12-13-2003, 09:18 PM
As for l33t sp33k, I heard it originated from hackers (as in way back in the 80s, and then I mean "One who is proficient at using or programming a computer; a computer buff."), and am trying to find a reliable source/site for that right now.
This [.doc file] might be of interest, called "The Nature of Digital Crime", the best I could find, just search in the document for leet.
I don't know if you're allowed to quote this much (copyright?) so will remove it in that case.
Excerpt from V) Bedroom Hackerâs Enculturation
So from that I would say it would be a dialect, originated from young computer hackers in the 80s, which wanted to differinate themselves from society. Still today the "teens (or anyone performing "illegal computer activity") wanting to differinate themselves from society" I think holds true.
I would also say it's an American dialect too, as I've never heard l33t in anything but in that language.
* I just noticed there's no differinate in the dictionary, have I misspelt it that bad?
This [.doc file] might be of interest, called "The Nature of Digital Crime", the best I could find, just search in the document for leet.
I don't know if you're allowed to quote this much (copyright?) so will remove it in that case.
Excerpt from V) Bedroom Hackerâs Enculturation
Quote:Bedroom hackers created an entire social milieu separate of corporate research parks and universities. They created their own dialect called Elite Speek or k-rad. In this dialect, numbers were substituted for visually similar letters. Capitol letter were freely and randomly used. For instance, 'elite hackers' became 31337 HaXorZ. There is no definite pattern for the replacements; they are just inserted upon the whim of the writer. There are different reasons for âleet speek. Foremost, much of the interaction between âleeto hackers happened on-line. It required typing. Shortcuts and abbreviations became the norm. It is also true that many bedroom hackers were teenagers and still in school. Their spelling and typing skills were deficient. Finally, repetitious speech becomes boring and tends to get embellished. Whatever the reasons for the growth of elite speak, it served to further differentiate the hacker subculture from the dominant culture. Many of the âphilezâ on BBSâs in the 1980âs were written, at least partially in elite speak.
So from that I would say it would be a dialect, originated from young computer hackers in the 80s, which wanted to differinate themselves from society. Still today the "teens (or anyone performing "illegal computer activity") wanting to differinate themselves from society" I think holds true.
I would also say it's an American dialect too, as I've never heard l33t in anything but in that language.
* I just noticed there's no differinate in the dictionary, have I misspelt it that bad?