Speaking of what someone determines are now unusable words, I am going to continue to use the word "slave" and not substitute "enslaved". Each word is valid and has its place. It drives me nuts that some people feel the need to make such rulings, but whatever.
This octogenarian remembers when the courts decided that there was redeeming artistic value in D. H. Lawrence's novel so we could buy the book and read those four-letter words that caused such moral distress. Must say the current outrage caused by "racist" language strikes me as misguided.
A recent observation: some time ago Google algorithms put on my YouTube channel an interview with Walter Mosley. He related that he was asked once if he had ever been stopped by the police for no reason. He said he had been, more than once. On one occasion he asked the officer why he was stopped,. The response was "I stop a Nigger walking in a Paddy neighborhood and I stop a Paddy walking in a Nigger neighborhood because nine times out of ten they're up to no good." He was immediately reprimanded by Human Resources for the using the N-word in a work environment. I have not been able to find that video on YouTube again to identify the date or place and assume it has been removed for unacceptable content.
The question in my mind is why did "Paddy" elicit no reprimand? Is the answer that Human Resources personnel are too young and ignorant of history? We are beset by a hopelessly emotional impulse for redemption that has no idea that we must be shriven of a basic human instinct for self preservation. Oh dear. Time for me to have a cup of tea.
“Knocked up” isn’t racist, but it is quite rude, mainly because it emphasizes the male role in creating the condition rather than the situation of the woman who is in that condition.
I was in a car accident in Israel in 1979 and spent several months in traction. My mother came to visit me and found the brother of the driver who caused the accident visiting me too. They wanted to chat. The problem was he only spoke Hebrew and she only English. Mom got a travelers' phrase book and the two of them started to quiz each other. Mom asked the young man "What is litfok ba-delet" and he responded "Fuck the Door" since in Hebrew litfok is knock as in knock on a door or have sex (and sometimes to screw someone on a deal). This didn't endear him to my mom, but I married him anyway.
P.S. Yorkshire pudding is probably what fell in the oven in this week's episode. It's very temperamental.
What about - gravid(a)? Mening heavy/burdened. In my language, Norwegian, that is the standard word for this specific condition. I do remmeber that in movies from the 50íes - there was amore discreet term - she was in happy sircumstances. Now couples tend to say - we are pregnent - which I find strangely curious. We?
Does the "kn" and "gn" combo in English ("k" and "g" are the same consonant except for voicing) have anything to do with the fact that the past participle in German and forms of Old English starts with "ge"?
Is "Knocked Up" Racist?
Speaking of what someone determines are now unusable words, I am going to continue to use the word "slave" and not substitute "enslaved". Each word is valid and has its place. It drives me nuts that some people feel the need to make such rulings, but whatever.
This octogenarian remembers when the courts decided that there was redeeming artistic value in D. H. Lawrence's novel so we could buy the book and read those four-letter words that caused such moral distress. Must say the current outrage caused by "racist" language strikes me as misguided.
A recent observation: some time ago Google algorithms put on my YouTube channel an interview with Walter Mosley. He related that he was asked once if he had ever been stopped by the police for no reason. He said he had been, more than once. On one occasion he asked the officer why he was stopped,. The response was "I stop a Nigger walking in a Paddy neighborhood and I stop a Paddy walking in a Nigger neighborhood because nine times out of ten they're up to no good." He was immediately reprimanded by Human Resources for the using the N-word in a work environment. I have not been able to find that video on YouTube again to identify the date or place and assume it has been removed for unacceptable content.
The question in my mind is why did "Paddy" elicit no reprimand? Is the answer that Human Resources personnel are too young and ignorant of history? We are beset by a hopelessly emotional impulse for redemption that has no idea that we must be shriven of a basic human instinct for self preservation. Oh dear. Time for me to have a cup of tea.
Regarding gnaw, there's another very good musical example by Michael Flanders and Donald Swan about the gnu.
Thanks for the show. It gives me a great deal of pleasure. And season's greetings to you and all your audients.
“Knocked up” isn’t racist, but it is quite rude, mainly because it emphasizes the male role in creating the condition rather than the situation of the woman who is in that condition.
I was in a car accident in Israel in 1979 and spent several months in traction. My mother came to visit me and found the brother of the driver who caused the accident visiting me too. They wanted to chat. The problem was he only spoke Hebrew and she only English. Mom got a travelers' phrase book and the two of them started to quiz each other. Mom asked the young man "What is litfok ba-delet" and he responded "Fuck the Door" since in Hebrew litfok is knock as in knock on a door or have sex (and sometimes to screw someone on a deal). This didn't endear him to my mom, but I married him anyway.
P.S. Yorkshire pudding is probably what fell in the oven in this week's episode. It's very temperamental.
What about - gravid(a)? Mening heavy/burdened. In my language, Norwegian, that is the standard word for this specific condition. I do remmeber that in movies from the 50íes - there was amore discreet term - she was in happy sircumstances. Now couples tend to say - we are pregnent - which I find strangely curious. We?
Does the "kn" and "gn" combo in English ("k" and "g" are the same consonant except for voicing) have anything to do with the fact that the past participle in German and forms of Old English starts with "ge"?
Jealous of the Brother’s K reading...I did hear Molly’s soliloquy on Bloom’s day with my wife. Barry McGovern if anyone knows him.
https://youtu.be/eOBoKxEcVAA
Is the bonus bit coming later? Thanks