Моя статья по исследованию этимологии и употребления IT лексики в английском

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Е.Н. Ростова (5 курс), Т.Ю. Панышева (старший преподаватель)
Санкт-Петербургский государственный политехнический университет им. Петра Великого
XXXVII Неделя науки СПбГПУ, 2008 г.

КОМПЬЮТЕРНАЯ ЛЕКСИКА В АНГЛИЙСКОМ ЯЗЫКЕ: ЭТИМОЛОГИЯ И УПОТРЕБЛЕНИЕ
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY VOCABULARY IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE: ETYMOLOGY AND USAGE

В данной работе исследуется формирование и использование словаря информационных технологий в английском языке, проводится анализ этимологии часто употребляемых терминов и приводятся примеры их использования в других научных областях.

The Information Technology (IT) vocabulary is a rapidly developing part of the English language made up of terms and phraseology related to computing and computer-based technologies. The first IT terms appeared together with the first electronic computers in the late thirties of the twentieth century. Since then this part of the language has evolved into a sublanguage the development factors of which are supposed to go hand in hand with the advances in technology, lifestyle, culture and evolution as a whole. The subject of this paper has been to find out how certain, most common IT terms are used in different scientific fields.
Having studied a variety of articles and papers on computer science, we can highlight a few most common ways the IT vocabulary is formed. One of them is coinage, which means inventing names for new technologies and devices (for example CD-ROM, byte, Perl, UNIX), mostly on the basis of words that existed before. For example the word computer derives from the Latin computus and computare, which means – to determine something using mathematics and the word computer refers to a person who carried out mathematical calculations and dates back to 1646. A mechanical calculating device was also first called the computer in 1897. One programming language was named Perl by changing “the pearl of great price”, as the creator wanted to give a positive connotation to the language name.
Another way of IT vocabulary formation is the adoption of words from other areas on the basis of their similarity in meaning with some processes taking place in new technologies (for example, a computer virus, a bug in a program, a daemon, etc.). Interestingly enough, the word "bug", which means “a fault in a computer program”, was used to describe defects in mechanical systems in the 1870s: Thomas Edison’s notebooks contain this term. Les Earnest wrote the finger program in 1971 to give information about other users in the network. Prior to the finger program, people used to run their fingers down the "users" list. So the new program was named after that kind of action.
One more way to introduce new IT vocabulary is collocations and formation of compound words, when words from everyday life are united with technical terms, e.g. image scanners, hand-held scanners, search engine, computer virus. We should also note that these terms can undergo further changes. For example, the transformation of such compounds as analog computer, digital computer: we can see thatthe descriptive adjective before the word computer is now usually omitted due to the development of technology.
IT vocabulary is a professional language for people who work in IT - software developers, system administrators and other computer experts. However, if we take a closer look, we will see that IT terms are also widely used by those who possess very little knowledge of computing but deal with IT innovation in their everyday lives. Thus, the IT language can be divided into the two sublanguages: the professional language and the IT slang. Sometimes it can be difficult to say exactly whether a word is a professional term or it relates to the slang.
In the course of the study of about 50 pages of articles and papers on information technologies it has been revealed that most frequently used computer words have been adopted from everyday English, just as those discussed above. Table 1 provides data on the usage of highly frequent words. Each row shows what other fields a term can be used in and what meaning it has there.

