Internet Lingo (Slang, Initials, Abbreviations, and Acronyms)
It is an inevitable fact that the internet world has a significant impact on our everyday lives. The number of users on the different internet platforms is growing rapidly. Often we come across certain lingo or slang on the internet and keep thinking what those really mean or puzzled over how to interpret it. If you are a newbie or a cybernaut and wanted to participate in different social media platforms successfully then you should be acquainted with some of the internet lingo, slang, initials, abbreviation or acronyms that internet users have popularized.
The scientific and technological advancement in the second half of the 20th century and the rise of English as a world language has led to the need for creating a large number of new words. It is here that some minor processes of word-formations like abbreviations, acronyms, blending, borrowing, metaphorical extension of meaning, back-formation, etc. have come to play their part.
Today the users of different social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. are reshaping written English in ways that some of us find strange. But we should remember that writing system has arisen in response to the needs of communication(on the one hand), and of the materials available for writing (on the other).
The Semantic languages left out vowels in their writing because these were predictable from the context, but now we also do the same when messaging or posting or tweeting something on the social networks. Pls for please, bk for back, snd for send, are examples where vowel sound has been left out: Pls snd bk immdtly...
Before the invention of the "alphabet", which assigned sounds to symbols uniquely(that is, there is approximately one spelling for each sound), there was a stage of writing called "rebus writing". Rebus writing made use of "homophony" in language, that is, words that sound similar but mean different things. (For example, sun and son in English; also knot, not, naught; be and bee, and so on.) The Sumerians, who invented writing, used the symbol of an arrow, the word for which was pronounced "ti", to denote a word "ti" with the same sound but a very different meaning. As we can now see, the use of '2' for 'to', or 'be4' for 'before', is a kind of rebus writing. So today the users of the different internet platforms are actually falling back on strategies for making a message short and easy to write that were used by their forebears, the inventors of writing, some millennia earlier. Indeed, linguists say each generation reinvents language, although adults think children "imitate" or "copy" them.
Let us discuss some of the common internet lingo related to the internet world in detail.
Internet Lingo (Slang, Initials, Abbreviations, and Acronyms)
Abbreviation and acronyms are minor processes of word formation which are sometimes used for the production of new words in English. In abbreviation long words are often shortened or abbreviated in informal speech and writing:
ad for advertisement, exam for examination, fridge for refrigerator, lab for laboratory, Prof for Professor, Prez for President. The print media, especially, has almost made a religion of it.
Lately, a new crop of abbreviations has come up in the wake of the revolution in communication, especially on different social media platforms. We use abbreviations in our messages because it takes a long time to type full messages, and because space is limited on some platforms. It is better to scrupulously avoid them in formal writing.
But acronyms are a different thing altogether. An acronym by definition is 'a word made up of the first letters of the name of something such as an organization' and pronounced as separate words. For example, UNESCO(United Nations Economic Social and Cultural Organization). But if the initial letters pronounced separately the result is called an initialism. For example (BBC)
Jorgon consists of a set of words specific to a department, field or profession. Within its field, jargon does help in keeping communication short, yet effective and even precise. For people not in the field, jargon may be confusing, irritating or misleading.
The following is a list of internet lingo (slang, abbreviations, acronyms or initials) used by different people on the internet.
Internet Lingo
K ➞ okTIA ➞ thanks in advance
b/w ➞ between
ur ➞ your
msg ➞ message
CU@7 ➞ see you at seven
l8r ➞ later
4U ➞ for you
2day ➞ to day
coz/cuz ➞ because
IDK ➞ I don't know
IDC ➞ I don't care
WBY ➞ what about you
ASAP ➞ as soon as possible
OMG ➞ Oh, my God!
WDYMBT ➞ what do you mean by that
JK ➞ just kidding
JJ ➞ just joking
TBH ➞ to be honest
LOL ➞ laugh at loud
DP ➞ display picture
BYOB ➞ bring your own booze
ETA ➞ estimated time of arrival
TTYL ➞ talk to you later
ROFL ➞ rolling on the floor laughing
BRB ➞ be right back
BBFN ➞ bye bye for now
AFAIK ➞ as far as I know
BTW ➞ by the way
CMIIW ➞ correct me if I'm wrong
FAQ ➞ frequently asked questions
AMA ➞ ask me anything
FYI ➞ for your information
F2F ➞ face to face
IMHO ➞ in my humble opinion
IMO ➞ in my opinion
NM ➞ never mind
NP ➞ no problem
OIC ➞ Oh, I see
PM ➞ private message
DM ➞ direct message
IRL ➞ in real life
MIRL ➞ me in real life
ROTFLMAO ➞ rolling on the floor laughing my ass off
THX ➞ thanks
TYVM ➞ thank you very much
TMI ➞ too much information
PAW ➞ parents are watching
ELI5 ➞ explain like I'M 5
HIFW ➞ how I felt when
ICYMI ➞ in case you miss it
JSYK ➞ just so you know
NSFW ➞ not safe for work
NSFL ➞ not safe for life
MFW ➞ my face when
MRW ➞ my reaction when
SMH ➞ shaking my head
TIL ➞ today I learned
YOLO ➞ you only live once
Twerk ➞ dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance.
squee ➞ great delight or excitement
FOMO ➞ fear of missing out
Srsly ➞ seriously
TL;DR ➞ too long; didn't read
TYT ➞ take your time
Stan ➞ an overzealous or obsessive fan of a particular celebrity.
BB ➞ baby
WOAT ➞ worst of all time
GOAT ➞ greatest of all time
Dank ➞ really cool
OTP ➞ one true pairing
BFF ➞ best friend(s) forever
GF ➞ girlfriend
BF ➞ boyfriend
IIRC ➞ if I remember correctly
OTOH ➞ on the other hand
POV ➞ point of view
WTH ➞ what the hell
YMMV ➞ your mileage may vary
W8 ➞ wait
NE1 ➞ anyone
Zzzz.. ➞ sleeping or bores
HAND ➞ have a nice day
BBS ➞ be back soon
BBL ➞ be back later
J4F ➞ just for fun
MYOB ➞ mind your own business
FYI ➞ for your information
Sry.PB ➞ sorry. personally busy
HB2U ➞ happy birthday to you
N2S ➞ needless to say
n0rp/pr0n ➞ porn
Lurker ➞ a member of an online community who observes but does not participate
LFG ➞ looking for group
MOTD ➞ message of the day
ISTM ➞ it seems to me
KISS ➞ keep it simple stupid
NSOH ➞ no sense of humour
LTNS ➞ long time no see
W/E ➞ whatever, weekend
A/S/L ➞ age/sex/location
FTFY ➞ fixed that for you
TTBOMK ➞ to the best of my knowledge
F9 ➞ fine
WYSIWYG ➞ what you see is what you get
YHBT ➞ you have been trolled
GBTW ➞ get back to work
DND ➞ do not disturb
TY ➞ thank you
ATB ➞ all the best
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