Do we need a new word for "reading" on screens since it is a very different animal?

[ardeegee]

Philistines! Everyone knows the term for reading a cereal box is "countchoculing"

[kennyc]

Oh no, it's Cap'n Crunchin'

[tompe]

Originally Posted by Good Old Neon

First, I pretty much loath the suggestion that reading on an e-reader requires a word other than "reading."

From The Frontal Cortex, Jonah Lehrer’s (always awesome) blog:

Reading, E-Books and the Brain

The New York Times wonders if E-Books are inherently less pleasing for the brain that ink on a page.

Reading an ebook will be much more pleasing and rewarding than reading a paper book. So we need a term to refer to the old way like paper book reading or old fashioned reading.

[eGeezer]

Well, I firmly believe we MUST have a new word for interpreting the content of an e-reading device.

After all, TV got its own word -- vegetate.

I really only wanted to throw that one in. I would NEVER equate reading to vegging out in front of a TV. And I'm not being critical, cuz I watch tv (and play WoW) much more than is probably reasonable. I just happen to like stories, no matter what the source.

But reading is reading no matter what the medium, as has already been stated several times. It keeps the mind active and may even prevent or at least postpone Alzheimer's -- I forget which.

But if some term surfaces that differentiates reading an e-book from reading a p-book, then that's just the way evolution evolves. But PLLLLLEEEEAAAASSSEEE don't call it Kindling. The term is like sticking your finger down your throat, and would be enuff to make me NEVER buy a Kindle.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by danbloom

BenG,
But what about this?

"Plain old "reading" simply doesn't seem to cover the various acts necessary to experience a multimedia vook that we have to click, scroll, screen, watch, listen to, and - yes - read. "

-- Richard Curtis, veteran NYC literary agent and Ebook publisher

http://www.ereads.com/2009/10/is-tha...r-are-you.html

As far as vook is concerned, we already have a word for it. That word is annoying.

[JSWolf]

We do not need a word to describe reading on a screen. Reading is reading no matter where the words are.

[montsnmags]

I think it more likely that, seeing as it is possibly/probably the future way we will read (from a screen), the not-unusual thing will happen where the word evolves to encompass the action rather than the action evolving a new word, and a retronym will arise for its superceded equivalent (think "acoustic guitar" or "film camera"). Thus, reading will still be "reading", but reading a paper book may be...oh, I don't know, but likely as simple as the examples given...something like "pbook reading" or "paper reading". I guess we can hypothesise on future words, but I suspect we'll no more control or even steer it than we do most developments and evolutions and contributions to language - it just happens. doesn't it?

If I was a neuroscientist and wanted to come up with a new word, I'd suggest something that sounds really science-y, so I could remind myself of my success at obtaining a degree in my chosen field. How about "e-lexicographicalivorous"? Yeah, that sounds all nice and novabulary.

Cheers,
Marc

[danbloom]

Originally Posted by badbob001

Inventing words for what may or may not happen... that is what many science fiction writers struggle through. ...... Isn't it a bit early for you to be fishing for a word, from the community, for something that you've only convinced yourself of existing?

Yes, badbob001, you are right, it is a bit early -- early days -- but the idea came to me now, and I am just fishing, merely fishing, as you say, even though it's a bit early to be fishing for this new "word" -- but what's the harm in fishing? And it's perfectly fine to disagree with me, and tell me I'm fishing inthe wrong fishing hole, and if that's the case, I'll pack up my fishing tackle and leave.....

[danbloom]

Originally Posted by tompe

Reading an ebook will be much more pleasing and rewarding than reading a paper book. So we need a term to refer to the old way like paper book reading or old fashioned reading.

That's also a good point, and I agree. It could go that way, too. Good point, sir!

[danbloom]

Originally Posted by eGeezer

..... But PLLLLLEEEEAAAASSSEEE don't call it Kindling. The term is like sticking your finger down your throat, and would be enuff to make me NEVER buy a Kindle.

eGeezer: LOL! actually, don't worry or fret, "kindling" is only used by Kindle owners and only for reading on their Kindles. If they are reading on a computer screen or iPhone app or a Nook, they do not say "kindling". It's a Kindle-user term, just for that particular in-group, and only a small minority of Kindlers do that so far. It will not catch in the general public, don't worry.

