Yes, you read that correctly, because Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year is w00t. Most of you have probably heard this interjection often exclaimed by geeks winning some sort of competition usually a multiplayer game. I know not where the word originated. I would assume an online computer game. Perhaps counter strike. I am quite impressed that Merriam-Webster would allow w00t into the contest. I would venture a guess that it is the only word in the competition which uses numbers and letters. Perhaps this is the beginning of a deluge of changes in the English language. The Internet has spawned changes faster than could probably have been imagined in the past. It takes writing over time for a written language to change, but the vast amount of writing which occurs every day on the Internet is an extreme. I expect we'll be seeing far more changes to the language we love in the next few years. What word will be next on the list. I can only wait and hope for 1337. Perhaps it will be next year's word of the year. It lacks letters completely, and overcoming that hindrance will surely pave the way for future Internet-based words.
w00t Merriam-Webster !5 1337!!!!1!
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