What computers do to English<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): I remember listening to two library science
\nprofessors one afternoon in 1988 as they discussed whether the
\ncorrect word form was \"on line\", \"on-line\", or \"online\". That was
\naround the time when \"on-line database\" was becoming a buzzword
\n(is it \"buzzword\" or \"buzz word\"?).<\/p>\n
Anyway, what does the word \"on-line\" actually mean. In case
\nyou're curious, here are some definitions that I've found in my
\non-line American Heritage Dictionary:<\/p>\n
on-line adj. 1. Computer Science. a. Under the control of a
\ncentral computer, as in a manufacturing process or an experiment.
\nb. Connected to a computer network. c. Accessible via a computer
\nor computer network: an on-line database. 2. In progress;
\nongoing: on-line editorial projects.<\/p>\n
As expected, this dictionary doesn't recognize the word
\n\"online\", nor does Webster's New World found in Compton's
\nReference Collection. Still not satisfied, I checked Random House
\nUnabridged Dictionary, another great on-line reference source.
\nThe form used there was also \"on-line\". Therefore, \"online\" must
\nbe an incorrect form, right? Wrong. Those of you who like to go
\non-line know very well that America Online has been around for
\nseveral years. Go read today's computer publications, and you'll
\nfind more and more \"online\" instead of \"on-line\".<\/p>\n
And, just today I made a call to a friend and his secretary
\ntook the phone. I asked her, \"Ita, Pak Harry ada?\" (\"Is Pak Harry
\nin?\"). Ita replied, \"Pak Harry lagi on-line.\" Whoa! Did I miss
\nsomething? I knew Pak Harry had never had a computer network in
\nhis office and had never been interested in the Internet. I
\nfigured that what Ita had meant to say was \"Pak Harry is on the
\nline\".<\/p>\n
With the flood of computer lingo so overwhelming, people
\nconfuse \"on the line\" with \"on-line\". So, regardless of the
\ndefinitions found in the American Heritage Dictionary, the word
\n\"on-line\" now has to carry yet another meaning, \"on the line\".
\nBelieve me, guys, Ita is by no means the only secretary who uses
\n\"on-line\" in lieu of \"on the line\".<\/p>\n
Who's to blame? Well, computer technology develops so fast
\nthat the language cannot keep up with it. That is why we have
\nwords that simply didn't exist or were unacceptable before. Words
\nsuch as \"uptime\", \"downtime\", \"setup\", \"bootup\", \"upload\",
\n\"download\", \"throughput\" and \"technobabble\" simply didn't have
\nany meaning prior to the advent of computers.<\/p>\n
Grammar handbooks also tell us that either we capitalize the
\nfirst letter of a word or we capitalize the entire word. I don't
\nthink there has ever been a grammar handbook that tells us it is
\nacceptable to have more than one capital letter in one single
\nword. Well, some names may justifiably use two capital letters,
\nsuch as McAfee and DeLorme. But, now, browse through a computer
\nmagazine and see what you find: CompuServe, PointCast, SyQuest,
\nPowerQuest, ViewSonic, NewSoft, OfficeMax. And look at the names
\nthey have coined for their products: CardBus, NiMH, LiIon,
\nJavaBeans, WordPerfect, ThinkPad, DeskJet, LaserJet, ScanJet,
\nPaperPort, PalmPilot, OpenTrap, CorelDRAW!, CorelPHOTO-PAINT!,
\nand more! Luckily, Corel has decided to drop the exclamation mark
\naltogether from the names of their software products.<\/p>\n
Only a couple of companies stick to the traditional rules of
\nwriting. Intel, which stands for \"Intelligent Electronics\", is
\nfortunately not written as \"IntEl\". Autodesk has always been
\nwritten as \"Autodesk\", although their flagship product is
\nAutoCAD. Adobe writes their industry-standard image editing
\nprogram Photoshop, but their DTP program is written as
\n\"PageMaker\". That's because the latter was not originally their
\nown. Microsoft (not MicroSoft) was responsible for bringing us
\nActiveX and DirectX. Just figure out what they mean!<\/p>\n
IrDA (Infrared Data Association) is another interesting
\nexample. Apparently because the members could not decide whether
\nthe word is \"infrared\", \"infra-red\" or \"infra red\", they just
\nwrite the \"r\" as a small letter.<\/p>\n
By the way, aren't we lucky that so far we've never seen this
\nbeloved newspaper of ours print its own name as 'THe JAkartA
\nPoSt'. If that did ever happen, though, then it would be because
\nthey had used that darn sticky keyboard again.<\/p>\n
-- Zatni Arbi<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/what-computers-do-to-english-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }