Types of Slang
Internet slang does not constitute a homogeneous language variety. Rather, it differs according to the user and type of Internet situation. However, within the language of Internet slang, there is still an element of prescriptivism, as seen in style guides, for example Wired Style, which are specifically aimed at usage on the Internet. Even so, few users consciously heed these prescriptive recommendations on CMC, but rather adapt their styles based on what they encounter online. Although it is difficult to produce a clear definition of Internet slang, the following types of slang may be observed. This list is not exhaustive.
| Class | Description |
|---|---|
| Letter homophones | Included within this group are abbreviations and acronyms. An abbreviation is a shortening of a word, for example "CU" or "CYA" for "see you (see ya)". An acronym, on the other hand, is a subset of abbreviations and are formed from the initial components of a word. Examples of common acronyms include "LOL" for "laugh out loud" or "lots of love" and "BTW" for "by the way". There are also combinations of both, like "CUL8R" for "see you later". |
| Punctuation, capitalizations and other symbols | Such features are commonly used for emphasis or stress. Periods or exclamation marks may be used repeatedly for emphasis, such as "........" or "!!!!!!!!!!". Grammatical punctuation rules are also relaxed on the Internet. "E-mail" may simply be expressed as "email", and apostrophes can be dropped so that "John's book" becomes "johns book". Examples of capitalizations include "STOP IT", which can convey a stronger emotion of annoyance as opposed to "stop it". Bold, underline and italics are also used to indicate stress. |
| Onomatopoeic and/or stylized spellings | Onomatopoeic spellings have also become popularized on the Internet. One well-known example is "hahaha" to indicate "laughter". Onomatopoeic spellings are very language specific. For instance, in Spanish, laughter will be spelt as "jajaja" instead. Deliberate misspellings, such as "sauce" for "source", are also used. |
| Keyboard-generated emoticons and smileys | Emoticons are generally found in web forums, instant messengers and online games. They are culture-specific and certain emoticons are only found in some languages but not in others. For example, the Japanese equivalent of emoticons, kaomoji (literally "face marks"), focus on the eyes instead of the mouth as in Western emoticons. They are also meant to be read right-side up, for example, ^_^ as opposed to sideways, =). More recently than face emoticons, other emoticon symbols such as <3 (Which is a sideways heart) have emerged. Compared to emoticons used in Western cultures such as the United States, kaomoji play a very distinct social role in online discourse. |
| Direct requests | These are found in chat engines such as Internet Relay Chat or online games, where personal identities may be concealed. As such, questions such as "A/S/L?" which stands for "age, sex, location?" are commonly posed. |
| Leet | Leetspeak, or 1337, is an alternative alphabet for the English language which uses various combinations of ASCII characters to replace Latinate letters. For example, Wikipedia may be expressed as "w1k1p3d14". It originated from computer hacking, but its use has been extended to online gaming as well. |
| Flaming | Flaming refers to the use of rude or profane language in interactions between Internet users. It can be caused by any subject of polarizing nature. For example, there is an ongoing debate between users of Windows and Mac OS. Historically, the act of flaming has been described as an intrinsic quality of emails due to an absence of visual and auditory cues in computer-mediated communication (CMC). |
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