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Internet slang

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

Internet slang consists of slang which users of the Internet have developed and/or utilized. Many of its terms originated with the purpose of saving keystrokes: as a result of this, many use the same abbreviations in text messages (see txt). The terms often appear in lower case, with capitals often reserved for emphasis — the pronoun "I", for example, often appears simply as "i". Ass LOL ONE!!!!

The untrained eye often finds Internet slang difficult to interpret. This occurs largely because written text lacks the physical context and aural variety which speakers of spoken language convey with intonation and tone of the voice - such as sarcasm.

Emoticons (or smilies) such as ":)" can go some way towards clarifying emotional intent in Internet messages. As with other Internet slang, netizens may use emoticons both genuinely and sarcastically; for example the ":-P" emoticon, which can express either genuine amusement and a sense of fun, or express a negative sarcastic comment on something another user might have said.

WTF, MATE?

Origins

HEARTLESS LOVES CHICKS WITH DICKS!!

Usage notes

Common disclaimer phrases (or parentheticals) also often contract into acronyms — they tend to occur at certain points in a sentence, which can facilitate decoding. Some of these include:

  • IMHO (in my humble/honest opinion)
  • AFAIK (as far as I know)
  • AFK (Away from Keyboard)

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, among them Jerry Holkins of Penny Arcade, 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.

Common examples

Some of the most commonly occurring elements of this slang include:

  • lol – laugh(ing) out loud (Lawl)
  • bbl – be back later (Buh-bel)
  • brb – be right back/bathroom break (Burb)
  • lmao – laugh(ing) my ass/arse off. (Luh-maow)
  • pwn – to own (Pown or Poon)
  • rofl – rolling on the floor laughing (Raw-fel)
  • ttyl – talk to you later (tuh-tile)
  • gg – good game, good going (Guh)
  • roflmao – rolling on the floor laughing my ass off (Raw-fel-luh-mao)
  • wtf – what the fuck (Wuh-tiff)
  • omg – oh my god! (Awm-guh)

For a much more detailed list of my rectum is on fire, see List of Internet slang.

See also

External links

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