И.И. Ганчеренок, доктор физико-математических наук, профессор

MODULE 2. THE LANGUAGE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES

• “Man is still the most extraordinary computer of all.”

(John F. Kennedy)

• “The decisive factor in modern history is the fact that the North Americans speak English.” (Otto von Bismarck)

VOCABULARY

A. VOCABULARY FOCUS

Study the following words and word combinations. Consult a specialized ICT dictionary, if necessary.

applet(n)	• a small program run automatically on web pages letting one watch animated characters and play music and games;
computer language(n)	• a language used for writing computer programs;
cyberjargon (n)	• special words and phrases relating to computers or the Internet that are only understood by the people who do the same kind of work: ~ will be included into “Webster’s Third New International Dictionary”;
code(n)	• a piece of program text written in a programming language: ~ is programmers’ special vocabulary;
domain name (n)	• the part of an email or website address on the Internet that shows the name of the organization that the address belongs to;
dotcom(adj)	• relating to the companies that do business using the Internet: ~ organization; ~ crisis;
email(n)	• (e-mail) a system for sending messages from one computer to another; the messages received by email: communication through ~ and instant message; writing ~s through Internet services; send ~s instantaneously to a recipient; send ~ over the Web with sites; abbreviations in ~ are a favourite; ~s are splattered withabbreviations;
geek(n)	• a dedicated computer expert: computer-~ slang; the origin of ~; true ~;
high-level language(n)	• a computer programming language that resembles natural language or mathematical notation and is designed to reflect the requirements of a problem; examples include Ada, BASIC, C, COBOL, FORTRAN, Pascal;
information superhighway(n)	• the Internet and other computer networks that allow people to share information;
low-level language(n)	• a computer programming language that is closer to machine language than to human language;
machine language(n)	• a set of instructions for a specific central processing unit, designed to be usable by a computer without being translated: Syn. machine code;
mailing list(n)	• a list of all the people that letters or emails are sent to: practise your English by using it on the Internet, either in emails, or by participating in Usenet groups or ~s;
medium (n, sg)	• media (n. pl.) a way of communicating information and ideas, especially to a lot of people, for example newspapers or television: the electronic ~;
instantmessaging (n)	• the process of sending and receiving electronic messages by computer or mobile phone allowing Internet users to communicate in one-to-one conversations;
mouse potato(n)	• someone who spends long periods of time using the Internet or playing computer games;
Netspeak(n)	• a special language with abbreviations and expressions used by people when communicating via the Internet: Syn. Internet language, cyberspeak, electronic discourse, electronic language, interactive written discourse;
novice (n)	• someone who is just beginning to learn a skill or subject: the language of electronic chat is impenetrable to the ~;
programming language (n)	• a computer language used for writing computer programs;
smiley (n)	• used in text message and online chat communications to convey an emotion: a ~ face; Syn.emoticon; on the screen of the computer there is a ~;
snail mail (n)	• letters that are sent by post; usage: the expression is mainly used by people writing emails;
technophobe(n)	• someone who does not like, trust or want to use technology, especially computers;
texting(n)	• written language seen on mobile phone screens;
text messaging(n)	• is the exchange of short messages between fixed-line or wireless devices over a network;
voice-mail(n)	• an electronic system that records and stores spoken messages from people.