Topic vocabulary: technology and media

A new idea, method or product, or the process of creating one. Verb: innovate; adjective: innovative.

উদ্ভাবন

Some of the most successful innovations in Bangladesh, such as sending money by mobile phone, solved everyday problems rather than inventing new technology.

The most modern and advanced available. Hyphenated before a noun; as a noun phrase it has no hyphen: at the cutting edge of research.

অত্যাধুনিক

The new cancer hospital uses cutting-edge equipment to detect tumours at a very early stage.

An important discovery or development that solves a problem or opens up new possibilities, often after a long period of effort.

যুগান্তকারী অগ্রগতি বা আবিষ্কার

The development of mRNA vaccines was hailed as one of the great medical breakthroughs of the century.

The ability of computer systems to do tasks that normally need human intelligence, such as recognising speech, translating languages or making decisions; also the field that develops these systems.

কৃত্রিম বুদ্ধিমত্তা

Artificial intelligence tools can now analyse medical scans for early signs of disease in a matter of seconds.

A set of rules or instructions that a computer follows to solve a problem or make a decision, for example which posts to show you on social media. Adjective: algorithmic.

অ্যালগরিদম; কম্পিউটারের সিদ্ধান্ত নেওয়ার নির্দিষ্ট নিয়মের ধারা

Social media algorithms are designed to keep users scrolling by showing them content they are likely to react to.

To make a process or machine work by itself, using computers or machines instead of people. Noun: automation; adjective: automated.

স্বয়ংক্রিয় করা

Some garment factories have begun to automate cutting and sewing, which could threaten thousands of low-skilled jobs.

The state of becoming out of date and no longer used, because something newer has replaced it. Adjective: obsolete.

অপ্রচলন; সেকেলে বা অকেজো হয়ে যাওয়া

Critics accuse phone manufacturers of planned obsolescence: designing devices that slow down or stop receiving updates after a few years, so that customers have to replace them.

Seeming to be everywhere at the same time; extremely common. Noun: ubiquity.

সর্বব্যাপী; সব জায়গায় দেখা যায় এমন

Mobile phones have become ubiquitous in Bangladesh, from university campuses to village tea stalls.

So important or useful that you cannot manage without it.

অপরিহার্য

For many small online businesses in Bangladesh, Facebook pages and mobile payments have become indispensable.

Knowing a lot about modern technology, especially computers and the internet, and confident in using it. Fine in Speaking; in a formal essay, ‘digitally literate’ is safer.

প্রযুক্তিতে দক্ষ

Tech-savvy teenagers often help their parents and grandparents set up online banking apps.

The ability to connect to the internet or to other computers and devices, and the quality of that connection.

সংযোগ সুবিধা; ইন্টারনেট সংযোগের মান

Poor connectivity in rural areas made online classes almost impossible for many students during the pandemic.

The gap between people who have easy access to computers and the internet, and the skills to use them, and people who do not.

ডিজিটাল বৈষম্য

During school closures, the digital divide meant that children from poorer households fell even further behind.

The skills needed to find, judge, create and share information safely using digital technology. Adjective: digitally literate.

ডিজিটাল সাক্ষরতা

Teaching digital literacy in schools can help young people recognise fake news and online scams.

The buying and selling of goods and services online.

ই-কমার্স; অনলাইনে কেনাবেচা

E-commerce has grown rapidly in Bangladesh, although many shoppers still prefer to pay cash on delivery.

Services such as sending money, paying bills and saving that people use through a mobile phone, often without a bank account.

মোবাইল আর্থিক সেবা (এমএফএস)

Mobile financial services such as bKash allow garment workers to send part of their wages to their families in the villages within seconds.

Making sure that everyone, including poor and rural people, can use basic financial services such as payments, savings, loans and insurance.

আর্থিক অন্তর্ভুক্তি

Many economists credit mobile money with a dramatic improvement in financial inclusion in Bangladesh.

