{{Short description|Vernacular of My Little Pony fans}} {{DISPLAYTITLE:Slang of the ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' fandom}} {{Use American English|date=November 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2025}} [[File:Love_and_tolerate_meme.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|A [[Internet meme|meme]] from the early days of the [[brony fandom]]. This meme would lead to the popularization of the phrase "love and tolerate" within the brony fandom, leading some to describe it as its unofficial motto.<ref name="Robertson-2014"/><ref name="Ellis-2015"/>]] {{My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic sidebar}} The [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom|''My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'' fandom]] (also known as the ''brony fandom'') has developed a distinctive [[internet slang|vernacular language]] and [[fanspeak]], often referred to as '''bronyspeak''', since the [[Friendship Is Magic (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic)|show's premiere in 2010]].
The vocabulary draws heavily from the show's content, character names, and fictional universe of [[Equestria]], and speakers often adapt standard English words with pony-themed prefixes or creating [[portmanteau]]s that blend pony-related terms with existing concepts. Notable examples include ''[[ponysona]]'' (a personalized pony character representing the creator), ''[[ponification]]'' (transforming non-pony entities into pony form), and music terms like ''dubtrot'' (a brony version of [[dubstep]]). Bronyspeak emerged as part of what researchers term ''[[folklore|bronylore]]'', which builds upon the show's official '''ponyspeak''' where human phrases were recast in equine terms. The language encompasses direct adoptions from show dialogue (e.g. ''everypony'' as a substitution for ''everybody''), portmanteaus, and [[snowclone]] variations of popular quotes from the show itself or from its [[derivative works]].
[[Hasbro]] officially acknowledged the fandom and its distinctive language in 2011 through promotional materials referencing bronies directly. The vernacular has since attracted academic attention as an example of [[Internet]]-enabled [[folk culture]]; researchers have noted its functions in creating community [[belongingness|belonging]], establishing behavioral boundaries, and enforcing codes of niceness that prevent [[social rejection]] within the fandom. Studies have identified bronyspeak as both a [[Gatekeeper|gatekeeping mechanism]] requiring learning for full community membership and a continuous performance of [[group identity]] in [[Online communities of the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom|online spaces]]. Researchers have also noted that bronyspeak extends outside of [[Internet communities]], often pervading into real life via [[My Little Pony fan convention|brony conventions]] or [[meetups]].
== History == {{See also|My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom#History}} === 2010–2011: Early development === [[File:MLP_Watch_for_the_plot.jpg|thumb|right|"I watch it for the plot", one of the [[brony fandom]]'s earliest [[Internet meme]]s, that spawned the use of the term [[Plot (narrative)|''plot'']] to refer to a fictional character's perceived attractive physical attributes.]] ''Bronyspeak'' emerged and developed as part of what Bill Ellis termed ''[[folklore|bronylore]]'', a distinctive form of web-based verbal and visual art created by the show's adult fanbase.<ref name="Ellis-2015"/> The [[fanspeak]] built upon the show's official '''ponyspeak''', where human social phrases were recast in equine terms within the series itself.<ref name="Crome-2014">{{cite journal |last=Crome |first=Andrew |date=2014 |title=Reconsidering religion and fandom: Christian fan works in My Little Pony fandom |journal=Culture and Religion |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=399–418 |doi=10.1080/14755610.2014.984234 |url=https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/619586/1/Reconsidering%20Religion%20and%20Fandom%20submission%208%20September%20NOT%20FOR%20REVIEW%20.pdf }} </ref> For example, words like ''everybody'' and ''anyone'' became ''everypony'' and ''anypony''.<ref name="macleans1">{{cite journal | url = http://www.macleans.ca/2011/09/07/men-who-love-my-little-pony/ | title = Men who love 'My Little Pony' | first = Jaime | last = Weinman | date = 2011-09-07 | access-date = 2011-09-08 | journal = [[Maclean's]] }}</ref> The term ''brony'' itself was an early example of this [[wordplay]], created as a [[portmanteau]] of ''bro'' and ''pony'', to describe an adult fan of the show regardless of gender.