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H0w L33t S4vvy 4r3 y0u?
Several years ago, computer geeks in our midst went out and created their
own languange, and we’re not talking COBOL, PHP or some other coding
language, but their own form of English. Hitting the more mainstream internet
population in the last year or so, Leet, or 1337 as it is commonly known
in Leetspeak, is a visual interpretation of English created specifically
for the internet generation.
The word leet is derived from the word “elite” and is a cryptic
form of spelling which replaces letters with numbers, symbols or letters
which look or sound alike. First used by hackers on bulletin boards, it
is now enjoying widespread use by various internet communities. The fun
part about Leet is that words have multiple ways of being re-interpreted.
Take for instance the word “water.” It can be written as: w4t3r...
w473r... w@7€r... \/\/@7€r... \/\/473®... or \/\/@7€|2.
Confused yet? The rules get fuzzier from there.
Leetspeak, like any other language, has exceptions to the rules. And special
words with no rules. And so on.
According to some factions, “true” Leetspeak does not use short
forms of words (such as “b” for be or “u” for you)
as is common by IMers (instant messengers) or in chat rooms, but maintains
correct spelling for all words. This truncated form of Leetspeak is referred
to as “AOL speak,” and is commonly associated with “n00bness”
(the state of being a newbie) and therefore not considered “elite.”
So, how Leet saavy are you?
0% -- If you prefer to read this, then you are a boring,
non-leet geek kind of person.
10% -- If you can r3ad this, th3n you ar3 a n3wbi3 at l33t-sp33k,
or ar3 just a k33nly mind3d p3rson.
25% -- 1f y0u c4n r34d th1s, y0u 4r3 v3ntur1ng 4 l1ttl3
b1t 1nt0 g33k-l4nd.
50% -- 1ƒ ¥0µ (4n r34Ð 7h1$, ¥0µ (4n
(4££ ¥0µr$3£ƒ 4n 0ƒƒ1(14£
933|{ - bµ7 ¥0µ h4v3 m0r3 70 £34rn.
75% -- еÐ3, ¥0µ $p3|\|Ð \/\/4¥
700 |\/|µ(|-| 71|\/|3 0|\| 7|-|3 (0|\/|pµ73r, ¥0µ
4r3 75% $44\/¥.
100% - ¡ƒ ¥0µ ç@|\| |2€@þ
7|-|¡§, ¥0µ @|2€ 100%, pµ|2€ 9|2@þ€
4 9€€|<. ç0|\|9|2@7µ£@7¡0|\|§!
Related Links
BE AFRAID! Leet speak can lead to DANGER!