Not having a bank account or access to ordinary banking services. ‘The unbanked’ means people without bank accounts.

ব্যাংক অ্যাকাউন্ট নেই এমন; ব্যাংকিং সেবার বাইরে থাকা

Before mobile money arrived, millions of unbanked villagers relied on relatives or bus drivers to carry cash home from the cities.

Using cards, mobile apps or online transfers instead of coins and banknotes.

নগদবিহীন

Dhaka is still far from being a cashless city, but QR-code payments are becoming more common in shops and restaurants.

To jump past an earlier stage of development and go straight to a newer one.

ধাপ ডিঙিয়ে এগিয়ে যাওয়া

Bangladesh largely leapfrogged landline telephones: most people made their first phone call on a mobile.

The protection of computer systems, networks and data from attacks, theft and damage. Also written ‘cyber security’ in British English.

সাইবার নিরাপত্তা

The theft of 81 million US dollars from Bangladesh Bank’s account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 2016 exposed serious weaknesses in cybersecurity.

An incident in which private or sensitive information is stolen, leaked or seen by someone without permission.

তথ্য ফাঁস; তথ্য চুরি

After a major data breach, the names and ID numbers of millions of citizens were exposed online.

The right to keep your personal life and personal information to yourself, without other people watching or knowing about it. American pronunciation: /ˈpraɪvəsi/.

গোপনীয়তা; ব্যক্তিগত তথ্যের সুরক্ষা

Many users give up their privacy without realising it, simply by accepting an app’s terms and conditions.

The careful watching of people or places, especially by governments, the police or companies, using cameras or by tracking online activity.

নজরদারি

Supporters of CCTV argue that surveillance deters crime, while critics see it as a threat to civil liberties.

A type of online fraud in which criminals send fake messages or make calls pretending to be a trusted organisation, to trick people into revealing passwords, PINs or bank details.

ফিশিং; ভুয়া বার্তা বা কলের মাধ্যমে পাসওয়ার্ড বা পিন হাতিয়ে নেওয়ার প্রতারণা

Mobile money customers are regularly warned never to share their PIN, because phishing calls from fake ‘customer service agents’ are common.

False or inaccurate information, especially when it spreads widely. Disinformation is false information spread deliberately to deceive people.

ভুল তথ্য; অপতথ্য

During the pandemic, misinformation about fake cures and vaccines spread rapidly on social media.

Using the internet, social media or messages to threaten, embarrass or hurt someone, usually repeatedly.

সাইবার বুলিং; অনলাইনে হয়রানি বা উৎপীড়ন

Schools need clear policies on cyberbullying, because it follows victims home from the classroom.

Websites and apps such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok that people use to share content and communicate with each other.

সামাজিক যোগাযোগমাধ্যম

Social media has given ordinary citizens a powerful voice, but it has also made rumours much harder to control.

The amount of time a person spends looking at a phone, computer, television or other screen.

স্ক্রিনে কাটানো সময়

Doctors recommend limiting screen time for young children and keeping phones out of bedrooms at night.

Making people want to keep doing or using something so much that it is hard to stop. Things are addictive; people are addicted (to them). Noun: addiction.

আসক্তিকর; নেশা ধরানো

Features such as endless scrolling and autoplay make many apps deliberately addictive.

A situation, especially online, in which people only see opinions that match their own, so their existing beliefs are repeated and strengthened.

একই মতের বলয়; যেখানে কেবল নিজের মতের প্রতিধ্বনি শোনা যায়

Because algorithms show us content we already agree with, social media can trap users in an echo chamber.

(Of a video, image or post) to spread very quickly and widely on the internet as people share it. Adjective: viral (a viral video).

ভাইরাল হওয়া; দ্রুত ছড়িয়ে পড়া

A video of the flooded street went viral, putting pressure on the city corporation to clear the drains.

The length of time a person can concentrate on something before losing interest.

মনোযোগ ধরে রাখার সময়সীমা

Some teachers worry that short-form videos are shortening students’ attention spans.