<
jargon> /hak'speek/ A shorthand method of spelling found on
many British academic bulletin boards and
chat systems.
Syllables and whole words in a sentence are replaced by single
ASCII characters the names of which are phonetically similar
or equivalent, while multiple letters are usually dropped.
Hence, "for" becomes "4"; "two", "too", and "to" become "2";
"ck" becomes "k". "Before I see you tomorrow" becomes "b4 i c
u 2moro". First appeared in London about 1986, and was
probably caused by the slowness of available
talk systems,
which operated on archaic machines with outdated {operating
systems} and no standard methods of communication. Has become
rarer since.
See also
chat,
B1FF,
ASCIIbonics.
[
Jargon File]
(1998-01-25)