Abstract
The language used to talk about computers is uniquely colorful and sometimes extraordinarily difficult. This paper examines ‘computer discourse’ and points out its highly metaphorical nature. While the use of metaphor is unavoidable, it often leads, especially in informal settings, to the mannered use of words we call jargon. Metaphor becomes jargon when it is used too literally in a self-conscious manner. Experts often use their metaphors as though they were literally true. Technical details fall away and the metaphor is taken for the reality it represents. The less expert sometimes mimic the language they hear, in a self-conscious manner, without truly understanding it.
References
Black, M. (1962).Models and Metaphors: Studies in Language and Philosophy. Cornell U. Press. Ithaca, NY.
Carriero, N. and Gelernter, D. (1989). Linda in Context,Communications of the ACM.32 (4) 444–458.
Dijkstra, E. (1989). On the Cruelty of Really Teaching Computing Science.Communications of the ACM.32 (12) 1398–1404.
Freeman-Benson, B. N., Maloney, J. and Borning, A. (1990). An Incremental Constraint Solver.Communications of the ACM.33 (1) 54–63.
Gait, J. (1990). Phoenix: A Safe In-Memory File System,Communications of the ACM 33 (1) 81–86.
Heelan, P. A. (1983).Space-Perception and the Philosophy of Science. University of California Press. Berkeley.
Hesse, M. (1980).Revolution and Reconstructions in the Philosophy of Science. Indiana U. Press. Bloomington.
Johnson, G. J. (1990). Computer Science: A Philosophical Primer. In: Cherri M. Pancake and Robert Geist (eds.)Proceedings of the 28th Annual Southeast Regional Conference.
Kochut, K. J. (1990). AGENT: Active Logical Objects, In: Cherri M. Pancake and Robert Geist (eds.)Proceedings of the 28th Southeast Regional Conference.
Kuhn, T. S. (1962).Structure of Scientific Revolutions. University of Chicago Press. Chicago.
Lewis, C. S. (1962). Bluspels and Flalansferes, In: M. Black (ed.)The Importance of Language. Prentice-Hall. Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
MacCormac, E. (1976).Metaphor and Myth in Science and Religion. Duke U. Press. Durham, NC.
Meijer, A. and Peeters P. (1982).Computer Network Architectures. Computer Science Press. Rockville, MD.
Nichols, W. G., and Emer, J. S. (1989). Design and Implementation of the VAX Distributed File Service,Digital Technical Journal.9, 16–29.
Oracle's Larry Ellison (April 1989).DBMS.2 (4) 27–34.
Parnas, D. L., van Schouwen, A. J. and Kwan S. P. (1990). Evaluation of Safety-Critical Software,Communications of the ACM,33 (6) 636–648.
Stonebraker, M. and Rowe L. A. (1986). The Design of Postgres. In: Stonebraker and Rowe (eds.)The Postgres Papers. Electronics Research Laboratory, College of Engineering. University of California. Berkley.
turbayne, C. M. (1962).The Myth of Metaphor. Yale University Press. New Haven.
Vaisrub, S. (1977).Medicine's Metaphors. Medical Economics Company. Oradell, NJ.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Johnson, G.J. Talking about computers: From Metaphor to Jargon. AI & Soc 6, 263–270 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02472798
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02472798