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Is there a term for the use of a letter or numeral to substitute for a word or syllable in casual writing, such as "R U 4 real" in a text message?

My search returned the word rebus, defined as a puzzle in which words are represented by pictures and letters, but I don't think that "R U 4 real" is meant as a puzzle for the reader; rather, it's meant as a simple way to communicate informally.  My other searches found terms such as acronym, grapheme, and leetspeak that don't seem to apply.

If there is a word for this substitution, does it apply both to intentional misspellings, such as "We 8 Bar-B-Q," and to unintentional misspellings, such as a restaurant menu listing the item "barbeque ribs"?

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  • It's internet abbreviation. Or internet speak.
    – Lambie
    Commented Jun 8 at 23:42

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Because this kind of substitution is most commonly used in text message - SMS, WhatsApp etc - the most common name for it is textspeak. Less commonly, some refer to it as textese.

A lesser-known (but possibly older) term from the days of internet forums is leet speak, or simply 'leet'. 'Leet' is derived from the word 'elite' and used by hackers and very early adopters of the internet to describe themselves.

Both of these terms are found in the Cambridge Dictionary, links included.

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  • This predates the internet and even mobiles phones, see Prince's songs "I Would Die 4 U" (1984) and "Nothing Compares 2 U" (1985).
    – ishtar
    Commented Jun 8 at 23:00
  • I didn't find "textspeak" in either the Merriam-Webster dictionary (merriam-webster.com) or the American Heritage dictionary (ahdictionary.com), so it seems more like slang than an actual word in the English language. "Leet speak" also doesn't appear to be an actual English term.
    – swoxo
    Commented Jun 8 at 23:39
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    @swoxo try a good dictionary like Cambridge: dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/textspeak
    – Astralbee
    Commented Jun 9 at 8:16
  • @swoxo as for 'leet speak' - also see Cambridge, although they list the abbreviation of 'leet'. Remember that the name of a language is often the same word as a descriptor for the people that speak it (eg English): dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/leet
    – Astralbee
    Commented Jun 9 at 8:17

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