Table 1

IT Term	Range of usage
Boot (to start the operating system)	automobiles (a covered space at the back of a car); sports (to kick); slang (a dismissal).
Bug (an error or fault in a computer program)	biology (an insect); slang (a microorganism that produces disease / an obsessive idea / a concealed microphone);
Chip (a tiny slice of semiconducting material)	food (a small piece); sports (a return shot); slang (to criticize).
Circuit (a group of connected electronic components)	electricity (the complete path of an electric current); telecommunications (a means of transmitting signals); law (one of six areas into which England is divided).
Configuration (a set and arrangement of internal and external computer components)	astronomy (a group of stars); chemistry (an atomic arrangement); psychology (the unit or pattern in perception).
Display (a device for representing information visually)	art (a collection of objects or pictures), printing (to give prominence to words); zoology (a pattern of animal’s behaviour).
Driver (a program that controls input and output operations)	machinery (a part that transmits force); railroads (a main wheel); audio (a part of a loudspeaker); golf (a club with a wooden head); navy (a jib-headed spanker sail).
Enter (to put new data into a computer)	theatre (to come upon the stage); law (to make a formal record).
File (a collection of related data records stored as one unit)	office (a container in which papers are arranged for storage); military (a line of people in marching formation); journalism (to transmit by wire or telephone).
Installation (the act of putting a program onto a computer)	art (an art exhibit with video or moving parts); military (a permanent military base); mechanics (a system set up for use); government (a formal entry into an organization or position).
Interface (software designed to communicate information between a device and a user)	chemistry (a surface that forms the boundary between two bodies or liquids); economics (communication or interaction); politics (something that enables separate and incompatible elements to coordinate effectively).
Network (a system of computers and peripherals that share information and programs)	radio (a group of transmitting stations; a company that broadcast programs); telecommunications (a system of interconnected devices used to transmit or receive information); electricity (an arrangement of conducting elements); sociology (an association of individuals having a common interest).
Online (connected to the Internet)	radio (of a network supplying affiliated stations with a substantial part of their programming); television (relating to the final editing of a videotaped program); railroads (located on major routes or rail lines).
Performance (the amount of useful work accomplished by a computer system)	art (a musical, dramatic, or other entertainment presented before an audience); machinery (manner or quality of functioning); linguistics (the actual use of language in real situations); slang (mode of distasteful behaviour; a tiresome procedure).
Port (a number assigned to uniquely identify a connection endpoint and to direct data to a specific service)	military (a hole in an armoured vehicle or fortification for firing through); machinery (an opening for the passage of steam or air); law (any place where it is allowed to pass into and out of a country); geography (an area that forms a harbor); drinks (a type of strong, sweet red wine).
Program (a set of coded instructions inserted into a computer)	radio & television (a scheduled broadcast); business & education (a plan or schedule of activities or procedures to be followed for a specific purpose); education (a prospectus or syllabus); theatre (a brief printed outline of the order to be followed, of the features to be presented, and the persons participating); biology (the genes or sequences of DNA or RNA that are part of an organism or cell).

The next part was the study of IT words etymology which leads to a conclusion that some words have been used for centuries while others are just coming into our life these days. The results of the etymology study are based on the information retrieved from a number of comprehensive dictionaries, such as Collins COBUILD Dictionary and Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Some results of the study are presented in Table 2. For instance, the word spam means not only “an unwanted message sent as an e-mail” but also “a cooked meat product made from pork and ham”. And the word script stands not only for “a program in a utility language” but also for “a written document”. A more detailed examination thus reveals that a lot of modern IT terms have ancestors that were used with other meanings long before the invention of modern computers.

