To “google” something has become a common word in the English language. Everyone under the age of 40 understands exactly what it means. Yet only ten years ago, this word did not exist. “Googling” is just one of the many new English words that have travelled from the internet into the dictionary.



There is little doubt that technology has had a big impact on language in the last few years. The web changes very fast and it’s difficult to keep up to speed with all the new words that are created. Some, like LOL (short for Laughing Out Loud) or OMG (Oh My God) are abbreviations that simply did not exist in the past. Other words, however, have taken a new meaning in the internet age. In the 1950s, for example, the word “wireless” used to mean a radio. Today nobody would use this world to describe a radio. The term has taken the new meaning of an internet connection that does not rely on wires. With so many new words being created every day on the internet, deciding which should be included in new versions of English dictionaries is not an easy task. Generally, editors of dictionaries look for longevity. They wait to see if a new word has been used continuously for at least five years before adding it. For example, the very popular noun “app”, used to describe programmes for smartphones like the iPhone, is not yet in the Oxford English Dictionary. It will probably be there in two years’ time.

But the internet does not simply add new words to the English language; sometimes it creates an entirely new alphabet. Take the case of “Leet”, also known as “leetspeak”. Leet is an alternative alphabet that mixes normal characters with numbers to create new words. The word “leet” is, for example, written as “l337” or “l33t”.

The Leet alphabet was created over 30 years ago as a secret language and was used to discuss topics like computer hacking. It’s now mainstream and used in chatrooms as well as computer gaming communities.



impact – Auswirkung

(to) keep up to speed - auf dem Laufenden bleiben

abbreviation – Abkürzung

wire – Kabel

editor – Redakteur

longevity - Nachhaltigkeit, Dauer

continuously - unaufhörlich, durchgängig