What is text?
Text is written words that communicate ideas and information
What is technology?
Technology is any digital device that helps complete tasks such as communicating and computing.
OED Etymology
Text: “The wording of anything written or printed; the structure formed by the words in their order; the very words phrases, and sentences written.”
Technology: “The product of such application; technological knowledge or know-how; a technological process, method or technique. Also: machinery, equipment etc., developed from the practical application of scientific and technical knowledge.”
Texture: “The process of art weaving; obsolete.”
Textbook: “A book used as a standard work for the study of a particular subject” or “a book containing a selection of Scripture texts, arranged for daily use or easy reference.”
Technique: The formal or practical aspect of any art, occupation, or field; manner of execution or performance with regard to this. Also more generally: way of doing something.
Early in the graph during 1500 to 1700 the use of these terms fluctuate in usage. Text is used more often whereas there are many years where technology is not used at all. This continues up until about 1930 where text and technology begin to spike, reaching their peak around 1991. They then both show a decline.
Can you identify historical events that might have influenced changes in the usage of these terms over time as evidenced in the Google Ngram search?
End of World War II 1945- often war sparks innovation which could point to the beginning of the climb in technology
Television invented 1927: Technology brought into the living rooms of many people
Internet invented 1973: This is where we see the term technology take over text. This would have been a huge innovation that sky rocketed technology usage
How is technology related to text?
I think technology is related to text in many ways. Text is the language used for communication while technology and devices are the tool. Technology allows people to create text, access text, and share text.
Some question that emerged from this activity are:
- Historically what caused the spikes in the use of the term technology during 1500-1550?
- Why did the use of technology and text drop after 2000, and what would the graph look like today. I tried to search until 2024 but the generator would not allow past 2019.