Activity 1: Exploring the Evolution of Terms

If I were to define “text” I would state that it refers to any written material. I use it for any form of communication that requires reading, viewing, or listening. It is a product of Language arts: writing, speaking, or representing, which does
include visuals. At The same time, “text” can be a verb, as in “to text”.
I would define “Technology” as a tool created with the intent of improving quality of life, efficiency, and/or ease of task.

The way technological changes lead to linguistic changes:

“The original meaning of the word is a metaphor for the new meaning of the word, like cloud.”

Jonathan Berkowitz, UBC profoessor on CBC’s North by Northwest

• viral
• computer
• cloud
• code
• tablet
• firewall
• cursor
• browser
• mouse

What other words would I add?

• web
• search
• net
• hack
• scan
• keys
• shortcut
• post
• click
• icon
• thumbnail

Exploring the Etymology of “Text” & “Technology”

When perusing the OED, I found the figurative meaning of “text” the most interesting:

c. figurative. The theme or subject on which any one speaks; the starting-point of a discussion; a statement on which any one dilates.1608   W. Shakespeare King Lear xvi. 36   “No more, the text is foolish”

“text, n.1”. OED.

Incidentally, I wonder more and more about “textmongers” and “text-mongering” that came up in the historical use of “text”

… is that what writers, artists, podcasters, and influencers do?

… does it have to have a negative connotation (like warmonger)?

… couldn’t it be more like a fishmonger – as in a dealer in words?

Maybe I need to add textmonger to my adjective description list. Anneke Nussbaum. Poet. Gamer. Textmonger . . . I like it.

I was surprised by the amount of “obsolete” definitions for technology… just like the amount of actual obsolete technologies as we continue to innovate and expand, as the OED defines it, “knowledge dealing with the mechanical arts and applied sciences” and”the application of such knowledge for practical purposes” which is, certainly, much more eloquent than my definition, as I literally called it a tool.

The Google Ngram Viewer is a cool tool that visualizes the use of words over time (within their database, of course). What I found particularly interesting is the arc that both “text” and “technology” took between the 1970s and 2010s, like they grew in use during the same time period, which coincides with the birth and development of the Internet. Not a coincident. As our tools change and evolve, so does our language. At the same time, the language arts are bound by the tools we have with which to express them. It is logical that the texts we create evolve as well in response to the changing technologies. The Internet has afforded our expression, our text, to grow, along with the audiences we reach.

The question interest from this exploration of terms and etymology activity is: “What does teche (teaching) have to do with technology?

“Old English tæcan (past tense tæhte, past participle tæht) ‘to show, point out, declare, demonstrate,’ also ‘to give instruction, train, assign, direct; warn; persuade,'”

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, teach (v)

“Techne means art, skill, craft, or the way, manner, or means by which a thing is gained.”

according to Google

Is this, the underlying root of technology, skills, arts, techniques, not what we teach? I have to say that I hadn’t thought about the connected meaning of these words before, but can now clearly see the impactful relationship between them.