LO

Encyclopedia : L : LO : LO : LO

Lö is a Swedish development of the word lo, short for hello. Lo and lö are often used in online computer game chats as well as internet relay chats (IRC).

Lö was developed firmly for online computer games where one doesn't have much time to fully introduce oneself. One often wants a short greeting phrase but still explain one's nationality. Hence, lö was developed as a Swedish greeting phrase as Swedish is one of the few languages common among Internet users that uses the letter ö.

It is not widely known outside of the Swedish gaming community that lö represents a greeting phrase for a Swede. It is however considered a norm to know it inside the Swedish gaming community. Hence, lö still fills its function as one often introduces one's nationality just to see if there is anyone else present with the same nationality.

While lö's function began in computer games it has spread especially to internet relay chats (IRC) because many Swedish gamers have used the word so much it has developed into a habit. One often introduces one's nationality the normal way on internet relay chats. Therefor lö has partially lost its function in these chats.

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