NationStates Jolt Archive

http://www.languagemonitor.com/

The Top Politically inCorrect Words and Phrases for 2005:

1. Misguided Criminals for Terrorist: The BBC attempts to strip away all emotion by using what it considers neutral descriptions when describing those who carried out the bombings in the London Tubes. The rub: the professed intent of these misguided criminals was to kill, without warning, as many innocents as possible (which is the common definition for the term, terrorist).

2. Intrinsic Aptitude (or lack thereof) was a suggestion by Lawrence Summers, the president of Harvard, on why women might be underrepresented in engineering and science. He was nearly fired for his speculation.

3. Thought Shower or Word Shower substituting for brainstorm so as not to offend those with brain disorders such as epilepsy.

4. Scum or "la racaille" for French citizens of Moslem and North African descent inhabiting the projects ringing French Cities. France's Interior Minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, used this most Politically inCorrect (and reprehensible) label to describe the young rioters (and by extension all the inhabitants of the Cites).

5. Out of the Mainstream when used to describe the ideology of any political opponent: At one time slavery was in the mainstream, thinking the sun orbited the earth was in the mainstream, having your blood sucked out by leeches was in the mainstream. What's so great about being in the mainstream?

6. Deferred Success as a euphemism for the word fail. The Professional Association of Teachers in the UK considered a proposal to replace any notion of failure with deferred success in order to bolster students self-esteem.

7. Womyn for Women to distance the word from man. This in spite of the fact that the term man in the original Indo-European is gender neutral (as have been its successors for some 5,000 years).

8. C.E. for A.D.: Is the current year A.D. 2005 or 2005 C.E.? There is a movement to strip A.D. (Latin for Year of our Lord) from the year designation used in the West since the 5th century and replace it with the supposedly more neutral Common Era (though the zero reference year for the beginning of the Common Era remains the year of Christs birth).

9. "God Rest Ye Merry Persons" for "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen": A Christmas, eh, Holiday, carol with 500 years of history is not enough to sway the Anglican Church at Cardiff Cathedral (Wales) from changing the original lyrics.

10. Banning the word Mate: the Department of Parliamentary Services in Canberra issued a general warning to its security staff banning the use of the word 'mate' in any dealings they might have with both members of the Parliament and the public. What next? banning Down Under so as not to offend those living in the Up Over.

3. Thought Shower or Word Shower substituting for brainstorm so as not to offend those with brain disorders such as epilepsy.
...I don't care what they have, it's just a word.

6. Deferred Success as a euphemism for the word fail. The Professional Association of Teachers in the UK considered a proposal to replace any notion of failure with deferred success in order to bolster students self-esteem.
Do you hear that? It's the sound of the world's smallest violin playing just for them.

People are too fucking sensitive.

7. Womyn for Women to distance the word from man. This in spite of the fact that the term man in the original Indo-European is gender neutral (as have been its successors for some 5,000 years).

That and the fact is that "woman" is derived from "man" in the history of the English language, anyway. Merely changing the spelling is pretty much useless.

http://www.languagemonitor.com/


6. Deferred Success as a euphemism for the word fail. The Professional Association of Teachers in the UK considered a proposal to replace any notion of failure with deferred success in order to bolster students self-esteem.
.
How the hell do you get a kid to try harder if you can't tell him he's failing?
Next thing ya know, doctors will call it "vital function impaired" instead of dead. :rolleyes:

Indeed, compared to many of the names I've been called, being told that I failed at something is quite merciful. Really, this crap is killing the Left like arsenic. So much energy trying to make a hopelessly flawed language less offensive when it could be spent doing something tangible.

That and the fact is that "woman" is derived from "man" in the history of the English language, anyway. Merely changing the spelling is pretty much useless.
It's like I always say. REAL women don't care what the hell you call them. It's the ugly ones that can't "get any" who get offended by it! ;)

Really, this crap is killing the Left like arsenic.
The left?
I think everyone but the extreme right, and the extreme left is pretty happily chopping away at offensiveness all over the place...

Indeed, compared to many of the names I've been called, being told that I failed at something is quite merciful. Really, this crap is killing the Left like arsenic. So much energy trying to make a hopelessly flawed language less offensive when it could be spent doing something tangible.
Yeah, like getting women back in the kitchen where they belong! :D

The left?
I think everyone but the extreme right, and the extreme left is pretty happily chopping away at offensiveness all over the place...
No, it's the center that realizes that it doesn't matter what ignorant people say. We have learned to ignore them. It's the extremes that want to mandate our speech and activities to us.

It's the extremes that want to mandate our speech and activities to us.
Like the BBC?

Wasn't there a time when the BBC pretty much defined the English language on its own?

Whoa, I dont see ' pwn ' or " boom headshot" WTF!?

Yeah, like getting women back in the kitchen where they belong!

Well, no, actually.

MATE!!!
Id always thought that when they wised up to the reference to god in the dates and changed it that the end would be near, but wow, this soon mate.
maaaaattte.thats steep mate, real steep just now

Whoa, I dont see ' pwn ' or " boom headshot" WTF!?

i was recently introduced to the "boom headshot" video. quite funny :)

:D Thanks Neu. *rollin*

I heard somebody use the word 'workpersonship' the other day...

Indeed, compared to many of the names I've been called, being told that I failed at something is quite merciful. Really, this crap is killing the Left like arsenic. So much energy trying to make a hopelessly flawed language less offensive when it could be spent doing something tangible.

Political Correctness has nothing to do with trying to clean up offensive language. It originated in Russia when Lenin was sealing the lid on communist control in the 20's. Mao Tse-Tung in China and the Communist Party USA both jumped on it when they saw how easily it was used to control thought and eliminate free expression.

It is implemented by putting psychological pressure on students to submit to the general line on all issues dealing with multiculturalism, race and feminism in order to create an atmosphere of coercion, thus silencing anyone who may question the defenders of tolerance. It in effect makes it a sin to make a judgement, yet those that practice it, most certainly reserve the right to judge you.

8. C.E. for A.D.: Is the current year A.D. 2005 or 2005 C.E.? There is a movement to strip A.D. (Latin for Year of our Lord) from the year designation used in the West since the 5th century and replace it with the supposedly more neutral Common Era (though the zero reference year for the beginning of the Common Era remains the year of Christs birth).

There was no 0 year. It went straight from 1 B.C. to 1 A.D. FYI.

It is also speculated that Jesus was born in the fall of 2 B.C.

...I don't care what they have, it's just a word.


Ha Ha Ha!!!!
We have to be careful now the word brain is not pc you may offend those whithout one
OMG im lacking a brain!! dont discriminate against the brainless

i was recently introduced to the "boom headshot" video. quite funny :)

www.purepwnage.com

It gets better.

It is implemented by putting psychological pressure on students to submit to the general line on all issues dealing with multiculturalism, race and feminism in order to create an atmosphere of coercion, thus silencing anyone who may question the defenders of tolerance.
Yeah, I read about that theory once...was some sort of radical neocon christian writer's idea. Along with "it turns universities into mini-north koreas" and so on.
So here goes to your patriotic anti-communist duty...niggers, the lot of them.

The left?
I think everyone but the extreme right, and the extreme left is pretty happily chopping away at offensiveness all over the place...

It's the extremists that decide to take offense at the common vernacular just so they can actually have something else to fight about...

I mean, it's only offensive if you deem it to be offensive. There are lots of names I've been called (quite a large variety came from this forum), but none of them really offended me because I chose not to be offended.

Those who can be offended need to be offended. It makes them think, and thats what offends them.

That's both funny and sad at the same time.

BTW ... leeches are still used, especially by special operations forces medics, to draw out infection via the anti-coagulant in their saliva. :p

Those who can be offended need to be offended. It makes them think, and thats what offends them.
LOL! Never heard it put quite that way before, but probably true. :D

10. Banning the word Mate: the Department of Parliamentary Services in Canberra issued a general warning to its security staff banning the use of the word 'mate' in any dealings they might have with both members of the Parliament and the public. What next? banning Down Under so as not to offend those living in the Up Over.


*gasp* That's like trying to ban the word "dude" from the California vocab. :rolleyes:


Personally, I think its fun to piss off PC-ish people. If they have such a hard time with some of the words I choose to use, well then I'm going to try even harder to use the words they don't like. :D

PC from British media

"Asian" - for Paki.

PS: I don't think using C.E for A.D and B.C.E for B.C is PC. I personally prefer using the CE and BCE and I am not a PC by any stretch.

It's not entirely related to the thread, but I went to see Chris Addison (English comedian) last night, and a large part of his act was based on Daily Mail readers and political correctness. Or rather, how DM readers always complain about political correctness. For example (imagine these said in an OTT home counties accent - for those unaware of what a home counties accent is, think uber-posh English) - 'Why do single mothers get to keep their kids, when I have to go all the way to Romania to buy mine...but I imagine that's not POLITICALLY CORRECT!'... Or 'I think we should just shoot all paedophiles...but I imagine that's not POLITICALLY CORRECT!'
Also imagine wild arm movements and facial contortions. Ok, you really had to be there.

