Language can be very fluid; top trends from TikTok make it to Twitter and spread like wildfire. Before you know it, the word ratio is everywhere. The same works with the most popular language used. Gamer language has explicitly been adopted across make industries. Gamers have been using shortened versions of sentences and words for years. When you are in the middle of a game, it can be hard to type, move, attack and speak at once.
This language becomes what we use without thinking; it’s automated into our vocabulary. With so many people working online and using social media, shortened words and sentences are par for the course. This bingo lingo list is a great indicator on how dramatically language can change in a short period of time, it can feel almost impossible to keep up to date.
Here are a few common ones you might see:
- SNM
- SMH
- BRB
- GTG
- AFAIK
Those are Say No More, Shake My Head, Be Right Back, Got To Go and As Far As I Know.
Just a few examples of online language, specifically gamer language. But it’s not the only occasion that game language gets into our everyday language usage.
Raising the stakes, upping the ante or being dealt a bad hand all come from poker. And just like you might see something like gank mid when playing LoL, you might see 1TG in the bingo halls.
Although both sets of language come from different gaming areas, there is an overlap in the middle – i.e. trending language.
Internet Gaming Slang
Slang had been, for many years, something looked down upon. Slang was a “misuse” of the English language and not deserving of space in the dictionary. But, like many phenomena that go on to be woven into the fabric of society, gamer slang and gamers are now popular.
Subgroups like gamers and comic book fans initially weren’t popular or mainstream – although that would change over time. Each subgroup has its own interests and language that pertains to those interests. Over time gaming grew to be not just a subgroup but a massive chunk of the population.
There are 2.8 billion gamers across the globe. Internet gaming slang is a fast and efficient way to communicate in-game, but it is more than that. It becomes a way to identify people with the same or similar interests outside of the game too.
For example, World of Warcraft players can quickly be identified if they know what Leeeeeeroy Jenkins is, just as a Fornite player can be found talking about their 90s.
One of the most common terms that made it to mainstream language is a Troll. Trolling is the act of being provocative just to get a reaction.
You’ll find people talking about trolls or trolling on almost all platforms nows.
Why Use Gamer Language
Gaming is usually an emotional pursuit, from the highs of winning a massive jackpot on a slot to taking down a boss. Over time specifical language is created between the players. It helps to communicate quickly and efficiently.
In-game language covers names of characters, places, objects, tools, methods and tactics. Gamers language can be considered a living language as it evolves and changes as the games grow and improve. The gamers playing the games may also age up, and newer language will be added to the vocabulary as younger players join.
Where games move quickly like bingo, there isn’t time to type that you have one to go when that one ball could be called at any moment. It’s faster to type 1TG, 2TG or 3TG as these are common heart beating with excitement moments.
It’s faster to tell your friends you will BRB than be right back.
MMORPGs also move quickly. Players don’t have time to get complete sentences out, either typed or over voice chat. So asking a player to:
Go and talk to the non-player character
Takes longer than
Talk to the NPC.
And asking your damage dealers to pump out more, saying up the DPS instead of up the damage per second is more effective for leaders.
With many games being social as well as live, it is vital to understand the economics of language. Interactions in the game are just as meaningful as the game itself. And like all good economists, maximizing what you’re saying without taking up too much time is a must.
GG, GL, AKF and DND became the quickest way to congratulate, wish luck, and tell people you were busy or absent. Economizing the words that would typically take up time.
Although on face value, it might seem like a lazy approach since you aren’t taking the time to type a complete sentence. The truth is closer to a massive group of people who ‘belong’ and can communicate with each other effectively.
The underground language used by gamers for years allowed other games, like bingo, to enjoy a faster and more modern state of play. Making short slang more acceptable and widely used. Gamer’s slang has made it to the mainstream, and it’s now cooler than ever to play games, stream them, and use gamer language every day.
Many of us gamer speak without thinking about it and talking about upping the ante when they want to make things more exciting. Noting something as TLDR; because it is too long and don’t read/didn’t read. Or FTW, since For The Win has been popular for years now, you most likely have seen this term used too!
Gamer’s slang is simply one of the most effective and efficient uses of language when playing your favorite games. And we should thank all of the gamers that came before us noobs and made gamer language cool.