<ref name="Ellis-2015"/><ref name="pegasister">{{cite journal |last=Palmer |first=Zachary D. |date=2021 |title='I don't like to separate myself by gender': how women navigate hybrid masculinities in the brony community |journal=Journal of Gender Studies |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=296–307 |doi=10.1080/09589236.2021.1979480 |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2021.1979480|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The less common ''pegasister'' (a portmanteau of ''[[pegasus]]'' and ''sister'') was also coined to describe a ''female'' adult fan of the show, though a 2021 study found that the majority of female fans of the show dislike the term and prefer to identify as a ''brony'' over ''pegasister''.<ref name="pegasister"/>
Bronies also coined the term ''brohoof'' to describe a ponified version of high-fiving (a portmanteau of ''[[brofist]]'' and ''hoof''), where characters touched their hooves together in greeting.<ref name="Kirkland-2025">{{cite book|last=Kirkland|first=Ewan|year=2025|title=Subculture in the 21st Century|chapter=Case study 3: Bronies|language=English |doi=10.4324/9781003637837-18|publisher=[[Routledge]]|editor1-first=Steven|editor1-last=Threadgold|editor2-first=David|editor2-last=Muggleton}}</ref> Words like ''everypony'' and ''brohoof'' became standard within the fandom's [[online communities of the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom|online spaces]].<ref name="Ellis-2015"/><ref name="Robertson-2014">{{cite journal |last=Robertson |first=Venetia Laura Delano |title=Of ponies and men: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and the Brony fandom |journal=International Journal of Cultural Studies |volume=17 |issue=1 |year=2014 |pages=21–37 |doi=10.1177/1367877912464368 |publisher=SAGE Publishing}}</ref>
Fans described their communication system as ''bronyspeak'', conducting it almost exclusively in [[English language|English]] with references to the show mixed in as "just a different register, solely created online."<ref name="Cantwell-2017">{{cite journal |last=Cantwell |first=Christiane-Marie |title=The Language of the Masses (of Online Media) |year=2020|publisher=[[McGill University]]|journal=JournalLing}}</ref> Researchers described the incorporation of elements of oral urban slang in the fan-created language as a hybrid of official show terminology with transgressive digital communication styles. This evolution included playful use of abbreviations and [[emoticons]], and also vulgar and adult terminology.<ref name="Ellis-2015">{{cite journal |last=Ellis |first=Bill |title=What Bronies See When They Brohoof: Queering Animation on the Dark and Evil Internet |journal=Journal of American Folklore |volume=128 |issue=509 |year=2015 |pages=298–314 |doi=10.5406/jamerfolk.128.509.0298 |publisher=University of Illinois Press}}</ref>
=== 2011–present: Growth, spread, and official recognition === [[Hasbro]] officially recognized the brony fandom and, implicitly, their distinctive lingo on May 27, 2011, when [[Discovery_Family#As_Hub_Network_(2010–2014)|The Hub]] released a promotional video for the series called "Equestria Girls" done in the style of a [[music video]] parodying [[Katy Perry]]'s "[[California Gurls]]". The song features the lyrics: "Our Bronies, Hang out too, 'Cause they know we're awesome fillies" accompanied by [[Spike (My Little Pony)|Spike]] shouting: "Come on, Bronies!" The exclusive online premiere of the video was given to [[Equestria Daily]] a day before the promo would air on television. According to Shaun Scotellaro, the e-mail he received from The Hub claimed that the reference to Bronies was done explicitly as a "tribute to our favorite Pony fans."<ref name="Mullis-2015"/>
In July 2011, a 26-page long bronyspeak dictionary called ''Mareiam-Websteed Dictionary''<ref name="Mareiam-Websteed Dictionary" group="note">A play on [[Merriam-Webster]], ''mare'' and ''steed'' being equestrian terms.</ref> was published on Equestria Daily.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/07/extensive-brony-dictionary.html|title=Extensive Brony Dictionary|first=Shaun|last=Scotellaro|website=[[Equestria Daily]]|date=2011-07-08|access-date=2025-06-10}}</ref> The ''[[New York Daily News]]'' reported on this dictionary, specifying words like ''[[Scootaloo|Scootabuse]]'' with the definition "You should be ashamed of yourself." and ''[[zebra]]'' as "[[Zecora#Reception and analysis|Cheap racism simulator]]." Other words included ''[[Cutie Mark]] Failure Insanity Syndrome'', ''neighsayer'', and ''horseapples''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2015/10/29/brony-speak-the-best-phrases-from-the-my-little-pony-fandom-dictionary/|title=Brony speak: The best phrases from the 'My Little Pony' fandom dictionary|first1=Kate|last1=Feldman|first2=Nicole|last2=Bietette|website=[[New York Daily News]]|date=2015-10-29|access-date=2025-06-10}}</ref>
