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Leet-Speak [An Interesting Read]
[This was an interview by Anchorage Daily New to Jesse Alleva on the topic of Leet-Speak ... She goes to a school close to mine.. In Anchorage, Alaska.]
Anchorage Daily News [March 19th, 2004]
"Leet-Speak" can be confusing to those without "Sk1llz."
INTERNET: Gaming has
given rise to a language.
By Jesse Alleva
Perfect World Staff
--As the Internet was becoming more prevalent in society during the early 1990s, computer-savvy individuals, such as hackers, didn't want their Web sites, news groups and other things to be found by simple search engines, so as a solution they began to replace letters with symbols or numbers such as A = 4, B = 13. This was the beginning of a new language that could only be written down and not spoken: "1337 5P34K" or "leet-speak." The name is derived from the word "elite," although once you remove the first letter, misspell the second syllable and translate it into numbers, this root word is hardly apparent.
--Up until 1994, this new "language" was known by few and was sparingly. However, when "first-person shooter" games such as "Doom, "Doom II" and "Quake" started to offer Internet connectivity, a revolution of both PC gaming and leet-speak occured.
--In the gaming world, leet-speak is used to encode messages or to show off one's prowess for gaming. For example, if someone were to be doing well at a game, they might send a message to other participants saying, "1 ownz j00, suxorz" which roughly translates to "I owns you suckers." The main reason to use leet-speak is simply that it looks complicated and fearsome.
--Leet-speak is a very flexible language, meaning that there are several ways to spell the same word. Elite can be said as: leet, l33t, 1337, |_337 or |_33-|-. A general rule of thumb is to use characters that depict the letter that is being substituted. This is not to be confused with terms such as LOL (Laughing out Loud) or BRB (be right back), which are simply acronyms.
--However, leet-speak isnt just a corrupted form of English; new words, mostly created by online gamers, are unique to leet. Here are some examples:
** 0wne3d -- Beaten. "I 0wn3d you" means "I have beaten you in a very humiliating fashion," or "0wn4ge!" which means "That was (or is) very nifty."
** w00t -- Derived from "hoot"; this is defined as "yay" and can be used during a victory.
** h4x0r -- Hacker, a term that can be used for a real hacker or simply a very skillful person.
** ph33r -- Fear, most commonly used in such phrases as "Ph33r m3!" or "Ph33r |V|y 1337 sk1llz!" It can also be written as "ph34r."
** sk1llz -- Referring to skill in some type of online game, programming or hacking.
** m4d -- Mad, mostly used as a descriptive term meaning great; for example, "h3s g0t m4d sk1llz."
** j00 -- You.
** f00 -- Foo, as in fool.
** j0 -- Yo, as in the greeting.
** d00d -- Dude.
** sux0r -- Sucks.
** l4m3r -- Lamer.
** n00b -- Short for noobie, misspelling of newbie; someone who is new to something, or just not very good at it.
--Although one can communicate this way exclusively, it is generally looked down upon in chat rooms and online gaming because it takes too long to type and decipher. It is generally used to punctuate normal English for emphasis.
--Here's a nifty translator you can use to obtain m4d sk1llz in 1337 5P34kZ. However, it is not the only one, and leet has numerous variations on the basic theme.
A = @ or |\ or 4 or ^ or /-\
B = |3 or ]3 or 8 or ß
C = ( or ©
D = |) or ]) or Đ
E = 3 or £
F = # or |=
G = 9
H = |-|
I = 1 or ! or ][ or Ĭ
J = _|
K = |< or |{ or ]<
L = |_ or | or 1
M = |V| or /\/\ or ^ ^
N = |\| or /\/ or И or Ω
O = () or 0 or ○ or € or ·
P = |D or 6 or þ
Q = & or ¶ (
R = |2 or ®
S = $ or 5 or §
T = + or 7 or Ł or ╬
U = |_| or Ū
V = \ / or √
W = |/\| or \ / \ / or |/\/ or \/\|
X = >< or χ or }{
Y = ¥ or ỳ
Z = 2 or ż
Anchorage Daily News [March 19th, 2004]
"Leet-Speak" can be confusing to those without "Sk1llz."
