Cry Wolf on Leetspeak - The Noob's Guide to Leet

CRY \/\/01F 0n 1337$p3aK – The n00b's guide to l33t by Kevin Le

“‘1|= \|0u |{4N r34|) t|-|15.. t|-|3N \|0u i5 t3|-| |_337”

‘if you can read this then "you is teh leet”.

So what leetspeak, also known as 'leet'? At its core, leet is a online communication style. Leet emphasizes “symbol writing” where characters can substitute for any letter. It is responsible for usernames like '5uper]<1ll3rb4dgu7' (superkillerbadguy) and 's3xyp1nkbu11erFL7'(sexypinkbutterfly). ‘Leet’ itself derives from “1337”, a popular substitution for leet (slang for 'elite'). Leetspeak also features slang like “noob” and “owned”.

Leetspeak can traces its origin to the 90's where “1337” (reference to the use “elite” on BBS systems in the 1980s), was a popular term. To declare oneself as 31337 or an 1337 h4x0rz (leet hacker), was to declare the one's elite computer skills. By 1997, leet speak was featured heavily in hacker newsletters.

For those unfamiliar with leetspeak, you may heard it through such Pulitzer Prize worthy pieces as this. Reports like these are quick to dismiss leet as some malicious hacker code, a view commonly held by many computer Luddites. In their minds, the average leet speakers would be the orchestrator of acts like this and look something like this:

Such persecution ultimately stems from ignorance, a refusal to look past sensationalist media. For Leetspeak has undergone tremendous change. As the PC became widely adopted in early 2000's, such would be the catalyst for leet's shift from hacker speak to gamer talk. As users flooded the internet, many youths were enamoured by the image of hackers, romanticized by the media as “rebellious ninjas that stuck digital fingers to the literal system”. Seeing leet as “something hackers do,” they began to adopt it. These “script kiddies” were generally met with scorn, believing that use of leet equated to actual knowledge of hacking. Such conflict led to a backlash of mockery and sarcastic leet which pervades to this day. Thus, as it was widely adopted, leet for actual cryptography became less common and eventually obsolete.

Leetspeak was re-purposed by its adolescent conquerors for uses in online gaming. With a little creativity and imagination, the possibilities to insult are endless with leatspeak. New slang is constantly introduced which even then undergo constant change in orthography. Having defeated someone, that person could called a n00b, noob, n00bie, n[][]b , bo0n, nubcake, or nubsalad (a new player) who got 0wned, pwned, p00ned, wrecked, or (my favourite) shrekt (soundly beaten).

Thus, as leetspeak became a staple among gamers, your average leetspeaker would look more like:

Now hopefully, you've realized that leet isn’t a malicious code used by cyber-ninjas. Still, you might be thinking what's the point of leet speak? Why spend more effort to write this non-sense? Why create such needlessly complex jargon that look like the epileptic productions of IBM's Watson?

Well, as many linguists agree, language change is a process that has pervaded human language since its inception. Speaking on language change, esteemed Linguistics Professor at the University of BC, Gunnar Hansson writes:

“The potential for change is always there, and it is inevitable that it will happen... And since communicative interaction is a constant production-perception feedback loop, there is also the potential for our language to change over the course of our lifetimes.”

Leetspeak is then a permutation of language change, a example of how language is constantly at the whim of its users. As leet shed its hacker beginnings, it was overtaken by a largely adolescent community. Linguists have long considered adolescents the vehicle for language change.

Compelled to express their unique identities, kids naturally use the vernacular as way to belong, to express their individuality, and to distinguish themselves from others. As scholar Elizabeth Moje writes, by using “unsanctioned linguistic practices” young people can “claim and mark spaces or territories, construct identities, and label - or position themselves and others”.

Such is exactly how leet is used within the context of the online gaming community. Just as hackers used leet to express their qualities, leetspeak is a way for adolescents to express themselves. By calling someone a n00b, one is asserting their gaming superiority. Leet can also be used to establish group identity. By using leet, one identifies as an online gamer, which could also be used to express unity. As scholar Blashki writes: “Such linguistic creativity as 1337 5p34K, characterized by adaptation and modification, has evolved from the game geek’s need to express and communicate within a supportive community of like-minded participants.” Gamers have long been stigmatized by society, so it shouldn't surprise they'd seek comfort through common expression.

Yet as leet changed, it can also be used to exclude. As hackers mocked “script kiddies”, leetspeakers often use leet to mock each other. Witnessing excessive leet, one may call another a n00b, marking that person as a “try-hard pretender”, and a target for exclusion. Leet has then devolved into a pattern of self-mockery. As Blashki's study revealed, “serious leet” has become a relic of the times, as sarcastic use has become the dominant style. As a result, leet has become a canvas of self-parody, an environment which now promotes linguistic creativity in the pursuit of silliness. With change, more recent leet has spawned such popular creations as “ZOMGLOL” “ROFLCOPTER”, “WTFBBQ” and the ever favourite “WTFBBQROFLCOPTERLOLLERSKATESZOMGHAXORZAUCE”, in a never-ending duel of absurdity.

So where is leet today? While “serious leet” (symbol substitution) has largely faded from use, its legacy lives on. As mainstream culture begins to embrace gaming, certain leet terms have no doubt penetrated everyday vernacular. Terms with leetspeak origins, such as lol, omg, and noob, are used considerably in online chat and testing. In some cases, they are used as complete words in the RL (real world): “LOLE, OHMUHGUH, DID LINDSEY REALLY?”

While leet is now less relevant in internet culture, it has gone on to influence other online languages. Such styles as lolspeak (in the popular “memes” such as Lolcats). No doubt, the intentional misspellings and ungrammatically of leet were the inspiration for the speech style which has spawned many a 'cat meme'.

Leet has survived in the most unlikely of places. In Kenya, a study in 2014 found that “serious leet"  is still used in the online social networks of young Kenyan adults. As it turns out, euphemisms are common in African Languages. Many African cultures emphasize the social significance of language. Leet speak is then a way for Kenyans to avoid sounding “immoral” and mitigate guilt. So by typing a55 and b4st4rd, Kenyans are in fact (rather ironically) are showing “respect” for their culture by acknowledging linguistic taboos.

So what's next for leetspeak? Will it die off or will it live on through other internet subcultures? Only time can tell. For as languages are at the mercy of language change and an ever changing world, so too is leetspeak.