In March 2018, the suffix ''-creature'' as a more [[inclusivity|inclusive]] replacement for the suffix ''-pony'' (e.g. ''everycreature'', ''anycreature'') was introduced in the [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 8|season 8]] premiere "[[School Daze (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic)|School Daze]]".<ref group="note">The ''-creature'' terms are not widely adopted by the brony fandom and have not been mentioned in academic analyses of bronyspeak.</ref>
== Usage == [[File:0c0 emoticon bronyspeak.png|thumb|right|upright=1.0|An example of an [[emoticon]] used in bronyspeak, meant to resemble a pony's face]] Some words in bronyspeak are terms adopted directly from the show, which tend to be equine versions of human terms. * ''everyone'' → ''every'''pony''''' * ''someone '' → ''some'''pony''''' * ''mankind'' → '''''pony'''kind'' * ''ladies and gentlemen'' → '''''fillies''' and '''gentlecolts''''' * ''Oh my god!'' → ''Oh my '''[[Princess Celestia|Celestia]]'''!'' Some terms are [[portmanteau]]s of a pony-related term and a non-pony-related term. * ''bro'' + ''pony'' → '''''brony''''' * ''[[pegasus]]'' + ''sister'' → '''''pegasister''''' * ''pony'' + ''[[persona]]'' → '''''[[ponysona]]''''' * ''dubstep'' + ''[[trot]]'' → '''''[[dubtrot]]''''' Some are [[snowclones]], often derived from quotes from the show. * ''My Little Pony'' → ''My Little Human'', ''My Little [[Dashie]]'', ''My Little Romance'', etc. * ''Dear [[Princess Celestia]]'' → ''Dear Princess [X]'' * ''Friendship Is Magic'' → ''[[Fighting Is Magic]]'', ''[[Friendship Is Witchcraft]]'', etc. * [[Suited for Success|''"It needs to be about 20% cooler"'']] → ''[X]% cooler''
=== Examples === {| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" |- ! Term !! Definition !! Etymology/Notes |- | ''everypony'' || everybody || Direct adoption from show dialogue |- | ''anypony'' || anybody || Direct adoption from show dialogue |- | ''somepony'' || somebody || Direct adoption from show dialogue |- | ''nopony'' || nobody || Direct adoption from show dialogue |- | ''fillies and gentlecolts'' || ladies and gentlemen || Direct adoption from show dialogue |- | ''hoofmade'' || handmade || <ref name="Hansen-2016"/> |- | ''what the hay'' || what the heck, [[Fuck#Modern_usage|what the fuck]] || <ref name="Hansen-2016">{{cite thesis |last=Hansen |first=Nicolai Puggaard |title=Fandom in the Digital Age: An exploration of value co-creation in online fan communities |publisher=Copenhagen Business School |date=1 June 2016 }}</ref> |- | /) (\ or /] [\ || hoofbump || Represents [[emoticon]]s of two hooves<ref name="Hansen-2016"/> |- | ''[[cutie mark]]'' || symbol representing a pony's special talent || Direct adoption from show dialogue; a [[wordplay|play]] on ''[[beauty mark]]'' |- | ''[[brony]]'' || adult fan of ''My Little Pony'' || Portmanteau of ''bro'' and ''pony'' |- | ''[[pegasister]]'' || adult female fan of ''My Little Pony'' || Combination of ''pegasus'' and ''sister'' |- | ''[[brofist|brohoof]]'' || fandom greeting gesture || Portmanteau of ''brofist'' and ''hoof'' |- | ''[[ponysona]]'' || personalized pony character representing the creator || Portmanteau of ''pony'' and ''persona'' |- | ''[[ponification]]'' || process of transforming non-pony entities into pony form || Combination of ''pony'' and suffix ''-ification'' |- | ''[[clop (erotic fan art)|clop / clopping]]'' || masturbation || Onomatopoeia referencing hoof sounds |- | ''[[dubtrot]]'' || pony [[electronic dance music]] genre || Combination of ''dubstep'' and ''trot''<ref name="dailydot ponymusic">{{cite news | url = http://www.dailydot.com/entertainment/music-brony-friendship-is-magic-my-little-pony/ | title = For brony musicians, 'Friendship Is Magic' serves as muse | work = [[The Daily Dot]] | first = Lauren Rae | last = Orsini | date = 2012-04-21 | access-date = 2012-04-21 }}</ref> |- | ''[[20% cooler]]'' || expression of approval || Reference to [[Rainbow Dash]]'s catchphrase |- | ''[[bucking|buck]]'' || [[fuck]] || Minced oath referencing [[bucking]] |- | ''[[plot (narrative)|plot]]'' || [[Equine_anatomy#External_anatomy|hindquarters]] || Reference to "I watch it for the plot"<ref name="wired defend">{{cite journal | url = http://archive.wired.com/geekmom/2012/05/in-defense-of-bronies/ | title = In Defense of Bronies | journal = [[Wired (website)|Wired]] | date = 2012-05-27 | access-date = 2026-02-01 | first = Rebecca | last = Angel | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140731120422/https://archive.wired.com/geekmom/2012/05/in-defense-of-bronies/ | archive-date = 2014-07-31 }}</ref> |- |}
