Although most segments of the American workforce now recognize that computers can reduce the drudgery of repetitive tasks and lighten the burden of information exchange, storage, and retrieval, some people, especially many humanists, social scientists, and other non-technically oriented professionals, remain hesitant to step into the computer age. Computer use is often avoided because the unfamiliar and unpleasant terminology is intimidating to many people, and because the way that language is used to compare people and computers alienates them. A 1982 survey of the English Department at Michigan Technological University showed minimal computer usage. Five years later, however, another survey indicated much more usage, an increase in positive attitudes about computers, and a decrease in negative attitudes. These changes, reflected throughout the nation, can be attributed to many factors, including increased exposure and access to computers, the deliberate lessening of linguistic barriers, changes in cultural attitudes, and the intense integration of computers into the field of technical writing. (Seventeen references are appended.) (MS)