Table 2

IT Term	Etymology
Boot (to start the operating system)	a) as a noun – general meaning “foot ware” is from 1325, also “the trunk of an automobile”, "profit, use"; the computer sense: "fixed sequence of instructions to load the operating system of a computer", 1953; slang: “dismissal, discharge” – “He got the boot for always being late”; informal meaning: “a sensation of pleasure or amusement” – “Watching that young skater win a gold medal gave me a real boot”; b) as a verb - “to put boots on”, meaning "kick" is American English, 1877, that of "eject" is from 1880; the computer sense: "to start up a computer", 1975 – “Every system is booted identically”; also “to attach a Denver boot to” – “Police will boot any car with unpaid fines”.
File (a collection of related data records stored as one unit)	The noun first attested in English in the military sense - "a line or row of men", 1598; the noun meaning "arranged collection of papers" is from 1626; the computer sense is from 1954.
Register (a part of the central processing unit used as a storage location)	The verb meaning “to record something in writing” – “to register the birth of a baby” – is attested from 1390; the meaning "a device by which data is automatically recorded" – “a cash register” – is from 1830; used in computer science meaning “a part of the central processing unit used as a storage location”; also used in music – “a flute register” and in linguistics – “speaking in an informal register”.
Script (a simple program in a language that the computer must convert to machine language)	"a writing, written paper" from 1374; meaning "handwriting" is recorded from 1860; theatrical use, short for manuscript, is attested from 1897; in law it is “an original document”; the computer sense: “a simple program in a utility language or an application's proprietary language”.
Software (programs for a computer)	The meaning "woolen or cotton fabrics" is from 1851, also "relatively perishable consumer goods" (from soft + ware); the computer sense is a separate coinage from 1960, based on hardware; also used as television slang: “prepackaged materials, as movies or reruns, used to fill out the major part of a station's program schedule”.
Spam (an unwanted message sent as an e-mail)	in everyday life (since 1937) it is “a cooked meat product made from pork and ham”; the computer sense: “An unwanted, disruptive, esp. commercial message posted on a computer network or sent as an e-mail”.
Terminal (a device with a keyboard and a display through which information can be entered or viewed)	used from 1459 as "relating to or marking boundaries”; the noun sense of "end point of a railway line" is from 1888; meaning "fatal" - “terminal illness” - is first attested in 1891; that of "device for communicating with a computer" is first recorded in 1954; slang meaning "extreme" is from 1983; also used in architecture – “terminal statue”, botany – “terminal buds on a branch” and electricity as “any conducting component in an electric circuit”.

The study of the literary works by the eminent English poets, William Shakespeare and William Blake, demonstrates how modern computer terms would have been interpreted centuries ago. We can conclude that these words were quite frequently used in the everyday language at that time. The results of the study are given in Table 3 for words application, boot, bug, display, enter, file, register. This study has also helped us to find out that some of these words apparently existed before the dates given in some etymology dictionaries.

Table 3

IT Term	Quote	Meaning
Application (a computer program used for a particular type of job or problem)	“…suspect that the application of these words are to Excellencies…” (W. Blake)	The quality of being usable for a particular purpose
Boot (to start the operating system)	“Unto this day it doth my heart boot” (W. Blake)	To beat, to pulsate rhythmically
Bug (an error or fault in a computer program)	“Sir, spare your threats: The bug which you would fright me with I seek” (W. Shakespeare)	Death
Display (a device for representing information visually)	“Being the very fellow which of late Display'd so saucily against your Highness” (W. Shakespeare)	To conduct oneself
Enter (to insert new data into the computer)	“Idea that can enter the Mind as it takes away all sublimity…” (W. Blake)	To come into
File (a collection of related data records stored as one unit)	“Our present musters grow upon the file To five and twenty thousand men of choice“ (W. Shakespeare)	A line of men (military)
Register (a part of the central processing unit used as a storage location)	“But say, my lord, it were not register'd” (W. Shakespeare)	To record in writing

A conclusion can be made that the English language inevitably reflects all changes brought by the development of lifestyle and technologies. We see that computerization has had an impact on nearly all spheres of our lives. And we can only guess what other meanings some IT terms will have in the next ten years.

REFERENCES:

Г. Бобковский, Я. Бурман. Англо-русский научно-технический словарь – М., Изд-во: Джон Уайли энд Санз, 1998 г. – 658 с.
Л. Игнатьев – Каллэхэм. Русско-английский политехнический словарь - М., Изд-во: Уайли, 1995 г. – 880 с.
Collins COBUILD Dictionary - https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary - http://www.merriam-webster.com
Online English Dictionary - https://www.dictionary.com
Online Etymology Dictionary – http://www.etymonline.com