l33t (pronouced 'leet') speak is a language unique because it cannot truly be spoken out loud nor can it successfully be handwritten, it is an internet based language reliant on the keyboard. It is, however simple to learn and has much room for creativity.

History

The Dawn of the Internet

As the internet was coming into it's own during the early 1980's, hackers that didn't want their web sites/newsgroups/etc to be picked up in a simple keyword search began using numbers to replace certain letters (mostly vowels) such as A = 4 or E = 3.

At this point l33t speak was only known to a select few and only used when neccesary. However, in 1994 id Software begin to add internet connectivity to Doom and Doom II, leading to a revolution in PC gaming and also to the rise of l33t speak.

As with any type of competition, 'smack' talk became prevalent in online gaming. Phrases such as "I am elite" became common place, and somewhere down the line l33t speak snuck in, reforming the phrase into "1 4m 3l1t3" in order to demonstrate that the speaker was a hacker and someone to be feared. It was further exaggerated by purposeful bad spelling and eventually wound up as something like this, "1 4m 3l33t!" and simplified to, "1 4m 133t". Hence the name 'l33t speak'.

But eventually, l33t speak began to fall out of use because of the amount of time it takes to type, as well as the overuse of it by some, changing it from amusing to annoying.

l33t Hits the Big Time

l33t speak was still relatively unknown to the internet masses at this point. It had almost disappeared from gaming entirely. However, a very popular web comic called Megatokyo brought 1337 speak into mainstream with it's infamous speak l33t? comic. These days l33t speak is very well known to the hardcore internet community (especially gamers).

Grammar (or lack thereof)

As you've already seen basic 1337 is just replacing vowels with numbers,

• A = 4
• E = 3
• I = 1
• O = 0

However 1337 is a very flexible 'language' and you can go from this very basic l33t, to ultra 1337 by being creative, a few examples:

• O = ()
• U = |_|
• T = 7
• D = |)
• W = \/\/
• S = $

There is no agreed upon way to write l33t, so it's up to you whether or not to go with light l33t, medium 1337, hard |_337 or even ultra |_33¯|¯.

Other Grammatical Oddities

The -0r clause can be used in place of -ed or -er, for example "1 0wnz0r!" (most commonly seen in ultra 1337 as "1 0\/\/|\|z0r!") rather than "1 0wn3d". However it can also be used like this, "1 4m 1337 h4x0r!" (in ultra 1337, "1 4|\/| |_337 |-|4x0r!") rather than, "1 4m 4 133t h4ck3r!".

As a general rule in l33t rather than use 's' to make something plural a 'z' is used in it's stead. Also 'f' is normally changed to 'ph'. The short 'u' is many times changed to '00', as well.

Punctuation is usually left out with great consistency as the level of l33t increases. Full stops are left out entirely because when you are chatting online, where you would normal put a full stop you just hit 'enter' to send the message and keep typing. Exclamation marks are used quite a bit (and usually quite a number at once), mostly because l33t is most commonly used in expressions of pleasure. Commas are generally left out in hard and ultra l33t, and are uncommon in medium l33t.

Vocabulary

Although l33t speak is just the English language, there are many phrases and words (spellings) that are unique to it.

Courteousness

Although you can use l33t speak exclusively, it is looked down upon in most forums and chat rooms. The best place to use l33t speak is in a brief expression of excitement, when you are just playing around or in a supreme example of your geekly prowess.