English edit

Etymology edit

chat +‎ -speak

Noun edit

chatspeak (uncountable)

  1. (Internet, informal) The blend of informal language, conventional abbreviations and emoticons typical of chatrooms.
    • 2001, Edward Castronova, “Virtual Worlds: A First-Hand Account of Market and Society on the Cyberian Frontier”, in CESifo Working Papers, 618, p. 13:
      Given that people are trying to speak by writing in real time, chatspeak is infused with extensive abbreviations and there is little punctuation.
    • 2002, Ronald A. Berk, Humor as an instructional defibrillator: evidence-based techniques in teaching and assessment, Stylus, page 140:
      Our students are using Internet shorthand or chatspeak in their online yakking in chat rooms and e-mails.
    • 2004, “Hello, All (who ever that is)”, in Smite the illiterate:
      I don't mind saying 'u' instead of 'you' so much, mostly because I've become numb to it, and some people do it because it's 'cool' to speak chatspeak.
    • 2008, Tom Breen, The Messiah formerly known as Jesus : dispatches from the intersection of Christianity and pop culture, Baylor University Press, page 69:
      Is it too much to imagine a Bible written entirely in the language of tomorrow: Internet chatspeak and text message shorthand?

Related terms edit

See also edit

Anagrams edit