Internet slang

Origins Internet slang originated in the early days of the Internet, with some terms predating it. The earliest forms of Internet slang assumed people's knowledge of programming and commands in a specific language. Internet slang is used in chat rooms, social networking services, online games, video games and in the online community. Since 1979, users of communications networks like Usenet created their own shorthand. Internet slang originated as a way to save keystrokes for users, alongside getting around auto-moderated platforms. If a platform banned users for typing a specific word, they would create new ones that had a communal understanding of the definition, allowing them to avoid the ban filter. Motivations The primary motivation for using a slang unique to the Internet is to ease communication. While Internet slang shortcuts save time for the writer, they can also take two times as long for the reader to understand, according to a study by the University of Tasmania. On the other hand, similar to the use of slang in traditional face-to-face speech or written language, slang on the Internet is often a way of indicating group membership. Internet slang provides a channel which facilitates and constrains the ability to communicate in ways that are fundamentally different from those found in other semiotic situations. Many of the expectations and practices which we associate with spoken and written language are no longer applicable. The Internet itself is ideal for new slang to emerge because of the richness of the medium and the availability of information. The electronic character of the channel has a fundamental influence on the language of the medium. Options for communication are constrained by the nature of the hardware needed in order to gain Internet access. Thus, productive linguistic capacity (the type of information that can be sent) is determined by the preassigned characters on a keyboard, and receptive linguistic capacity (the type of information that can be seen) is determined by the size and configuration of the screen. Additionally, both sender and receiver are constrained linguistically by the properties of the internet software, computer hardware, and networking hardware linking them. Electronic discourse refers to writing that is "very often reads as if it were being spoken – that is, as if the sender were writing talking". ==Types of slang==

Internet slang does not constitute a homogeneous language variety; rather, it differs according to the user and type of Internet situation. Audience design occurs in online platforms, and therefore online communities can develop their own sociolects, or shared linguistic norms. 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 (Computer-mediated communication), 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. ==Views==

Many debates about how the use of slang on the Internet influences language outside of the digital sphere go on. Even though the direct causal relationship between the Internet and language has yet to be proven by any scientific research, Internet slang has invited split views on its influence on the standard of language use in non-computer-mediated communications. Prescriptivists tend to have the widespread belief that the Internet has a negative influence on the future of language, and that it could lead to a degradation of standard. This is illustrated by the widely reported example of a school essay submitted by a Scottish teenager, which contained many abbreviations and acronyms likened to SMS language. There was great condemnation of this style by the mass media as well as educationists, who expressed that this showed diminishing literacy or linguistic abilities. On the other hand, descriptivists have counter-argued that the Internet allows better expressions of a language. It has also been suggested that as opposed to intentionally flouting language conventions, Internet slang is a result of a lack of motivation to monitor speech online. Hale and Scanlon describe language in emails as being derived from "writing the way people talk", and that there is no need to insist on 'Standard' English. In the workspace, internet slang and abbreviation is becoming more acceptable. People are resonating with each other when they see a quickly jotted down message with lots of contractions and slang added in. As long as 'Sent from my iPhone' appears at the bottom of an email, most people are willing to look the other way when it comes to formal grammar. The current '6-7' trend has spread to most middle schools in America, now being spoken in person. '6-7,' slang initially derived from the internet, has now made its way into the classroom, and people have conflicting views on it. The slang itself does not have much meaning, leaving some teachers confused and angry, while others are just happy that their students are smiling and having fun. Taylor Jones, a linguist and social scientist, attempted to explain what people thought of its lack of meaning: “I think that’s part of what upsets people about it, and I think that’s part of what people like about it.” In scholarly research, attention has been drawn to the effect of the use of Internet slang in ethnography, and more importantly to how conversational relationships online change structurally because slang is used. In German, there is already considerable controversy regarding the use of anglicisms outside of CMC. This situation is even more problematic within CMC, since the jargon of the medium is dominated by English terms. which bans all anglicisms ("" [Using anglicisms is strictly prohibited!]), and also translates even fundamental terms into German equivalents. Internet slang has gained attraction, however in other publications ranging from BuzzFeed to The Washington Post, gaining attention from younger viewers. Clickbait headlines have particularly sparked attention, originating from the rise of BuzzFeed in the journalistic sphere which ultimately lead to an online landscape populated with social media references and a shift in language use. Beyond the clickbait, internet slang is now used in modern news articles. After Faker, a professional League of Legends player, won the 2025 League of Legends world championship and his sixth championship total, The New York Times' Athletic wrote about him. In the title they reference Faker as the 'GOAT' of League, a commonly used term in internet slang. The scene of journalism as a whole has become increasingly interested in internet slang over the past few years. The New York Times has published many articles covering internet slang, or as they refer to much of it, 'Gen Alpha' slang. Journalists are interested in explaining the lexicon of the youth, helping older generations better understand what their children are talking about. One Times article alone covers over 10 different words of internet slang, ranging from terms like 'gyat' to what a 'rizzler' is. This article spent less time explaining multiple terms and instead focused in on a specific one: 'chopped.' As internet slang becomes more ubiquitous in the modern era, journalists are looking to keep people informed on the changing ways that people are communicating. ==Use beyond computer-mediated communication==

Internet slang has crossed from being mediated by the computer into other non-physical domains. Here, these domains are taken to refer to any domain of interaction where interlocutors need not be geographically proximate to one another, and where the Internet is not primarily used. Internet slang is now prevalent in telephony, mainly through short messages (SMS) communication. Abbreviations and interjections, especially, have been popularized in this medium, perhaps due to the limited character space for writing messages on mobile phones. Another possible reason for this spread is the convenience of transferring the existing mappings between expression and meaning into a similar space of interaction. At the same time, Internet slang has also taken a place as part of everyday offline language, among those with digital access. Awareness and proficiency in manipulating Internet slang in both online and offline communication indicates digital literacy and teaching materials have even been developed to further this knowledge. A South Korean publisher, for example, has published a textbook that details the meaning and context of use for common Internet slang instances and is targeted at young children who will soon be using the Internet. Similarly, Internet slang has been recommended as language teaching material in second language classrooms in order to raise communicative competence by imparting some of the cultural value attached to a language that is available only in slang. Meanwhile, well-known dictionaries such as the ODE and Merriam-Webster have been updated with a significant and growing body of slang jargon. Besides common examples, lesser known slang and slang with a non-English etymology have also found a place in standardized linguistic references. Along with these instances, literature in user-contributed dictionaries such as Urban Dictionary has also been added to. Codification seems to be qualified through frequency of use, and novel creations are often not accepted by other users of slang. In the past few years, internet slang has been seeing a massive rise in acceptance from dictionaries on the web. Dictionary.com's word of the year for 2025 was the term '67,' a piece of internet slang largely used by Gen Alpha on TikTok, and now, real life. Sliwa ended up receiving 7% of the overall vote. On the other hand, Mamdani used a largely online platform, featuring many Instagram Reels to convey information to his target audience. He catered to Gen Z and Millennials by taking to the internet and proving he was one of them by using his own variants of Internet Slang. A study showed that online, most people are interacting with political news utilizing slang. In comment sections of news article, sub dialects of internet slang are being created, solely based around politics and current movements. The study also found that depending on the news site being commented on, slang differences would heavily vary. Internet slang used on The New York Times site would be incredibly different than that seen on Breitbart. 6–7, a meme that grew to fame in 2025 is an example. It is a term that does not have a true meaning to it, but was developed and catalysed on the internet as slang. The term grew so big that dictionary.com labeled it as their 'Word of the Year' for 2025. They stated that its large usage by Generation Alpha in a real world context earned it the number one spot. Its influence reached beyond that of the computer screen, changing how kids interact with their parents, teachers, and friends. These memes in turn are further spread through their use on the Internet, prominently through websites. The Internet as an "information superhighway" is also catalysed through slang. ==Around the world==

. This is a satire of Chinese Internet censorship. See Grass Mud Horse. Aside from the more frequent abbreviations, acronyms, and emoticons, Internet slang also uses archaic words or the lesser-known meanings of mainstream terms. In places where logographic languages are used, such as China, a visual Internet slang exists, giving characters dual meanings, one direct and one implied. As such, it is important for the various types of slang used online to be recognizable for everyone. It is also important to do so because of how other languages are quickly catching up with English on the Internet, following the increase in Internet usage in predominantly non-English speaking countries. In fact, as of January 2020, only approximately 25.9% of the online population is made up of English speakers. Different cultures tend to have different motivations behind their choice of slang, on top of the difference in language used. For example, in China, because of the tough Internet regulations imposed, users tend to use certain slang to talk about issues deemed as sensitive to the government. These include using symbols to separate the characters of a word to avoid detection from manual or automated text pattern scanning and consequential censorship. An outstanding example is the use of the term river crab to denote censorship. River crab (hexie) is pronounced the same as "harmony"—the official term used to justify political discipline and censorship. As such Chinese netizens reappropriate the official terms in a sarcastic way. Abbreviations are popular across different cultures, including countries like Japan, China, France, Portugal, etc., and are used according to the particular language the Internet users speak. Significantly, this same style of slang creation is also found in non-alphabetical languages The difference in language often results in miscommunication, as seen in an onomatopoeic example, "555", which sounds like "crying" in Chinese, and "laughing" in Thai. A similar example is between the English "haha" and the Spanish "jaja", where both are onomatopoeic expressions of laughter, but the difference in language also meant a different consonant for the same sound to be produced. For more examples of how other languages express "laughing out loud", see also: LOL In terms of culture, in Chinese, the numerically based onomatopoeia "770880" (), which means to 'kiss and hug you', is used. It has also led to virtual communities marked by the specific slang they use and led to a more homogenized yet diverse online culture. ==Internet slang in advertisements==

Internet slang can make advertisements more effective. Through two empirical studies, it was proven that Internet slang could help promote or capture the crowd's attention through advertisement, but did not increase the sales of the product. However, using Internet slang in advertisement may attract a certain demographic, and might not be the best to use depending on the product or goods. Furthermore, an overuse of Internet slang also negatively effects the brand due to quality of the advertisement, but using an appropriate amount would be sufficient in providing more attention to the ad. According to the experiment, Internet slang helped capture the attention of the consumers of necessity items. However, the demographic of luxury goods differ, and using Internet slang would potentially have the brand lose credibility due to the appropriateness of Internet slang. Brands that used amiable slang were more likely to be perceived by consumers as sincere, whereas harsher slang would make consumers feel the brand is more competent. The experiment was conducted entirely in China, sampling only that portion of the world's internet userbase. Epic Games, the parent company of Fortnite, have begun using material like this in their marketing more and more. They have also started using basic meme templates, including internet slang within them, to further their connection with Generation Alpha. Another example would be that of 'Monopoly GO,' a game that also caters heavily to a younger audience. This advertisement includes tons of comments with internet slang, helping to gain trust with those watching as it makes them seem to be part of the community that they are advertising to. == Youth slang ==