platespeak
n.— «Is one of Britain’s best-loved dialects, the curious language of personalised number plates, heading for oblivion?…Those who cannot afford the best plates have been forced to use a bit of ingenuity to get close to the word or words they really want. Such owners rely on “platespeak,” as it is known in the business, to compose their unique signage—substituting a “5” for an “S,” for example, a “4” for an “A,” and so on.» —“Will UK Law Change Put Car Lingo In Limbo?” by David Wilkins Motorin.co.za (South Africa) Nov. 11, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
League of the Lexicon is a wide-ranging trivia game for language lovers with thousands of questions on all matters linguistic. Creator Joshua Blackburn has also compiled a treasure trove of linguistic delights in a companion volume called The...
Centuries ago, monks who took a vow of silence developed their own hand signs, with hundreds of gestures, that are still in use today. Plus, how do speakers of different languages distinguish similar shades and tints of colors such as red, yellow...