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7/16/2007 - Silly expressions

Posted in miscellaneous

Another entry about American English, about the use of the word community. I used to think it was funny when the Blues Brothers spoke of the "Illinois Law Enforcement Community", but I keep hearing this word used in the same sense in ever sillier ways, and yesterday on CNN I heard something that has turned me around. Someone spoke of the "Autism Community". Let that roll over your tongue a couple of times. Autism community, autism community. See? If you still find the expression acceptable now, please post a comment in which you define 'Autism community'.

Another expression I'd like to discuss is 'senior citizen'. I've noticed last week that even the English seem to use it now. Now, anyone, if someone ask you to describe the age group you're in, does anyone of you use the word citizen to indicate that you're under the age of 65? And why don't we call kids and teens 'junior citizens'? I'm sure that most expressions relating to people over 65 are offensive to these people, but shouldn't we look for a better thing to call them than senior 'citizens'? In Holland we just call them 'elders', and they seem to be OK with that. 
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7/16/2007 - Ha!

Posted by Fightingfemale

No more secretaries...they are 'administrative assistants'. Teachers aides are now 'paraprofessionals' where I live. Garbage men are 'sanitation engineers'. Housewifes are 'domestic engineers'. I was happy to hear a female on the radio say that she and her peers prefer the term mailman to the p.c. 'letter carrier'.

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7/16/2007 - In the same spirit

Posted by dutchboy

We call cleaning maids 'interior consultants', while the Germans call them 'flooring cosmeticians'

Mailman has actually long been by ultimate dreamjob, and in English I wouldn't want to be called anything but mailman if I were one. I'd still love to be a mailman, but from January we'll have more than one postal service delivering our mail, and in time professional mailmen are believed to be replaced by people who want to earn a little extra. I'm jealous of America in this matter. I have heard that the US Postal Service are the only ones even allowed to put anything in mailboxes. Over here every halfwit idiot can put anything in it they like.

Edited by dutchboy on 7/16/2007 at 3:27 PM

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7/17/2007 - G'day Dutchboy.

Posted by DAWNIE

fighting female was saying Garbage collectors are Sanitation engineers, where she lives. Over here in some circles they are called "Garbologists" but to many Aussies they are still the garbo's. I think this new age dream of upranking the name of the job you do is a lot of hokus pokus hot air. I clean an office block every Sunday and I'm just a cleaner with no glorified title that I know of.
But if America is finding fancy names for ordinary back breaking jobs you can bet our dear old land down under will follow sooner or later. Another interesting journal post, Dutchie. Love and (((Hugs))) From Dawnie :-)

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