May 12, 2008 - 04:05:28 CDT
It was inevitable. As a new technology becomes part of everyday life, the words and phrases of that technology become part of the common language.So it is with the Internet.
The words, terms and phrases of the digital world have quickly become embedded within the language of the real world.
And, according to Darnay's Law Of Linguistic Evolution, the expansion of the language through the infusion of new terms in a short period of time is always followed by a brief era of "Grammar Controversy."
Thus, we have issues such as "Website" vs. "Web site," "E-mail" vs "Email," "disk" vs. "disc" and others.
Where can a person turn for answers to these perplexing grammatical conundrums?
Why, to me, of course: Keith Darnay, the Digital Grammar Guru.
After hours of online and offline research, after numerous conversations and word-usage debates, I've compiled a short, introductory guide to the most common tech and Net terms in use. Here's what I know:
"Web site" or "Website"
Which is the correct usage? Either one, depending on whose stylebook you're using. When the term first appeared in the early 1990s, it was written as one word, "website." When it was first included in the Associated Press Stylebook, the style bible for those in the media and numerous educational institutions, it was written as two words, "Web site."
Dictionary.com (www.dictionary.com) lists the term both ways, as does the MSN Encarta Dictionary (http://dictionary.msn.com). Meanwhile, Merriam-Webster (www.merriam-webster.com) prefers "Web site."
The American Heritage Dictionary (www.bartleby.com/61/) lists both ways as well, but adds an interesting observation: "The development of website as a single uncapitalized word mirrors the development of other technological expressions which have tended to evolve into unhyphenated forms as they become more familiar."
In other words, the usage trend is toward "website."
However, as you'll notice here, the Bismarck Tribune follows the AP Stylebook preference for "Web site." I personally prefer "website," but AP style easily trumps Darnay style in this case.
Things may change in the near future, but until then, you'll see the term used both ways. And both ways are considered correct.
"E-mail" or "Email"
Again, both forms are correct. How you use it depends on which stylebook is being used. AP prefers "e-mail" while common usage is moving toward "email." The American Heritage Dictionary site notes as tech terms become more familiar and commonly used, those that are hyphenated trend to lose the hyphenation.
"Thus email recently has been gaining ground over the forms E-mail and e-mail, especially in texts that are more technologically oriented. Similarly, there has been an increasing preference for closed forms like homepage, online, and printout," the dictionary site observes.
"Internet" or "internet"
The preferred usage is to capitalize the word, along with "Net," "Web" and "World Wide Web."
"Online" or "On-line"
As mentioned earlier, the trend has been to nonhyphenated words, so the preferred usage is "online."
"Disk" or "Disc"
In general, the terms are used interchangeably. But if you want to be technically correct, which term you use depends on the item to which you're referring.
When phonograph records were first developed in the late 18th century, they were referred to as "phonograph discs." This has carried over into the CD, or "Compact Disc," era. This also is the case with new developments such as the "Blu-ray Disc."
In the 1940s, when data storage devices were developed, they were referred to as "disks." In the 1980s, we started seeing data storage items such as "floppy disks" and "diskettes." That's still the case today - we refer to the storage unit in our computer as the "hard disk" (or "hard drive").
It used to be easy: If it was round, it was a disc. If it was square or part of a reusable data storage system, it was a disk.
But if I use a rewritable DVD or CD, is it a disk or a disc? It's round, but it's also a reusable data storage system.
The AP Stylebook says use "disc" for everything but computer-related references, and use "disk" for, "the thin, flat plate on which computer data can be stored."
But, really, if a disc can do what a disk does, is there really any reason to differentiate between the two?
No, there is not. And the trend in common usage is that either word is correct.
To "Google" or "google" someone
The word "Google" is a trademarked name belonging to the search engine company, Google Inc. (www.google.com). Thus, if you do a Web search for someone by their name, you would be "Googling" them, with a capital "G."
Google would prefer that form, because if it is used with the lowercase "g," then the brand name becomes a generic word and loses its trademark (an outcome referred to as "genericide").
This is the same usage battle that faced other brands that were too successful in linking their names with a popular activity, use or product: Xerox, Band-Aid, Aspirin, Thermos, Kleenex.
Indeed, when a device designed to vertically transport people in a controlled manner was invented, one company coined and trademarked the term "Elevator" for its particular version of the device. The Otis Elevator Company was so successful in putting its Elevators in so many places, that people began to refer to any lifting device as an "elevator" and, in short order, the term became a generic word and the trademark was lost.
For several years, Google has been aggressively defending its trademarked name, asking the public to only use "Google" when referring to the business and to find other terms to use when referring to the act of searching based on a person's name.
A number of dictionaries distinguish between uppercase and lowercase "Google" in their entries: Uppercase as a noun for the company, lowercase as a verb for searching on a name.
Right now, the common usage trend is toward the lowercase form as a verb ("I'm going to google you," for example), although the correct usage is the capitalized form. Nearly all publications, recognizing the importance of trademarks, will avoid using "google" in lowercase or as a verb. And expect Google, the company, to continue fighting to keep google, the verb, from becoming a common word.
Webopedia (www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2002/InternetGrammar.asp) has a great observation that best sums up the state of tech term usage: "The best strategy an organization or publication can adopt when dealing with Internet jargon is to choose one 'house style' and be consistent with that style and follow the guidelines of a specific dictionary or stylebook. For now, until all dictionaries and stylebooks can agree on standardization, all of the spellings and usages are correct. In reality, there may never actually be a standardization of Internet jargon as the nature of the Internet invites a lack of standardization."
(Keith Darnay is the webmaster and designer for bismarcktribune.com. His Web site, featuring this column going back to 1995, is at www.darnay.com.iec.)
Harold Reimann wrote on May 13, 2008 9:29 AM:
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