Just because a word is not a part of the English language formally (e.g. in Merrian-Webster or the Oxford) that doesn’t mean it can’t heavily influence or indicate where the language is going. Merrian-Webster, for example, announced that the Word of the Year for 2007 is none other than “woot“, not to be confused boot, root, or toot — all of which are adermable if under-recognized members of the documented English language. We salute all of you for your service. But today, “woot” is king.
Who wants to be in charge of the roast for “woot” and associated 1337 speak language counterparts? Wait, you don’t know what 1337 speak is? I’m sure you do. If you’re reading this, you’ve probably been using it frequently. (More information from Wikipedia on 1337 Speak)
From the Merrian-Webster article:
1. w00t (interjection)
expressing joy (it could be after a triumph, or for no reason at all); similar in use to the word “yay”
From the Wikipedia article on 1337
Many words originally derived from Leet slang have now become part of the modern Internet slang, such as “pwned“.[1] The primary driving force of new vocabulary in Leet is the need to describe new phenomena. Another force is common misspelling and mistyping such as “teh“, and intentional misspellings,[12] especially the “z” at the end of words (”skillz”).[1] Another prominent example of a surviving Leet expression is w00t, an exclamation of joy.[2]
Congratulations, “woot”! We all love you!
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