A History of English Language

The nineteenth century and after 281
the popularity of certain books or scientific reports in magazines and newspapers. Among
the most publicized events since the 1960s have been the achievements of space and
engineering in the exploration of space. In addition to astronaut and cosmonaut, space
science has given us dozens of new words, especially compounds like spacecraft, space
shuttle, launch pad, countdown, blast off, flyby, command module. Consciously or
unconsciously, we have become scientifically minded in the last few generations, and our
vocabularies reflect this extension of our consciousness and interest.
213. Automobile, Film, Broadcasting, Computer.
Scientific discoveries and inventions do not always influence the language in proportion
to their importance. It is doubtful whether the radio and motion pictures are more
important than the telephone, but they have brought more new words into general use.
Such additions to the vocabulary depend more upon the degree to which the discovery or
invention enters into the life of the community. This can be seen especially in the many
new words or new uses of old words that have re-sulted from the popularity of the
automobile and the numerous activities associated with it. Many an old word is now used
in a special sense. Thus we park a car, and the verb to park scarcely suggests to the
average driver anything except leaving his or her car along the side of a street or road or
in a parking space. But the word is an old one, used as a military term (to park cannon)
and later in reference to carriages. The word automobile is new, but such words as sedan
(saloon in Britain) and coupe are terms adapted from earlier types of vehicles. The
American truck is the British lorry to which we may attach a trailer. We have learned
new words or new meanings in carburetor, spark plug (British sparking plug), choke,
clutch, gearshift (British gear lever), piston rings, differential, universal, steering wheel,
shock absorber, radiator, hood (British bonnet), windshield (in Britain windscreen),
bumper, chassis, hubcap, power steering, automatic transmission, and turbocharger. We
engage cruise control, have a blowout, use radial tires, carry a spare, drive a convertible
or station wagon (British estate car), and put the car in a garage. We may tune up the
engine or stall it, or we may skid, cut in, sideswipe another car and be fined for speeding
or running a traffic light. We must buy gas in America and petrol in Britain. Many more
examples could be added to terms familiar to every motorist, to illustrate further what is
already sufficiently clear, the way in which a new thing that becomes genuinely popular
makes demands upon and extends the resources of the language.
The same principle might be illustrated by film, radio, and television. The words
cinema and moving picture date from 1899, whereas the alternative motion picture is
somewhat later. Screen, reel, film, scenario, projector, closeup, fade-out are now
common, and although the popularity of three-D (or 3-D) as a cinematic effect was shortlived,
the word is still used. The word radio in the sense of a receiving station dates from
about 1925, and we get the first hint of television as early as 1904. Since many of the
terms from radio broadcasting were applicable in the later development of television, it is
not surprising to find a common vocabulary of broadcasting that includes broadcast
itself, aerial, antenna, lead-in, loudspeaker, stand by, and solid-state. Words like
announcer, reception, microphone, and transmitter have acquired special meanings
sometimes more common than their more general senses. The abbreviations FM (for