INTERNET: Gaming has
given rise to a language.
By Jesse Alleva
Perfect World Staff
--As the Internet was becoming more prevalent in society during the early 1990s, computer-savvy individuals, such as hackers, didn't want their Web sites, news groups and other things to be found by simple search engines, so as a solution they began to replace letters with symbols or numbers such as A = 4, B = 13. This was the beginning of a new language that could only be written down and not spoken: "1337 5P34K" or "leet-speak." The name is derived from the word "elite," although once you remove the first letter, misspell the second syllable and translate it into numbers, this root word is hardly apparent.
--Up until 1994, this new "language" was known by few and was sparingly. However, when "first-person shooter" games such as "Doom, "Doom II" and "Quake" started to offer Internet connectivity, a revolution of both PC gaming and leet-speak occured.
--In the gaming world, leet-speak is used to encode messages or to show off one's prowess for gaming. For example, if someone were to be doing well at a game, they might send a message to other participants saying, "1 ownz j00, suxorz" which roughly translates to "I owns you suckers." The main reason to use leet-speak is simply that it looks complicated and fearsome.
--Leet-speak is a very flexible language, meaning that there are several ways to spell the same word. Elite can be said as: leet, l33t, 1337, |_337 or |_33-|-. A general rule of thumb is to use characters that depict the letter that is being substituted. This is not to be confused with terms such as LOL (Laughing out Loud) or BRB (be right back), which are simply acronyms.
--However, leet-speak isnt just a corrupted form of English; new words, mostly created by online gamers, are unique to leet. Here are some examples:
** 0wne3d -- Beaten. "I 0wn3d you" means "I have beaten you in a very humiliating fashion," or "0wn4ge!" which means "That was (or is) very nifty."
** w00t -- Derived from "hoot"; this is defined as "yay" and can be used during a victory.
** h4x0r -- Hacker, a term that can be used for a real hacker or simply a very skillful person.
** ph33r -- Fear, most commonly used in such phrases as "Ph33r m3!" or "Ph33r |V|y 1337 sk1llz!" It can also be written as "ph34r."
** sk1llz -- Referring to skill in some type of online game, programming or hacking.
** m4d -- Mad, mostly used as a descriptive term meaning great; for example, "h3s g0t m4d sk1llz."
** j00 -- You.
** f00 -- Foo, as in fool.
** j0 -- Yo, as in the greeting.
** d00d -- Dude.
** sux0r -- Sucks.
** l4m3r -- Lamer.
** n00b -- Short for noobie, misspelling of newbie; someone who is new to something, or just not very good at it.
--Although one can communicate this way exclusively, it is generally looked down upon in chat rooms and online gaming because it takes too long to type and decipher. It is generally used to punctuate normal English for emphasis.
--Here's a nifty translator you can use to obtain m4d sk1llz in 1337 5P34kZ. However, it is not the only one, and leet has numerous variations on the basic theme.
A = @ or |\ or 4 or ^ or /-\
B = |3 or ]3 or 8 or ß
C = ( or ©
D = |) or ]) or Đ
E = 3 or £
F = # or |=
G = 9
H = |-|
I = 1 or ! or ][ or Ĭ
J = _|
K = |< or |{ or ]<
L = |_ or | or 1
M = |V| or /\/\ or ^ ^
N = |\| or /\/ or И or Ω
O = () or 0 or ○ or € or ·
P = |D or 6 or þ
Q = & or ¶ (
R = |2 or ®
S = $ or 5 or §
T = + or 7 or Ł or ╬
U = |_| or Ū
V = \ / or √
W = |/\| or \ / \ / or |/\/ or \/\|
X = >< or χ or }{
Y = ¥ or ỳ
Z = 2 or ż
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