Eventually the warning was shortened to S.H.I.T and today we say shit when referring to, well... shit.

Instead of typing "Oh My Fucking God!" people just type OMFG. I had never heard the acronym verbally spoken until recently when I heard a pre-adolescent girl say the letters; O, M, F, G.

In World War 2 the General Purpose vehicle was known as a G.P., this eventually evolved into jeep. That wasn’t really that long ago.

Instead of typing the phrase "Laugh Out Loud" we type LoL. People think they are being funny when they make up new acronyms like; OMGROFLBBQ; Oh My God Rolling on the Floor Laughing Barbeque. There are even terms that make no sense like ROFLCOPTER; Rolling on the Floor Laughing copter... which I understand what that means but it's hard to explain in actual words.

Many people use text messaging every day. Even symbols that aren’t letters have worked there way into what isn't classically considered 1337 like :), ;), :(, and 8==D ok, maybe not that last one. These symbols communicate concepts in the same way words do.

I’ve talked to many a foreign person online either through gaming or social networking and the use of 1337 speak tends to be even more pervasive than it is in the U.S. if you can believe that. I can only assume that’s because, when trying to learn English through the internet, there is so much 1337 out there that foreigners can’t help but pick it up and literally don't know any better that that's not how people are "supposed" to talk.

Our children’s children will speak a language that is the same as our own but somewhat different. Their children’s children will speak a language that might not sound quite like ours. And years from now as the internet makes communicating with a stranger half a world away as easy as a free phone call they will converse in a language that resembles English and 1337... but is something entirely new.

LOL! Fu7ur3 e4g1i5h 734ch3rZ:

Tagged with: 1337, english, forign, germanic, internet, language