Netspeak Translator
June 22nd, 2009 | Categories: Online | 11 CommentsI hate netspeak. You know, that internet phenomenon where people TYPA LIEK THES N 4GET EVERY GRMMAR N SP3LNG RULA IN EXISTANCE. It’s irritating to read, takes more effort to type than “regular” speak, and generally makes the user look dumber than a dead gnat. Yet, as much as netspeak annoys me, it kind of holds this strange mystifying element for me. Kids insist on using it – but why? Where do you even learn to speak netspeak? I’ve never been a “netspeaker,” I used proper spelling and grammar (took me a while to use proper capitalization though, I’ll admit!) and never became fluent in netspeak.
Maybe the AOLer Translator is what kids use to learn netspeak. It’s a generator that “translates” the regular text you input and outputs the translated netspeak version. It’s pretty cool and accurate (although netspeak is a foreign language to me!). The only thing missing is a netspeak to regular speak translator – that would be much more useful than regular speak to netspeak!
I input the first two paragraphs of this entry in the translator, and this is what it generated:
I HAET NETSP3AK!11!1!!!1 LOL U KNOW TAHT INTARNET PHENOMANON WHARA PEOPLE TYPA LEIK TH3S N 4GET EV3RY GRMAR N SP3LNG RULA IN EXISTANCE!!1!! WTF IT’S IRITATNG 2 R3AD TAEKS MORE EFORT 2 TYPE THAN “REGULAR” SPAAK AND G3NARALY MAEKS DA UESR LOK DUMBR THAN A D3AD GNAT!!!!!!1!! LOL Y3T AS MUCH AS N3TSPEAK ANOYS ME IT KIND OF HOLDS THES STRANG3 MYSTIFYNG ELEMENT FOR MA!1!11!111 OMG WTF LOL KIDS INSIST ON USNG IT – BUT Y??!??!!? WH3RE DO U AV3N L3ARN 2 SP3AK N3TSP3AK???!? I’VA NEVER B3N A “NATSPAAEKR” I UESD PROPER SP3LNG AND GRMMAR (2K MA A WHIEL 2 UES PROPAR CAPITALIZATION THOUGH I’L ADMIT)!!1!!!1 OMG AND NAVER BCM3 FLUENT IN N3TSPEAK
MAYB!!1!11! WTF DA AOLER TRANSLA2R SI WUT KIDS UES 2 LAARN N3TSPAAK!1111!!1! WTF IT’S A GENARA2R TAHT “TRANSLAETS” TEH RAGULAR T3XT U INPUT AND OUTPUTS DA TRANSLAETD NETSP3AK V3RSION!!1!1!!! OMG WTF IT’S PRATY COL AND ACURAET (ALTHOUGH N3TSPAAK SI A FORAIGN LANGUAEG 2 M3)!!!!! DA ONLEY THNG MISNG SI A NETSPEAK 2 R3GULAR SP3AK TRANSLA2R – TAHT WUD B MUCH MOR3 UESFUL THAN REGULAR SPEAK 2 N3TSP3AK!1111! OMG WTF
Even though I know what that says, I can’t even bring myself to begin to read and decipher that. Ugh, talk about headache inducing!
Tags: games, internet finds
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Hi, I'm Manda. I'm a college student studying communications and languages. I like to read, shop, bake, and travel. I have a tendency to listen to my favorite songs on repeat for hours on end. Sometimes I catch myself thinking in a language other than English. 
I’m not going to lie – the first couple of sentences of that alone was enough to give me a massive headache!
Haha, I love how it even adds the !!1!!1!!!! and LOLs at the end of random sentences.
I’m not even gonna try to understand what it says or start using it now, I have enough with trying not to mess up my English when I type, but you’re right, sometimes a netspeak to regular speak translation would be needed :)
Oh. My. God. My cousin types like that, haha. It’s a terrible curse that’s been placed on the young people of this world.
LOL 2*KDJS** #*RHN *$%I#$. Srsly, wtf?!!!!11!!
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t hate netspeak, and I’m glad I’m not dealing with that stuff often (now and then there’s someone joining a fanlisting, using netspeak in the comments). I’m sure I mess up my English sometimes, after all, it’s not my native language. Which is why I try to keep everything as clear as I can be, why should anyone need to decipher what I’m trying to say? It’s just stupid, and I agree about a netspeak to regular speak translator somewhere.
I don’t mind it in a text as long as it isn’t overboard, as it shortens the message and can thus save some money potentially. I hate it, however, when people use it anywhere else on the net, especially facebook or a forum. It isn’t hard to type out a word!
My eyes bled when I read that translation.
Oh, dear lord. Please make it stop! That’s intolerable!
I’m happy NBC is airing Merlin as well!! I have dial up so I was unable to download any episodes and I felt so left out, especially on LiveJournal because all my friends would talk about it. Now I know what the hype is about and they were not wrong! I love Morgana as well! :D
Hahaha my cousin writes like that in her texts and it literally takes me about 5 minutes to actually comprehend what she wrote! I mean, how hard is it to spell “you” and “like” in its entirety? :S
Ahhhh! Yes, Netspeak is TERRIBLE. Where did it even come from?! You’re so right in that it’s a very mystifying trend… Blah. But yeah, I can’t even begin to read the first sentence of that paragraph. o.O
Even though I am capable of reading net/chatspeak… it hurts! I can’t stand it.
Every now and then I’ll use it for texting (for the quickness) but otherwise, argh. If my first contact with someone is online and they speak to me using it it does tend to give me a bad impression.
Heh…I think It’s quite funny, actually. :3