Also known as str33t
1337. In the early days, leet speak was a form of expression to prevent others from understanding certain texts written by crackers. Over the years, it has become a "
hip" way of speaking, and more recently has been adopted by the e-gangsta community as the ultimate form of language bastardization known to mankind. Street
leet is the translation of regular street language into leet speak, giving the user a sense that he is not only "gangsta" but also appeals to the
nerd-dom of the internet.
Unfortunately, this is the
single hardest language to understand, as street language often uses made-up
words or even unrelated
words to refer to a specific action or object and leet speak turns this already semi-fictional speech into a combination of letters, numbers and available keyboard symbols to make up the already barely discernable meaning of the text or sentence in question.