COMPUTING WORDS II

 New Words

If you want to master the English language, you will need to be familiar with those new computer words that seem to be popping up everywhere. Let's get some practice with this activity ...

Are you a ? ? B4 cyberculture computer geeks emoticon GR8 mouse potato screenagers smileys snail mail technophobe , someone who practically lives in front of the computer? Or are you a ? ? B4 cyberculture computer geeks emoticon GR8 mouse potato screenagers smileys snail mail technophobe , someone nervous about new technology?

Luckily, most computer words are easy to learn because many of them are so colourful. They are words that often make us smile when we first hear them such as ? ? B4 cyberculture computer geeks emoticon GR8 mouse potato screenagers smileys snail mail technophobe (traditional post rather than Internet-based mail). To get a feeling for computer words, it helps to understand the world that created them, ? ? B4 cyberculture computer geeks emoticon GR8 mouse potato screenagers smileys snail mail technophobe , as it is often called.

Computer words often give the impression of certain playfulness, even humour. Take ? ? B4 cyberculture computer geeks emoticon GR8 mouse potato screenagers smileys snail mail technophobe ¸ for example, formed from emotion and icon, which are also called ? ? B4 cyberculture computer geeks emoticon GR8 mouse potato screenagers smileys snail mail technophobe . They are combinations of symbols such as :) that people attach to their messages in order to express feelings.

To be fair, cyberculture also laughs at itself. Those who spend all their time in front of their computers are called ? ? B4 cyberculture computer geeks emoticon GR8 mouse potato screenagers smileys snail mail technophobe and, for the younger generation, ? ? B4 cyberculture computer geeks emoticon GR8 mouse potato screenagers smileys snail mail technophobe .

Internet communication has a definite style of its own and it is often highly colloquial. To make their Internet writing seem more informal, people use abbreviations, such as ? ? B4 cyberculture computer geeks emoticon GR8 mouse potato screenagers smileys snail mail technophobe meaning "before" or ? ? B4 cyberculture computer geeks emoticon GR8 mouse potato screenagers smileys snail mail technophobe meaning "Great!!".

The article above has been adapted for this practice activity from Dr Ingrid Meyer's article, University of Ottawa, Canada, and published in Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners. Please, click on the image to visit Macmillan Publishers wide variety of dictionaries ...

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