Dr. Solri's Language Clinic
Wednesday, December 13th, 2006 12:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
robinturnerQ: Is it correct (politically or linguistically) to use people's names to refer to parts of the body or as insults? If so, should they still be capitalised?
A: The use of names such as Dick, Willy or Fanny to refer to parts of the body should in general be avoided in formal writing (such as academic papers and job applications) but is perfectly permissable in less formal contexts. Strictly speaking, these words are no longer proper nouns, so they do not need to be written with a capital letter, though usage is not consistent here. The use of such words as pejoratives can be insensitive, so it is advisable to find alternatives to describe obnoxious people; for example, "He's a real cheney."
Q: Why is it that in America a fanny is at the back, whereas in Britain it is at the front?
A: The two words are homonyms and have no etymological relationship. The British word is a contraction of "Fanny Hill", and is a bilingual pun on "mons veneris". The American version derives from an Iroquois word meaning "white man".
Q: What is the difference between asyndeton and a comma-splice?
A: When I use it, it's asyndeton, when you use it, it's a comma-splice.
Q: What is the difference between irony and sarcasm?
A: To quote Reginald Hill, irony is "sarcasm for posh folk."
Q: i am taking freshman english and i want to know is it ok to use smileys in my essays?
A: Absolutely. English teachers appreciate creative punctuation, and may even give extra credit for it ;-)
Q: Why does MLA style recommend underlining for emphasis rather than italics?
A: Probably because the Modern Languages Association is run by geriatrics who still use manual typewriters.
Q: Do Eskimos really have twenty words for snow?
A: First of all, you're not supposed to call them Eskimos. "Eskimo" is a Native Canadian word meaning "Dances with Seals", and Inuit generally disprefer this term, especially since there is some ambiguity in the verb. However, those natives of the Arctic circle who happen not to be Inuit are not keen on being called thusly, especially since in their language, "inuit" means "polar bear droppings". To answer your question, this is a linguistic myth: Inuit has only two words for snow, which translate roughly as "snow" and "more bloody snow". On the other hand, they do have twenty words for "anthropologist".
Q: What is the origin of the phrase "bitch slap"? Should it be hyphenated?
A: The term goes back at least to the sixteenth century, but was originally "bitch's lap" (probably as in "lapdog"). See, for example, "Fie on thee for a bitch's lap!" (Kyd, The Welsh Tragedy, 1581). Accordingly, it should not be hyphenated.
Q: I am British, and find American terms for ethnic and racial groups confusing. Which of the following should I use: Afro-American, African American, Black, person of color [sic], homeboy? And why are Hispanics not counted as White?
A: As a speaker of British English, it is best simply to refer to all US citizens as "Yanks".
A: The use of names such as Dick, Willy or Fanny to refer to parts of the body should in general be avoided in formal writing (such as academic papers and job applications) but is perfectly permissable in less formal contexts. Strictly speaking, these words are no longer proper nouns, so they do not need to be written with a capital letter, though usage is not consistent here. The use of such words as pejoratives can be insensitive, so it is advisable to find alternatives to describe obnoxious people; for example, "He's a real cheney."
Q: Why is it that in America a fanny is at the back, whereas in Britain it is at the front?
A: The two words are homonyms and have no etymological relationship. The British word is a contraction of "Fanny Hill", and is a bilingual pun on "mons veneris". The American version derives from an Iroquois word meaning "white man".
Q: What is the difference between asyndeton and a comma-splice?
A: When I use it, it's asyndeton, when you use it, it's a comma-splice.
Q: What is the difference between irony and sarcasm?
A: To quote Reginald Hill, irony is "sarcasm for posh folk."
Q: i am taking freshman english and i want to know is it ok to use smileys in my essays?
A: Absolutely. English teachers appreciate creative punctuation, and may even give extra credit for it ;-)
Q: Why does MLA style recommend underlining for emphasis rather than italics?
A: Probably because the Modern Languages Association is run by geriatrics who still use manual typewriters.
Q: Do Eskimos really have twenty words for snow?
A: First of all, you're not supposed to call them Eskimos. "Eskimo" is a Native Canadian word meaning "Dances with Seals", and Inuit generally disprefer this term, especially since there is some ambiguity in the verb. However, those natives of the Arctic circle who happen not to be Inuit are not keen on being called thusly, especially since in their language, "inuit" means "polar bear droppings". To answer your question, this is a linguistic myth: Inuit has only two words for snow, which translate roughly as "snow" and "more bloody snow". On the other hand, they do have twenty words for "anthropologist".
Q: What is the origin of the phrase "bitch slap"? Should it be hyphenated?
A: The term goes back at least to the sixteenth century, but was originally "bitch's lap" (probably as in "lapdog"). See, for example, "Fie on thee for a bitch's lap!" (Kyd, The Welsh Tragedy, 1581). Accordingly, it should not be hyphenated.
Q: I am British, and find American terms for ethnic and racial groups confusing. Which of the following should I use: Afro-American, African American, Black, person of color [sic], homeboy? And why are Hispanics not counted as White?
A: As a speaker of British English, it is best simply to refer to all US citizens as "Yanks".
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Date: 2006-12-13 10:29 am (UTC)Evil and awesome.
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Date: 2006-12-13 10:32 am (UTC)On your first point, I was once in Liverpool with my then husband visiting a rather interesting ecumenical clergyman. We arrived at his house, sat down, and were offered coffee, which we gratefully accepted after a rather awkward train journey. At this point, one of his parishioners walked in and announced: "John Thomas has just died."
It seems that the phrase "John Thomas" has no alternative bodily referent in Liverpool. We had all we could do to keep our faces straight. It was even worse when we were told that the dear departed was a Welshman who was originally called Ogwin John Thomas, but dropped the "Ogwin" when he moved to Liverpool, because he didn't want everyone calling him Oggy!
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Date: 2006-12-13 11:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-13 01:12 pm (UTC)guest post on Language Log.
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Date: 2006-12-13 10:06 pm (UTC)The women, prostitutes who work for the pimps are reffered to as "bitches"
and these women would get slapped pretty hard if they weren't out making money for the pimp
So when you smack someone VERY hard, as if they had owed you money
it's reffered to as a "Bitch Slap"
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Date: 2006-12-13 10:10 pm (UTC)also
Q: And why are Hispanics not counted as White?
A: Racism, god forbid you group Hispanics (which technically includes central and south americans) with european "whites"
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Date: 2006-12-15 10:48 am (UTC)On our side of the pond, "Hispanic" means "to do with Spain", so if it were used as an ethnic term, it would probably include anyone whose native language is Spanish, including most of the population of Spain, who are definitely White in racial terms. In practice, we generally don't use it as an ethnic term, though, and certainly would never use it as a noun. The same goes for "Caucasian", which to us usually means "something to do with the Caucasus region" (the racial term "Caucasoid", roughly meaning "White", has pretty much passed out of common usage).
Of course ethnic terminology in British English is not without its confusion and silliness. During the 1980s, there was a move in left-wing circles to classify anyone who wasn't White as Black, including Asians. (In the UK, "Asian" generally means "from the Indian subcontinent", not "from the Far Esat".) Most immigrants from India and Pakistan were decidedly unhappy about this.