Changing Use Of Language

826 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Past of computer technology

I chose to find the entomology of a word that most people can usually not go through a day without using at least once, computer. With the explosion of the personal computer in the last ten years, most households in America own at least one. However, the meaning of the word "computer" has changed in the last century. The word itself is found in text as far back as 1646 when Sir T. Brown said, "The calendars of these computers." The use of "computer" in this sense, as defined by the OED, is one who computes; a calculator, reckoner; a person employed to make calculations in an observatory, in surveying, etc.Then, around 1897, the use of "computer" began to change. In the January 22 edition of Engineering, this usage appeared: "This was...

a computer made by Mr. W. Cox. He described it as of the nature of a circular slide rule." This usage began the change of the definition.

In the supplement to the OED, "computer" is now defined as a calculating machine; an automatic electronic device for performing mathematical or logical operation.The word "computer" stems from the verb "compute" which came from the French comput-r and the Latin computa-re. It was formed by adding com - together and putare - to clear up, settle, reckon. Together, "compute" means to estimate or determine by arithmetical or mathematical reckoning; to calculate, reckon, count. Then from the word "compute", the suffix "er" was added giving us the definitions we have for computer today.2) In an effort to further understand language, the field of psycholinguistics formed to study the psychological side of language.

Language has many different functions such as communication, expressing emotion, explaining ideas, to create relationships, and recording ideas. Without the use of language, it would be nearly impossible to explain the history of anything. Language allows for the communication that is necessary for survival. It is not only humans who benefit from language either. Bees use a complex system of a dance and buzz to show the hive where to find food, and birds use different chirps to communicate.One psycholinguistic, Hockett, said that all languages have some aspects that are the same at some level which he called Linguistic Universals. One aspect of Linguistic Universals is the broadcast transmission, which says that language is public and that anyone around the message will pick it up.

Another aspect of language is that it is rapid fading, or if you don't get it right away, you won't get it at all.

Show More
Related

  • Vygotsky Cognitive Development Essay

    760 Words  | 2 Pages

    Language plays a major role in a child’s life, because some children will dialogues with themselves through how they engage with themselves or other children through imaginative play. Vygotsky explains this as how they will make up their own story and give their characters different names, and also changing the voices of each character. This helps children with their vocabulary skills, in which it will help them in the long run to name, and negative the different things that they will start to come into connect with as they get older. Language is also known as a symbolic system of communication and a cultural tool transmit play, and cultural history both play a big part in language development, and understanding the world around them. And also

    Read More

  • Language Development in Individuals with Down Syndrome

    2336 Words  | 5 Pages

    Language is defined as the method of human communication either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words, in a structured or conventional way. Communication is the interaction or exchange of information or news(Webster, 2013).

    Read More

  • Computers In The 1950s

    1418 Words  | 3 Pages

    to leave everything running all the time or print what they typed for the day and retype it the next day or they could save it to a I/O card” (“Computers” Internet). All three of these choices posed as a problem from programmers of that time, as first off to leave on the computer would cost a lot of money as it required a lot of money to maintain them while they are on.

    Read More

  • The Development of Bitcoin: A Peer-to-peer Version of Electronic Cash

    1598 Words  | 4 Pages

    Schlager, Neil, and Josh Lauer. "The History, Development, and Importance of Personal Computers." Science and Its Times 7 (2001): n. pag. Print.

    Read More

  • Static Electricity Essay

    796 Words  | 2 Pages

    Another invention that is now frequently used is the computer. The concept was made in 1822, by Charles Babbage, but it wasn’t until 1837 when he ...

    Read More

  • Helen Keller's Use Of Language, Lexicon, And Language

    1128 Words  | 3 Pages

    Language is the most critical tool in understanding the dialects and usage that may often be difficult without proper education and knowledge. Analyzing language is key to understanding and avoiding misunderstandings and misinformation about different cultures within our world, even generational differences within our own community. In continuing to discover language one needs to understand many things including; the key features that make up verbal and written languages. Language and lexicon go hand in hand when one starts to learn about communication. One can define language as the system of human expression and communication using thoughts and feelings expressed via speech and, or written symbols. The communicative

    Read More

  • Language Acquisition

    3235 Words  | 7 Pages

    Language is multifaceted. It contains both verbal and non-verbal aspects that children seem to acquire quickly. Before birth, virtually all the neurons (nerve cells) are formed, and they migrate into their proper locations in the brain in the infant. When a baby is born, it can see and hear and smell and respond to touch, but their perceptions are limited at such a young age. The brain stem, a primitive region that controls vital functions like heartbeat and breathing, has completed its wiring. Elsewhere the connections between neurons are wispy and weak. But over the first few months of life, the brain’s higher centers explode with new synapses. “For the large majority of people, the dominant area in language processing is in the middle of the left hemisphere of the brain, in particular in Broca’s Area and Wernicke’s Area” (Siegler, 1998, p. 142). This helps an ...

