Naming Modern Means of Mass Transport
By Ooi Kee Beng
October 2018 EDITORIAL
In the age of speedy technological innovations, thinking up names for totally new things that are not created by Mother Nature but by this innovative ape we call Man has been an exciting process. The “telephone”, the “telegram” and the “television” are some easy cases in point.Some creations are tied so closely to the maker that the brand and the product become synonymous – at least in certain contexts. I remember thinking that Colgate and toothpaste were the same thing....
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Ooi Kee Beng
is the Executive Director of Penang Institute. His recent books include The Eurasian Core and its Edges: Dialogues with Wang Gungwu on the History of the World (ISEAS 2016). Homepage: wikibeng.com