== Analysis == Bronyspeak has gained academic attention as an example of internet-enabled [[vernacular culture]]. Folklore researchers recognized it as a distinctive [[emic]] folk speech that simultaneously expressed [[institutional culture]] while seeking to be distinct from it,<ref name="Howard-2015">{{cite journal |last=Howard |first=Robert Glenn |title=Introduction: Why Digital Network Hybridity Is the New Normal (Hey! Check This Stuff Out) |journal=Journal of American Folklore |volume=128 |issue=509 |year=2015 |pages=247–259 |doi=10.5406/jamerfolk.128.509.0247}}</ref> which they identified as the hybrid nature of digital vernacular traditions that both drew from and challenged mainstream cultural norms.<ref name="Ellis-2015"/>
According to Ellis, the anonymous nature of Internet communication platforms facilitated bronyspeak's development, as participants used [[pseudonym]]s and [[online handle]]s rather than their real identities. This encouraged rule-bending and aggressive linguistic play, which allowed the community to create increasingly transgressive terminology, for example, in words like ''[[clop (erotic fan art)|clopping]]'' (a bronyspeak word for [[masturbation]]).<ref name="Ellis-2015"/>
Justin Mullis observed in his 2015 study of the brony fandom that its lingo represented part of what could be understood as "recreational religious activity".<ref name="Mullis-2015">{{cite thesis |last=Mullis |first=Justin P |title=Playing Ponies: A Critical Evaluation of Religious Elements and Gender Politics at Work in "Brony" Fandom |degree=Master of Arts |publisher=University of North Carolina at Charlotte |year=2015}}</ref>
Venetia Robertson, in her study of the brony fandom, wrote that the use of brony slang by members of the community functions as signs of [[belongingness|belonging]] and behavioral boundaries for members of the fandom. Robertson noted that bronies created [[catchphrases]] and [[snowclone]]s from the lines of dialogue of the show, invented new terms like ''brohoof'', and popularized "love and tolerance" as the fandom's motto.<ref name="Robertson-2014"/>
Nicolai Hansen of the [[Copenhagen Business School]] wrote that the specialized language functions as a continuous performance of membership that is "embodied and continuously exercised". He also noted that the lingo serves as a gatekeeping mechanism, in which the dialect must be learned to fully belong to the community. Hansen also compared the lingo to that of [[Beliebers]]—fans of [[pop icon]] [[Justin Bieber]]—and characterized it as less sophisticated, describing Belieber language as "fangirl-language" and "chatter language" defined primarily by its deficiencies in punctuation, verb tenses, capitalization, and syntax, rather than as a creative linguistic innovation.<ref name="Hansen-2016"/>
According to Jon Coumes of ''[[The American Prospect]]'', brony communities developed their distinctive language alongside "codes of community-enforced niceness" designed to ensure that "nopony" would experience social rejection.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Coumes |first=Jon |title=What Do Men's Rights Activists and Bronies Have in Common? |journal=[[The American Prospect]] |date=2013-04-08 |url=https://prospect.org/culture/books-arts-culture/men-s-rights-activists-bronies-common/ |access-date=2025-06-07}}</ref>
== See also == * {{Annotated link|My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fan fiction|''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' fan fiction}} * {{Annotated link|Art of the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom|Art of the ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' fandom}} * {{Annotated link|Music of the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom|Music of the ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' fandom}} * {{Annotated link|My Little Pony fan convention|''My Little Pony'' fan convention}} * {{Annotated link|Online communities of the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom|Online communities of the ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' fandom}} * {{Annotated link|Internet slang}} * {{Annotated link|Fandom}} * {{Annotated link|Leet}} * {{Annotated link|Algospeak}}
== Notes == {{reflist|group=note}}
== References == <references />
{{Wiktionary|bronyspeak}} {{My Little Pony}} {{Fandom}} {{Internet dialects}} {{Internet slang}}
[[Category:Brony fandom]] [[Category:Internet slang]] [[Category:Fandom]] [[Category:Neologisms]]