Query about using the Internet for historical-linguistic research

[yazan doughan]

Dear All,

I was wondering if anyone has used the internet as an archive to
investigate the emergence of certain terminology and/or the shifts in their
use over the years. I am looking into the history of certain terms that are
used in the discourse on Arab uprisings, trying to understand when certain
terms gained currency and how their semantic and pragmatic references
evolved. I have tried using Google search, but the results were far from
satisfactory since many results appeared to be much older than they really
are. Archive.org seems like a good resource, but it only allows you to see
earlier snap-shots of individual websites, so you cannot search for
instances of use of certain terms across several websites. My guess is that
there must be a simple way to do this kind of search, but I have no idea
what that might be. Would appreciate some tips and suggestions.

Many thanks!

Yazan Doughan

PhD. Candidate in Anthropology
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO