CC BY
312
2
ИНФРАСТРУКТУРА СТРАНЫ ИЗУЧАЕМОГО ЯЗЫКА
COMPUTER SLANG Ю.А. Зайцева
Научный руководитель - кандидат филологических наук, доцент Т.К. Чарская
Работа посвящена проблеме распространения огромного количества неологизмов в глобальной сети в связи с бурным развитием компьютерных и информационных технологий в последние два десятилетия. Особое внимание уделяется анализу структурных типов сложных слов, образованных при помощи аббревиации.
The rapid development of computer industry and information technology during the last two decades gave rise to a large amount of neologisms. Most of them were exceptionally professional words but then they became almost widespread among computer users. Professional terms were simplified and abbreviated turning into the so called computer slang that was originally the way of communication for "devoted" people (e.g. programmers). As a result of growing amount of people related to computers, slang passes into common usage.
Internet slang consists of terms which users of the Internet have developed and utilized. Many of its terms originated with the purpose of saving keystrokes.
Internet slang came from many different sources - typical environments that placed value on brevity of communication. Some terms, such as FUBAR have roots as far back as World War II. Other terms came from more recent forms of communication, such as TTY and IRC.
Chat acronyms originally developed on pre-Internet bulletin board systems. The three-letter acronym remains one of the most popular types of abbreviation in computing and telecom terminology and slang. Similar systems came 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 or as 13375P34K (in leetspeak). Leetspeak, or leet for short, is a specific type of computer slang where a user replaces regular letters with other keyboard characters to form words phonetically - creating the digital equivalent of Pig Latin with a twist of hieroglyphics.
Note that the many "true" computer gurus, hackers and coders regard leetspeak as a pathetic trademark of a newbie or of a show-off. Gurus, hackers and coders almost always use leetspeak sarcastically. They label the use of leetspeak, excessive use of abbreviations, and incorrect spelling and grammar as rude, and they usually regard it as indicative of a script kiddie or of a computer newbie.
Users sometimes 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")
■ convo - "Conversation"
■ pic - "Picture" ("pics", "pix" or "piccies" for plural)
■ proggy - "Computer program"
■ prolly - "Probably" (The Oxford English Dictionary traces this usage back as far as
1962)
■ sig - "Signature" (also "siggy")
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 purposeful 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", "teh lame" and cool or "teh cool".
Similarly, netizens may use the word "liek" or "leik" as sarcastic mis-spellings of the word "like", as in "I LIEK PIE". It often implies an insult to one's intelligence and/or typing ability.
Internet abbreviations evolve and change continually. Online games provide a good place to observe language variation in use. .
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. This is a fraction of the full list, but some of these disclaimers include:
■ TRDMF: tear rolling down my face
■ IMHO: in my humble/honest opinion
■ AFAIK: as far as I know
■ IIRC: if I recall correctly
■ OTOH: on the other hand
■ IANAL: I am not a lawyer
■ YMMV: your mileage may vary
The word newbie occurs almost exclusively to refer to all sorts of new users of an Internet forum or starters in a particular field of activity. It does not function as a pejorative term per se, but can do so when combined with RTFM, etc. "n00b" has much more derogatory implications than "newbie".
Certain online personalities have begun to decry the usage of Internet slang, going so far as to refer to it as the crude truncations of the lower classes.
Although Internet slang has a close relationship with leetspeak, only online gamers traditionally use leet, while much larger groups of Internet users commonly use Internet slang.
The symbols < and > or * * often enclose a user's facial expression, action, or other feeling that is difficult to express via other online methods. For instance: <smile>, *smile*, <jumping up and down>, *jumping up and down*, <very very sad right now> or *very very sad right now* are all acceptable usages. Double colons are occasionally seen on each side of such expressions (::excited::).
The symbols [ ] and [/ ] or simply / are often used with a word inside [] or after / to denote the author's feelings at the time of writing an enclosed sentence or paragraph. For instance: [sarcasm]I just love how wonderfully the new nerf to our characters has gone.[/sarcasm], the developers have gone mad! /anger. This can be said to be derived from code commonly used on bulletin board systems.
Some of the most commonly occurring elements of this slang include:
■ lol - laughing out loud
■ bbl - be back later
■ brb - be right back
■ rofl - rolling on the floor laughing
■ ttyl - talk to you later
■ gg - good game, good going
■ omg - oh my god!
■ btw - by the way
■ afk - away from keyboard
■ kthx - OK, thanks
However, this list is a small fraction of the total Internet slang lexicon. Leet words can be expressed in hundreds of ways using different substitutions and combinations, but once one understands that nearly all characters are formed as phonemes and symbols, leetspeak isn't difficult to translate. Also, because leet is not a formal or regional dialect, any given word can be interpreted differently, so it's important to use discretion when evaluating terms. The following serves as a brief (and by no means definitive) introduction to leet through examples.
■ Numbers are often used as letters. The term "leet" could be written as "1337," with "1" replacing the letter L, "3" posing as a backwards letter E, and "7" resembling the letter T. Others include "8" replacing the letter B, "9" used as a G, "0" (zero) in lieu of O, and so on.
■ Non-alphabet characters can be used to replace the letters they resemble. For example, "5" or even "$" can replace the letter S. Applying this style, the word "leetspeak" can be written as "133t5p33k" or even "!337$p34k," with "4" replacing the letter A.
■ Letters can be substituted for other letters that may sound alike. Using "Z" for a final letter S, and "X" for words ending in the letters C or K is common. For example, loudspeakers might refer to their computer "5x1llz" (skills).
■ Rules of grammar are rarely obeyed. Some loudspeakers will capitalize every letter except for vowels (LiKe THiS) and otherwise reject conventional English style and grammar, or drop vowels from words (such as converting very to "vry").
■ Mistakes are often left uncorrected. Common typing misspellings (typos) such as "teh" instead of the are left uncorrected or sometimes adopted to replace the correct spelling.
■ Non-alphanumeric characters may be combined to form letters. For example, using slashes to create "/V\" can substitute for the letter M, and two pipes combined with a hyphen to form "|-|" is often used in place of the letter H. Thus, the word ham could be written as "|-|4M."
■ The suffix "0rz" is often appended to words for emphasis or to make them plural. For example, "h4xx0rz," "sk1llz0rz," and "pwnz0rz," are plural or emphasized versions (or both) of hacks, skills, and owns.
It's important to remember that the leetspeak community encourages new forms and awards individual creativity, resulting in a dynamic written language that eludes conformity or consistency. However, there are a few standard terms. The following is a sample of key words that haven't changed fundamentally (although variations occur) since the invention of leetspeak. .
■ "warez" or "w4r3z": Illegally copied software available for download.
■ "h4x": Read as "hacks," or what a malicious computer hacker does.
■ "pr0n": An anagram of "porn," possibly indicating the use of pornography.
■ "sploitz" (short for exploits): Vulnerabilities in computer software used by hackers.
■ "pwn": A typo-deliberate version of own, a slang term often used to express superiority over others that can be used maliciously, depending on the situation. This could also be spelled "0Wn3d" or "pwn3d," among other variations. Online video game bullies or "griefers" often use this term.
■ "m4d sklllz" or "mad skills": Refers to one's own talent. "m4d" itself is often used for emphasis.
■ "n00b," "noob," "newbie," or "newb": Combinations synonymous with new user. Some leetspeakers view "n00b" as an insult and "newbie" as an affectionate term for new users.
■ "wOOt" or the smiley character \o/: An acronym that usually means "We Own the Other Team," used to celebrate victory in a video game.
■ "roxxOrs" Used in place of "rocks," typically to describe something impressive.
■ "dOOd": Replaces the greeting or addressing someone as a "dude."
■ "joo" and "u": Used instead of "you." This is also commonly written as "j00" or "_|00."
■ "ph": often replaces "f," as in "phear" for "fear" (as in "ph34r my l33t skillz") and vice versa, such as spelling "phonetic" as "f0|\|371.("Game slang is an essential part of the Internet gaming world. People speak such a strange dialect in MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) worlds and at LAN-parties (where groups of people get together in one room to play an online game) that it's common for new players to flounder in confusion for a few days trying to sort out what everyone is saying.
Game slang is actually quite necessary because game life is so larded with unique experiences, inside jokes, and tech jargon that it requires a new language to describe it all. It's a concise language that emphasizes shorthand, abbreviation, and linguistic economy. And, over time, most players adopt the speech patterns of the game they're in, becoming genuine citizens of the virtual world.
The spelling of many phrases, for example, is done in chat room rebus fashion to save on keystrokes. "Anyone" becomes "nel." And "g2g" is "got to go." Most single words are similarly contracted.
The same concision occurs in all of the real languages that people use in the game world (the most common being French, Swedish, Danish, Korean, German, Japanese, and Dutch). Francophones, for example, often use "pkoi" instead of "pourquoi" to save a few keystrokes. "Quebecois" becomes "kebekoi." "Qu'est-ce que c'est" becomes "kes k c." The one borrowed foreign word used by all players is "uber"— from the German word for "over" or "above" (as in the national anthem: Deutschland uber alles). Uber in the game context refers to very highlevel items that can be attained only by powerful characters or large groups working together.
Many words refer to ideas unique to MMORPG life. Some words refer to the mechanics of the world itself.
Technology has undoubtedly brought about a revolution in communication. Most people would agree that this has been a positive development. Recently, however, there has been concern over the negative effect that modern methods of communication are having on the English language.The increasing use of e-mails and test messages is changing the way people use grammar. Education experts warn of the potentially damaging effect on literacy of text messaging.
Texting has become second nature to a generation of young people. To people who are not used to abbreviations, this might be seen as a threat to the language. To my mind, the language is changing in much the same way as it has done for centuries.
List of commonly used slang, smileys and acronyms. Commonly used slang
> LOL = Laugh Out Loud
> U = You
> G2G = Got To Go
> KK = Okay
> LYL = Love You Lots
> NVM = Never Mind
> LYLAS/LYLAB = Love You Like a Sister/Love You Like A Brother
> BRB = Be Right Back
> C = See
> 2 = to, too, or two
> SA = What's Up
> R = Are
> L8er = Later
> 2morrow = Tomorrow
> Kewl = Cool
> @ = At
> Skool = School
> w/ = With
> ROTFLOL = Rolling On The Floor Laughing Out Loud
> BF/GF = Boy Friend and Girl Friend
> What's a = What's Up
> Wazzup = What's Up
> Dawg = Dog
> WuzA = What's Up
> O = oh Acronyms
■ ABT = About
■ ADN = Any Day Now
■ AFAIK = As Far As I Know
■ AWHFY? = Are We Having Fun Yet?
■ AYOR = At Your Own Risk
■ B4 = Before
■ B4N = Bye For Now
■ B/C = Because
■ BTDT = Been There Done That
■ CID = Crying In Disgrace
■ CTS = Changing The Subject
■ CWOT = Complete Waste Of Time
■ DLTBBB = Don't Let The Bad Bugs Bite
■ DTC = Darn This Computer
■ EOS = End Of Story
■ FAWC = For Anyone Who Cares
■ FOTFLOL = Falling Onto The Floor Laughing Out Loud
■ FYE = For Your Entertainment
■ FYEO = For Your Eyes Only
■ GA = Go Ahead
■ GMTA = Great Minds Think Alike Smileys/Emoticons
S :-) = Happy
S :-D = Laugh
•S ;-) = Wink
S :-P = Sticking tongue out
S :-* = Kiss
S 8-) = Geek w/ glasses (My favorite!)
✓ :'-( = Sad
S >:-D = Evil grin
S [:-( = Frankenstein
S [{--Crayon--}]> = Crayola Crayon
^ @}-,-'-,-- = Rose
s ol-<]: = Skater Dude S ~(_8A(l) = Homer Simpson S @@@@:A) = Marge Simpson ^ (:V) = PacMan
Summary
This paper deals with the phenomenon of computer slang. Slang words are characterized by the fact that they are not coined as words belonging to the standard vocabulary of the language.
They originate as terms of a special group and are considered to be both creative and stereotypical. Stereotypes presuppose using and reproducing different actual and potential wordbuilding patterns, whereas creativity reveals itself in new form and meaning. There are different structural types of computer neologisms: abbreviations, acronyms, initials, signs and symbols.
Literature
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_slang
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leet
3. http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/children/kidtalk.mspx
4. http://www.expage.com/cs4u
