My take on the thing is that language evolved more-or-less simultaneously in numerous communities around the world (whatever "world" consisted of), concurrent with migration from whatever was the source community of "us". Since I'm just rambling here, I'll shut up about it and move on.
Another useful term is "oslexia" -- referring to the difficulties in switching between various OS's (operating systems). A command in one system may mean something entirely different in another system. I suggest the term "pernicious oslexia" for the instances where an innocuous command in one system is disastrous in another. Stan Kelly-Bootle has dealt well with the subject of oslexia; my exposure to his writings on the matter has been through his column in Unix Review, renamed Performance Computing in recent years.
If you like this page, you might be elated with the Dictionary of Modern Office Terminology.
Drop me a note at ebear@zianet.com (Eric Bear Albrecht)
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