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like when cyber started to become slang for sex while online. it has probably happened through out history where well established names get hijacked when somet
by jimjimjim 9y ago
like when cyber started to become slang for sex while online.
it has probably happened through out history where well established names get hijacked when something else get picked up by the general population.
e.g.
hacker vs cracker.
drones (rc helicopters vs pilotless aircraft).
- hughperkins 9y agoalso: broadband. It originally contrasted with narrowband, and they describe modes for propagation of light through fiberglass cables... I thought it was really weird when I heard people on mainstream radio discussing such things. Eventually I realized they were using broadband as a synonym for 'fast internet' :P
- dingaling 9y ago> It originally contrasted with narrowband I agree with your wider point, but the antonym of broadband in networking context is actually baseband. 'Narrowband' is a good example of a word that came into use to fill a perceived gap in the lexicon. A gap which didn't really exist, but the word became more widely used because it was not challenged by people who should know better. Another example is 'bandwidth' which has so many colloquial meanings now that it is unusable in any general context. It's just a collection of letters that can mean anything you want. Also 'hacker'. This is not the evolution of languge, it is its destruction. Overloading words with so many contrary or ambiguous meanings that language fails at its primary purpose of conveying meaning and intent.
- King-Aaron 9y agoAnecdotally, I once had someone on facebook randomly start berating me over the use of the word "trans", because I was being disrespectful. I was of course talking about transmissions/gearboxes, but this fact was lost on that person.