[5th International Conference - Terminology – Heritage and ModernityTerminology, Tbilisi, Georgia, Oct. 6-7, 2026] Terminological, Lexicological and Pragmatic Analysis of PHP String Functions: str_contains() and str_replace()

Chidi Nnamdi Igwe, PhD 
Former Assistant Professor, University of Regina, Canada 
Communications Consultant, Government of Saskatchewan 
Email: [email protected]

Abstract

This paper examines selected PHP string functions as a specialized terminological domain, focusing on how technical concepts are named, structured, interpreted and operationalized in programming discourse. Using PHP documentation and the functions str_contains() and str_replace() as case studies, the analysis considers terms including string, contains, replace, needle, haystack, subject, case sensitivity, return value and boolean. These items appear transparent at first glance, yet they reveal complex relationships among lexical form, specialized concept and computational action.

From a terminological perspective, the study combines onomasiological and semasiological analysis to examine the relationship between computational concepts and their lexical realization. Onomasiologically, it considers how concepts such as containment, replacement, search targets and return values are named through function names and parameter labels. Semasiologically, it examines the specialized meanings acquired by terms such as string, needle, haystack, subject and replace in PHP discourse. From a lexicological perspective, the study considers semantic transparency, lexical economy, abbreviation, metaphor and the migration of ordinary-language items into technical usage. Terms such as needle, haystack and subject illustrate the relationship between terminological heritage and digital modernity: inherited lexical forms acquire specialized conceptual and operational meanings within programming. From a pragmatic perspective, the paper analyzes how naming conventions and documentation guide users toward particular actions, interpretations and expectations of output.

The paper argues that programming documentation constitutes a form of specialized discourse in which terminology does not merely describe operations but helps organize, perform and teach them. PHP string functions therefore provide a compact case study of how digital-era terminology combines precision, convention, usability and conceptual economy. By foregrounding onomasiological and semasiological term–concept–operation relations, the study contributes to terminology, lexicology, pragmatics, specialized discourse analysis, digital language studies and languages for special purposes.

Keywords: terminology, onomasiology, semasiology, lexicology, pragmatics, PHP, string functions, specialized discourse, languages for special purposes, onomasiology, semasiology