PC from British media

"Asian" - for Paki.
Exactly what's wrong with calling people from Pakistan 'Pakis'? We call those from Afghanistan 'Afghans', those from Turkmenistan 'Turkmen', or 'Turkmenis', those from Kazakhstan 'Kazakhs', those from Uzbekistan 'Uzbeks', those from Kyrgyzstan 'Kyrgyz' or 'Kyrgyzstanis', those from Tajikistan 'Tajiks' or 'Tajikistanis'...

Those who can be offended need to be offended. It makes them think, and thats what offends them.

So very true. :D

As for the thread, thanks Neu. It was well worth the read :)

My favorite saying:

"Political Correctness offends me. Therefore, it is politically incorrect to be politically correct"

Exactly what's wrong with calling people from Pakistan 'Pakis'? We call those from Afghanistan 'Afghans', those from Turkmenistan 'Turkmen', or 'Turkmenis', those from Kazakhstan 'Kazakhs', those from Uzbekistan 'Uzbeks', those from Kyrgyzstan 'Kyrgyz' or 'Kyrgyzstanis', those from Tajikistan 'Tajiks' or 'Tajikistanis'...

latest example

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bradford/4451508.stm
Woman Pc shot on child's birthday

Eyewitnesses said an Asian man :rolleyes: and two black men armed with guns fired shots as they escaped with cash from the premises in Morley Street shortly after 1525 GMT.

I suppose the guy must be a Korean or a Laotian or a SriLankan or maybe a Papua New Guinean ?

Since this is Bradford (infested with Pakistani gangs), 10 dollar says he is Paki but the media won't say it. It will cloak it under this "Asian" or worse a "South Asian" identity.

Yeah, I read about that theory once...was some sort of radical neocon christian writer's idea. Along with "it turns universities into mini-north koreas" and so on.
So here goes to your patriotic anti-communist duty...niggers, the lot of them.

No actually it is from a professor of Russian studies in Aukland New Zealand. Not that it matters seeing how well you discredit yourself.

The Top Politically inCorrect Words and Phrases for 2005:

8. C.E. for A.D.: Is the current year A.D. 2005 or 2005 C.E.? There is a movement to strip A.D. (Latin for Year of our Lord) from the year designation used in the West since the 5th century and replace it with the supposedly more neutral Common Era (though the zero reference year for the beginning of the Common Era remains the year of Christs birth).
Where have these people been for the last few decades? They're meant to be monitoring the language and yet it's only in 2005 that they've noticed dates with 'CE'? Maybe next year they'll notice BCE as well.

http://www.languagemonitor.com/

The Top Politically inCorrect Words and Phrases for 2005:

1. Misguided Criminals for Terrorist: The BBC attempts to strip away all emotion by using what it considers neutral descriptions when describing those who carried out the bombings in the London Tubes. The rub: the professed intent of these misguided criminals was to kill, without warning, as many innocents as possible (which is the common definition for the term, terrorist).

I would think "guided criminals" would be a better description. A "misguided criminal" would have blown up an outhouse because of not getting the right directions.

3. Thought Shower or Word Shower substituting for brainstorm so as not to offend those with brain disorders such as epilepsy.
This is PC gone too far. Calls to the National Epillepsy Foundation showed that they didn't have any sort of association with brainstorming as a idea generating process and seizures.

6. Deferred Success as a euphemism for the word fail. The Professional Association of Teachers in the UK considered a proposal to replace any notion of failure with deferred success in order to bolster students self-esteem.
I'll have to remember this particular construction. Does this mean that the unemployed are "people in deferred employment status" or, because "death row" sounds so grim, they are going to change it to "deferred interment"?

7. Womyn for Women to distance the word from man. This in spite of the fact that the term man in the original Indo-European is gender neutral (as have been its successors for some 5,000 years).
I was actually thinking about this one the other day. According to M-W, the entymology is suppose to be from some Old English term for "wife man", but that doesn't really convey the gender neutrality. My guess is that it would have evolved something more like this:
At first, there was the term "man" for a generic human being word and someone wanted a separate term for a woman, so they came up with "man with a womb" or "womb-man", which was just shorted to "woman".

Exactly what's wrong with calling people from Pakistan 'Pakis'? We call those from Afghanistan 'Afghans', those from Turkmenistan 'Turkmen', or 'Turkmenis', those from Kazakhstan 'Kazakhs', those from Uzbekistan 'Uzbeks', those from Kyrgyzstan 'Kyrgyz' or 'Kyrgyzstanis', those from Tajikistan 'Tajiks' or 'Tajikistanis'...
None of the others are used as an insult. And don't ask for a logical reason why one should be an insult and the others using the same derivation not, as language isn't logical. Besides, I think the previous poster's point was about calling them Asian rather than saying their specific nationality (as the equivalent word Parkistani isn't regarded as an insult).