    Read More

  • Piaget's Theory Of Language Development

    2212 Words  | 5 Pages

    Language is a part of our everyday lives, and we can describe the meaning of language in many ways. As suggested in Gee and Hayes (2011, p.6 ) people can view language as something in our minds or something existing in our world in the form of speech, audio recordings, and writings or we can view language as a way of communicating with a group of people. Language can be used to express our emotions, make sense of our mental and abstract thoughts and assists us in communicating with others around us. Language is of vital importance for children to enable them to succeed in school and everyday life. Everyone uses both oral and written language. Language developed as a common ability amongst human beings with the change

    Read More

  • The Computer Evolution

    2687 Words  | 6 Pages

    The computer evolution has been an amazing one. There have been astonishing achievements in the computer industry, which dates back almost 2000 years. The earliest existence of the computer dates back to the first century, but the electronic computer has only been around for over a half-century. Throughout the last 40 years computers have changed drastically. They have greatly impacted the American lifestyle. A computer can be found in nearly every business and one out of every two households (Hall, 156). Our Society relies critically on computers for almost all of their daily operations and processes. Only once in a lifetime will a new invention like the computer come about.

    Read More

  • Human Language Essay

    1212 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...he caretaker] in just this way when she finally returned to work with the chimps. Kat made her apologies to Washoe, then decided to tell her the truth, signing "MY BABY DIED." Washoe stared at her, then looked down. She finally peered into Kat's eyes again and carefully signed "CRY", touching her cheek and drawing her finger down the path a tear would make on a human (Chimpanzees don't shed tears). Kat later remarked that one sign told her more about Washoe and her mental capabilities than all her longer, grammatically perfect sentences."

    Read More

  • Language Acquisition

    7590 Words  | 16 Pages

    Children’s acquisition of language has long been considered one of the uniquely defining characteristics of human behaviour.

    Read More

  • TOK Essay

    1220 Words  | 3 Pages

    Language is a universal way of communicating ideas, emotions, and descriptions. Through verbal language, humans can convey a variety of commands, expressions, and emotions. And through body language, we can convey pain and emotion. The capacity to communicate personal experiences and thoughts through language can affect knowledge; however the effect depends of the person and circumstance. This also applies to the dependency of language in terms of transmission and exposure of concepts. The dependency of the answer is always dependent on the individual themselves.

    Read More

  • The History of Computers

    836 Words  | 2 Pages

    The history of the computer dates back all the way to the prehistoric times. The first step towards the development of the computer, the abacus, was developed in Babylonia in 500 B.C. and functioned as a simple counting tool. It was not until thousands of years later that the first calculator was produced. In 1623, the first mechanical calculator was invented by Wilhelm Schikard, the “Calculating Clock,” as it was often referred to as, “performed it’s operations by wheels, which worked similar to a car’s odometer” (Evolution, 1). Still, there had not yet been anything invented that could even be characterized as a computer. Finally, in 1625 the slide rule was created becoming “the first analog computer of the modern ages” (Evolution, 1). One of the biggest breakthroughs came from by Blaise Pascal in 1642, who invented a mechanical calculator whose main function was adding and subtracting numbers. Years later, Gottfried Leibnez improved Pascal’s model by allowing it to also perform such operations as multiplying, dividing, taking the square root.

    Read More

  • Gender And Language

    1139 Words  | 3 Pages

    To start with, I do not want to narrowly define language as merely verbal communication. Language is far broader than that. In a few seconds a person walking past you on the street could tell you more about themselves with a sincere smile than they could with a few rushed words. Language encompasses all aspects of communication that enhance the level of our interaction. The tone in our voice demonstrating our feelings on a topic or our body language indicating our level of interest are just as important in interaction as verbally communicating content. There for I define language as any act that is involved in the interaction between two or more people.

    Read More

  • The Impact of Computers On Our Lives

    2684 Words  | 6 Pages

    "programming" rules that the user must memorize, all ordinary arithmetic operations can be performed (Soma, 14). The next innovation in computers took place in 1694 when Blaise Pascal invented the first “digital calculating machine”. It could only add numbers and they had to be entered by turning dials. It was designed to help Pascal’s father who

    Read More

More about Changing Use Of Language

Open Document