[danbloom]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

I think it more likely that......the not-unusual thing will happen where the word evolves to encompass the action rather than the action evolving a new word, and a retronym will arise for its superceded equivalent (think "acoustic guitar" or "film camera"). Thus, reading will still be "reading", but reading a paper book may be...oh, I don't know, but likely as simple as the examples given...something like "pbook reading" or "paper reading". I guess we can hypothesise on future words, but I suspect we'll no more control or even steer it than we do most developments and evolutions and contributions to language - it just happens. doesn't it?

Marc,
Very well stated, and your post is one of the best I have seen here so far. You "get" it. Yes, if a new word arises, it will happen organically and naturally, in some future time, like your examples above. And what might actually happen is that "paper reading" will get the new word, not screen-reading. Very very well said, sir!

[danbloom]

Originally Posted by Good Old Neon

First, I pretty much loath[e] the suggestion that reading on an e-reader requires a word other than "reading."

Good Old Neon, I didn't say require in my question. I said "might a new word be beneficial?" I never said do we need or do we require? I just said "would, might, maybe, perhaps, a new word be beneficial?"

So a better answer from you would be "I pretty much loathe the suggestion that a new word for reading on an e-reader -- other than reading -- might be beneficial at all."

okay, I accept your opinion. Maybe such a word would not be beneficial. that's all i was asking. am asking still. Thanks for your comment, sir.

[danbloom]

by the way, for anyone interested, at this site:

http://www.tvo.org/TVOsites/WebObjec...re_of_the_word

Empire of the Word

Premieres Wednesday, November 25 on TVO

Eight years in the making, Empire of the Word is a compelling look inside the act of reading and traces its impact on more than 5000 years of human history. Introduced and narrated by one of the world's great readers, Canadian writer Alberto Manguel, the series traces reading's origins; examines how we learn to read; exposes censors' attempts to prevent our reading; and finally, proposes what the future might hold for this most human of creative acts.

Episode 1: The Magic of Reading
Nov. 25 @ 10:00PM

How did the alphabet we know today come to be? What was the world's first novel? How did the concept of being free to interpret one's own meaning from a text evolve? The opener uncovers the genesis of the written word, including primitive animal paintings on cave walls, the advent of portable writing materials like papyrus scrolls and Alexander the Great's dream of the first universal library.

Episode 2: Learning to Read
Dec. 2 @ 10:00PM
In a prosperous western nation such as Canada, we take the ability to read for granted, yet one in six Canadian adults can't read a newspaper headline. How does the human mind learn to read? And how can the ability to read allow us to transcend difficult life circumstances?

Episode 3: Forbidden Reading
Dec. 9 @ 10:00PM
Readers and writers the world over have been punished and persecuted for expressing their ideas or by simply carrying the wrong book. Nazi book burnings, publisher Barney Rosset's legendary legal battles in the 1950s and 60s over the right to publish the uncensored works of Henry Miller and D.H. Lawrence in the U.S., authors in hiding ... we witness how the determination of writers and their readers is not without revolutionary consequences.

Episode 4: The Future of Reading
Dec. 16 @ 10:00PM
How will the technological revolution change the way we read? Will electronic texts like cellphone fiction replace the traditional book? What ethical issues are at play when it comes to who owns the digital archives of the world's printed heritage? We get perspectives from Canadian interactive novelist Kate Pullinger (Inanimate Alice) and Google engineering director Dan Landry, among others.

[danbloom]

PLEASE NOTE: the correct title for this thread should be and is:

Could we benefit from a new word for reading on screens to usher in the Screen Age?

[laurele]

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

If you're going to try and drag a forum dedicated to eBooks into a "Pluto is/is not a planet" debate, then I'd say you are nuts. I'd call Mike nuts too if he did the same thing. It isn't a mutually exclusive thing, ya know.

Thank you for recognizing it's not mutually exclusive. Double standards are downright awful.

I didn't even know this forum existed until someone dragged my name into it. But hey, as a writer, I love the discussion about creating new words!