No, it’s not a typo. It really says pwn. I actually meant to write it that way. Really!
If you’re a gamer, you probably didn’t think twice about seeing the word pwn. You probably read it as “own” (or maybe even “pown”) and moved on without a second thought.
But for my loyal readers who don’t game (you know who you are - the ones that read my blog for my wit and eloquence ;) ), here’s what I have to say about “Gaming Linguistics”.
If you read my previous post, you already know about Noob (sometimes spelt newb and n00b), so let’s go straight to pwn.
pwn = own. What on Earth does this mean and why would anyone ever use it?
Urban dictionary (the place you should go to find out what your 16 year old is saying) describes pwn as the “act of dominating an opponent”, which is basically the point of any multiplayer game, is it not? This has become such a common term now that I have heard people (usually a tad younger than myself) use it in regular conversation - generally, when making a joke at the expense of another. In addition, there is a television show that airs on the ABC called “Pure Pwnage” (and yes it’s spelt that way), though I am yet to watch it.
The development of the internet and the subsequent success of gaming, in particular online multiplayer gaming, has led to a whole sub-set of linguistic terms, known as “leetspeak” - many based on mistyped words, such as teh and pwned; abbreviations, such as FTW and AFK; and the substitution of numbers for letters (e.g. leet is often spelt l33t or sometimes even 1337).
Along with the weird and wonderful abbreviations commonly used in SMSing (one of my personal favourites being “c u l8er!”), has leetspeak changed the English language forever? Or is it simply a part of the internet/gamer subculture?
Given their use on TV and in social conversation, my money is on the former.
If you’re not up to snuff with the finer details of leetspeak, you can find a fantastic overview of the “language”, including an English to l33t translator here.
I’d love to hear your comments - why not try writing them using some l33t?
7 comments:
S41r, j00 1z t0t4LLy @ pr0f3ss10n4L bL0gg3r. d1z r0x0rz!
H3y Sh4z! Wr1t1ng 1n l33t 1s qu1te h4rd 0n my iph0ne! U rox0rs m0re than meh!
y0 s41r3, 1 d3f1n1t3Ly th1nk d4t l33t b ch4ng1n' t3h 3ngL1sh l4ngu4g3 (0r pr0b4bLy m0st l4ngu4g3z 4 d4t m4tt3r) 1 c4n't s4y d4t 1 b @ l33tsp34k3r 0f 4ny s0rt, h0w3v3r s0m3t1m3z wh3n t3xt1n'/3m41L1n' 0r 3v3n wr1t1n' 1 f1nd mys3Lf sL1pp1n' 1nt0 n unc0nsc10uz st4t3 0f l33t. 1t'z wub wr1t1n' ph0n3t1c4LLy g0n3 cr4zy.
See, that just requires too much effort.
er..oh, i know.
lol.
How was that? ;)
Hahaha thanks for the awesome comments, guys :)
l33t speak ... {shudder} {cringe} {nervous tic}
The English language is a beautiful thing - and you do *that* to it ... what did the English language ever do to you?
Another female newbie gamer here - but my addictions are PC and Wii based :)
Cool! Thanks, Saire, I've always wondered about the pronounciation of PWN - I haunt many forums but that doesn't help me with how the word sounds out loud. Since I am not an electronic gamer (4yo's are better than me!), preferring chess or backgammon, I don't get to know many people who can tell me. And it took ages before i figured out FTW! So that's l33t speak - can we have an expose or glossary of mobile phone contractions and abbreviations next? That seems like another language completely, though elements of it seem to have come from gaming too....
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