Fjool Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 I hate it when children are called kids, which are baby goats. I dont want either for xmas! I think 'kid' comes from the German 'kinder'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Styles Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 Makes kinder eggs make more sense. Now all I need is an old battery hen shed and fill it with children and volia piles of kinder eggs. I say battery hen as the toys are allways such poor quality. Mabey if i have them free range you might get better toys? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjool Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 ...some sharn... Meh, don't I bleat on pointlessly or what? I've dragged it all off-topic again. Please ignore. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Styles Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 I want it to snow so I get snowed in and cant go to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifi Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 The reason 'mall' is a better word is because it is a word, not two. My argument is intended to hilight (sic) the fact that our version of English is not perfect, so why not adopt the parts which suit and leave those that do not? It would be foolish to adhere to a 'no American words' rule when some of them work well.I'm not advocating a strict 'no American words' rule, nor I am denying or decrying the use of words from other languages which have become part of the English language. If you, as a writer or poet, > wish to choose 'lift' over 'elevator' or 'mall' over 'shopping centre', then that's your prerogative. Part of my point is that the names for objects or traditions like those mentioned have started to be used to replace our own ones. 'Trick or treat' for Halloween guising, mall for shopping centre, etc. For what purpose? I remember reading a letter in the early sixties to my big sister from her American penpal. In it she enthused about a new craze - sidewalk surfing. Of course, this became known as skateboarding - an American word we adopted because we didn't have anything like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifi Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 ...some sharn... Meh, don't I bleat on pointlessly or what? I've dragged it all off-topic again. Please ignore. Thanks Meh. That makes two of us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjool Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 But we didn't have a good alternative to 'mall'. 'Shopping center' is not a good alternative - it's a clumsy alternative which people only seem to use because, damnit, it's just not British to say 'mall'. I am not a great fan of the concept of such places in general, but 'mall' will do to describe them. It's not as if 'mall' gets used for anything else and 'mall' has a kind of manky, cloying sound to it; tinged with the whinging of children and a sullen resignation that one is about to spend money on rubbish. 'Shopping center', on the other hand, is just functional. As for 'trick or treat' well, as far as I know, the whole Halloween guising thing is American. It's a bit pedantic to get fussed over what it's called. At least 'Trick or Treat' is catchy. "Now children. Let us commence our 'Halloween Guising' activities". I'm not advocating deliberate replacement, just not fussed if some other terms do replace. Trying to preserve the English language is like nailing jelly to the ceiling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifi Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 But we didn't have a good alternative to 'mall'. 'Shopping center' is not a good alternative - it's a clumsy alternative which people only seem to use because, damnit, it's just not British to say 'mall'. I am not a great fan of the concept of such places in general, but 'mall' will do to describe them. It's not as if 'mall' gets used for anything else and 'mall' has a kind of manky, cloying sound to it; tinged with the whinging of children and a sullen resignation that one is about to spend money on rubbish. 'Shopping center', on the other hand, is just functional..Meh. You say tomato, I say tomato... > As for 'trick or treat' well, as far as I know, the whole Halloween guising thing is American. It's a bit pedantic to get fussed over what it's called. At least 'Trick or Treat' is catchy. "Now children. Let us commence our 'Halloween Guising' activities".Erm, we started it, not the Americans. They adopted it as 'Trick or Treat'. While the English didn't particularly celebrate Halloween , the more Celtic areas of the UK have traditionally done so. As a child in Scotland we talked about 'going guising' which meant guising at Halloween. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjool Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 Hmm... ok. Fair enough. I knew that Halloween as a festival is pagan, but wasn't aware that the guising part was originally part of that same tradition. We always went guising on New Year's eve instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squintpinkies Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 i know some people go guising (as in dress up for it) at new year but we've tended just to go "first footing" where you dont dress up, but you would make sure that my elder brother, being tall and dark haired would go through the door of whoevers house first, for good luck.whereas at halloween its more guising with the dressing up part Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeMascus Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 With all this mall talk, I was using to word as an allusion to the Americanization of British culture, which I believe is partly responsible for the consumerization of Christmas. It is not a word I would use at all if not in this context. "The one stream of poetry which is continually flowing is slang." - G. K. Chesterton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifi Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 With all this mall talk, I was using to word as an allusion to the Americanization of British culture, which I believe is partly responsible for the consumerization of Christmas. It is not a word I would use at all if not in this context. "The one stream of poetry which is continually flowing is slang." - G. K. ChestertonPah! It's all your fault! > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeMascus Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 Yes, I felt a bit guilty stoking the flames of anti-americanism in this thread. It just isn't in the spirit if Christmas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Inky Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 But we didn't have a good alternative to 'mall'. 'Shopping center' is not a good alternative - it's a clumsy alternative which people only seem to use because, damnit, it's just not British to say 'mall'. It's "shopping centre", not "shopping center". Bloody Americanisms... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Njugle Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 ^ true and well said^ Ahem;What does everyone want for Christmas??? Threads that stay on topic and Users that start new threads to progress new tangents in their conversations. And snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.