So...About Spelling

Renorei · Post by **Renorei** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 8:36 am

A friend posted the following on my facebook wall:

Body: Can you raed tihs? Olny 1570 plopee can.
i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs rpsoet it. ONLY REPOST IF U CAN READ THIS

I could read it perfectly. Weird, huh? I assume context clues are also playing a big role here as well, not just the first and last letter. I found this very interesting, I hope y'all do as well.

Merrypaws · Post by **Merrypaws** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 9:01 am

*giggle*
I've seen that before. It actually is true for all languages. I've seen the same text in English and Finnish, and a friend of mine said she's seen a German version.

Terastas · Post by **Terastas** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 9:06 am

Now if only the same could be said for webspeak.

Short Tail · Post by **Short Tail** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 9:13 am

Yep, I have seen those before, and I can read em. Im special

Lupin · Post by **Lupin** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 12:23 pm

I can read it, but the question really is, do I want to read it?

Set · Post by **Set** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 1:31 pm

I can read it just fine. My brain tends to auto-correct spelling and grammar errors anyway. I can even read |_337 5p34|< without thinking about it on a good day.

outwarddoodles · Post by **outwarddoodles** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 3:15 pm

I've seen that before, and I can read it perfectly. Just I'd hate to see someone actually type like that on a forum.

Figarou · Post by **Figarou** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 3:22 pm

Reilune wrote:I can read it just fine. My brain tends to auto-correct spelling and grammar errors anyway. I can even read |_337 5p34|< without thinking about it on a good day.

*looks at Reilune's avatar*

Heh...check this out!!!

Set · Post by **Set** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 3:30 pm

You edited that about five seconds after I changed it, didn't you?

I have too many of these things...

That's a cool animation, by the way.

Figarou · Post by **Figarou** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 3:35 pm

Reilune wrote:You edited that about five seconds after I changed it, didn't you?

Of course. I didn't know you was going to change your avatar right away. So I had to include your previous avatar in my post so others can see what I'm talking about.

You can take the animated one if you want it.

Anubis · Post by **Anubis** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 6:43 pm

woa cool,

for a second there i thought you guys were talking about me.

Wolfhanyou · Post by **Wolfhanyou** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 7:59 pm

Reilune wrote:I can read it just fine. My brain tends to auto-correct spelling and grammar errors anyway. I can even read |_337 5p34|< without thinking about it on a good day.

Same here.

Takes me a while to understand the |-|4r|) (0r3 l337 5p34|< though.

Merrypaws · Post by **Merrypaws** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 11:18 pm

Wolfhanyou wrote:
Reilune wrote:I can read it just fine. My brain tends to auto-correct spelling and grammar errors anyway. I can even read |_337 5p34|< without thinking about it on a good day.
Same here. Takes me a while to understand the |-|4r|) (0r3 l337 5p34|< though.

I'm actually starting to figure out l337, which actually makes kind of sad.

Akela · Post by **Akela** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 8:11 am

Can read it perfectly, now if only n00bs could upgrade from leet to that.

Set · Post by **Set** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 1:24 pm

I can read leet, I just can't type it without thinking about it first.

Lupin · Post by **Lupin** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 1:43 pm

I have no problems reading or typing it, it just annoys me greatly.

Scott Gardener · Post by **Scott Gardener** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 4:55 pm

OK, but what does "leet" mean? If anyone else asked the same question, you can see the answer here; Wikipedia to the rescue:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leet

I will admit I have never been a champion of slang. Occasionally, the vernacular will generate new words and new meanings, but far more often it creates ugly-sounding corruptions, that eventually develop into a degeneration. "1337" is just such an example; I have to categorize it alongside those who use phrases like "shizzle my dizzle" and make strange hand gestures, as if casting some sort of thaumaturgy.

Perhaps I am being the true elitist here, by refusing to use slang altogether. But, it is such a transient thing. When in high school, one year the phrase "home boy" was an insult. The next year, it was a term of comradery. Furthermore, when asked, people responded as if it had always been a term of comradery. (And, Eurasia was always our ally, and we've always been at war with Eastasia.)

Too often, slang destroys a language. "Gay" used to mean "happy." Now, it is so intricately intertwined with homosexuality that it's almost impossible not to think of the same-sex lovers of all those people in the 1940s black-and-white movies, whenever they speak of their happiness.

That, and it takes work to figure out slang. I feel that the time and energy it takes to learn slang languages could instead go towards learning correct language. It requires the same amount of brain power, but you sound smarter in the long run, thus landing YOU the job, instead of the guy who punctuates his sentences with "you know."

But, some slang phrases are so frequently used that I can't help but learn them simply by exposure. I don't frequently use them, but it's helpful to understand them.

LOL

Akela · Post by **Akela** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 6:04 pm

Leet's actually more than just figuring out what combination of symbols form what letters. I've learned through experience.

"omg wtf defiler imba spam"

The text translates as follows:

The chaos player has a defiler.

Strange, I really don't notice leet used too much in chatrooms and the like. Just by immature 12 year old gamers.

Silverclaw · Post by **Silverclaw** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 6:13 pm

Wheeee! I can read it as well

Fenrir · Post by **Fenrir** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 6:22 pm

Yay I can read it! But ive seen this before