1337, do you speak it?

[fritzb]

With all the threads in this forum about 80s lingo and favorite words and such, I was wondering if we are all stuck in the 80s with our language or are we embracing any of the younger generation's slang as well.

As an avid online gamer myself, I am immersed in the teen and 20-something's gaming lingo known as Leetspeak. For those not familiar with the gamer community or Leetspeak, here is a little primer:

<B>Leetspeak 101[/b]

Leetspeak is a hybrid dialect used primarily by teens and 20-something online gamers. It derives its roots from common American slang and AIM (AOL Instant Messager) acronyms. There is no firm correct spelling in Leetspeak; instead there is a general acceptance or even encouragement of "creative" spelling. Leetspeak is in fact an alphanumeric and emotive language, which often uses numbers and symbols in place of letters or syllables, such as 1 for L or 3 for E, 8 for "ate", etc. The name Leetspeak can be spelled any number of ways (ie. Leetspeak, Letespeek, 1337speak, 13375P34K, etc...). The origins of the term Leetspeak comes from the term "elite" (as in an elite game player).

<I>Leetspeak:[/i] J00 bigtime lama! Ya fuXX0red teh game wit yur haXXing! Imma roXX0r yur boXX0rs bish!!! btw hope ya git k-lined! Cya l8r f00! :p

<I>English Translation:[/i] You are a ruiner of good games! You messed up the game with your cheating! I'm going to kick your ass bitch! By the way, I hope you are banned from the game server! I'll see you later idiot! (I'm sticking my tongue out at you)

<I>Leetspeak:[/i] sup yo! we pwned Robot last night! fo sho! roflmao!

<I>English Translation:[/i] Hi buddy! We dominated Robot last night! Definitely! (roll on the floor, laughing my ass off)

[8D]

[Natephish]

Being a 19-year-old AIM user, yes, I know 1337. You can't really read a tutorial on it, though, you just have to learn where and where not to use it. There are different types as well.

/\/\/\/0 4|23 73|-| |20X0|25!

That says "NWO are teh roxors,"

[middlesexnj]

Google calls this type of language "Hacker". You can make Google appear in many languages. http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en

Check out Google in Hacker: http://www.google.com/intl/xx-hacker/

Example:
4|| 480u7 Google
M4k3 Google Y0ur |-|0

[2Nu]

On a related topic, here's a few URLs 4ya [:D][:D][:D]

http://www.psyclops.com/translator/
http://www.winsite.com/bin/Info?500000005892
http://asksnoop.com/