A synoptic history of ‘the scientific method’ with reflections on the scientific terms that emerged from the Greek, Arabic and Latin languages and pointers for ChiShona.

Abstract

(Rupfupi):

The ‘scientific method’ as a system of knowledge creation and organisation emerged principally in the last thousand years, although its history can be traced back to the ancient Greeks. It is a formal process which starts with formulating a hypothesis, then developing a method of testing the hypothesis, followed by observation (data collecting) and analysis, ending in a conclusion which should be a starting point for new hypotheses. Scientific terms often represent a concentration of ideas or exactness of expression in a discipline. Scientific terminology in European languages uses Greek and Latin roots, even today, because these were the languages of learning in Europe at the time when science experienced its greatest development. Arabic was a major source language for scientific and mathematical terms, bequeathing to English ‘chemistry’ and ‘algebra’ among others, while itself borrowed from Greek. Going back to the beginning of the scientific concepts is an established practice in science for exploring words, their old uses and potential new uses. A term, such as ‘mathematics’ or ‘atom’ today stands at some distance from what it meant even a hundred years ago. There is room therefore for building words and terminology from the ground up, or inside out, from the early meaning of the source words. This can give a different perspective and useful insight for how a language such as ChiShona can build scientific words. The history of the ‘scientific method’ is illustrative of the process of how words in common use became the essential building blocks of vocabulary of science. The essay focuses on the essential foundation concepts and words of science and how many of these are already present in ChiShona and can be mobilised for the scientific discourse. A glossary and appendix are provided in the supplementary material.