Tag: Language

I was cleaning the litterbox the other day while our kitten sat nearby and supervised. It was, shall we say, a messy job. “Oh my God, Captain Poopypants!” I exclaimed as I filled my scoop. (No, her name isn’t Poopypants, and no, she wasn’t in the least bit ashamed of herself.) Immediately, a thought popped into my mind: But I can’t call her ‘Captain’; she’s a girl!

And then I punched myself in the face.

We all love to say we’re not sexist, but sometimes our unconscious biases spill out in our writing. This was a classic example; me for a second wondering how a female could be captain of anything. Duh.

Here are a few other ways in which our words betray our non-conscious sex and gender biases:

• Calling women ‘girls’, especially if they work for you or perform lower-paying jobs like housekeeping or secretarial work. “I’ll have my girl call your girl”. Um . . . your ‘girl’ is 42 and has grown kids . . . .
• Using a woman’s first name while referring to men by their last. “John Donovan, Miguel Santos, and Charlene were at the meeting.” Surely you mean ‘Ms. Thornhill’!
• Referring to women as ‘females’. “What are all these females so upset about?” ‘Female’ is a biological term. Outside of medical or scientific situations regarding humans, the term is usually applied to animals. Who wants to be defined by their sex organs and chromosomes?
• ‘Lady doctor’ and ‘male nurse’. We often make assumptions about the sex of a person in certain professions, so we feel we have to loudly announce when that person doesn’t belong to the gender we expect. How terribly 80s of us. How ‘bout we stop?
• “Professor’s Wife Murdered”. I’ll never forget that newspaper headline; it actually caused quite an outcry from women’s groups. With all this woman must have achieved in her life, and the tragedy that she’d lost it, why was she reduced to the context of her relationship with a man? Why not “Science Teacher Murdered”? Why not “Runner-up in Art Competition Murdered”? She was more than a wife, no?

I’m not a huge advocate of completely unsexing the English language, and don’t care for newly created terms that disguise or eliminate gender altogether, but I do think we should keep our radar on when we write. The relationship between the genders is already fraught with tension. Why add to it?

Can you think of any more examples? Put them in the comments and let’s talk.

I spotted this poster on a wall at the mall and just had to take a photo. It’s a common mistake; you see it everywhere. No eating and drinking. The ticklish bit here is the ‘and’. Do they mean that you aren’t allowed to do both in their store at the same time? That if you’re eating and not drinking, it’s okay, or if you’re drinking but not eating, it’s fine, just don’t do both?

Sometimes you even see: No smoking, eating and drinking.  No cell phones and cameras. No vending and soliciting.

I know everyone understands what the sign says. I know I’m being a bit nit-picky, but I am what I am. Up to me, I’d use ‘or’, so it’s clear that none of these activities is acceptable. Even if you’re only doing one of them.

I’ve done my part. Now it’s your turn. Leave a comment below.

True, but a ‘kid’ is also a juvenile human creature—quite often annoying, but let’s not go there. I know it’s standard use in America, but here in the Caribbean, you’d be surprised how many people will fight you down to the ground if you use the word ‘kid’ to mean child. I have had people send back my work with the word ‘kid’ circled in red with the witty, original, and utterly-never-heard-before comment, “You mean a baby goat?”

Oh, grow up. As an editor I get paid to be nit-picky about language, but as a person in possession of a working brain and a functional concept of how languages work, I also reside on this planet, and I have two points to make.

1. Language is alive. Just like you and me: It is born, it grows, it matures, it changes, and it will eventually die. A few years ago the word ‘selfie’ didn’t exist. Or ‘blog’ or ‘vlog’ or ‘twerk’ . . . or dozens more.  They were created to fill a need. Also, words we consider “proper” English had different meanings in earlier times. We use the word ‘slut’ today to mean a woman with low sexual values, but it originally meant a dirty and unkempt woman. The word ‘nice’ originally meant foolish or stupid; now it has morphed into the wishy-washy non-word we all know and love. The meaning of words changes.
2. I first heard the word ‘kid’ back in the 60’s, on Sesame Street. When I was a kid myself. It dates back more than 100 years. And as far as I’m concerned, if a word has been around so long, it’s earned its stripes.

So, if you feel strongly about it,  you can type ‘children’ until your hands hurt, but if I choose to do otherwise, there’s no need to get all up on my back about it, ‘kay?

Comments and questions, guys. Let’s talk it through!

Oh . . . wait . . . sorry. I meant to compliment them. ‘Complement’ and ‘compliment’ are often confused, but easy to tell apart, if you look hard enough.

‘Complement’ with an E means to be a harmonious addition to something. For example, white wine is a great complement to a fish dinner. Colours and angles can also be complementary, in that they complete or enhance each other.

On the other hand, ‘compliment’ with an I means to give positive feedback, as in a lot of people have paid me some very nice compliments about my Scribble Pad posts.

‘Complimentary’ also means an extension of courtesy or good manners . . . and it implies that something is free of charge.  So when you’re invited to a fete where the drinks are ‘complimentary’ it means you don’t have to pay for them . . . your rum and Coke will not tell you how well your dress goes with your shoes.

Wait! You aren’t leaving without leaving a comment, are you?

He’s continually pissing on my boundary wall. But it’s a good thing he doesn’t piss continuously, or he’d be dead.

Let me explain. A continuous action is one that doesn’t cease, like the waves on the ocean, rolling and rolling. Big Ben has been ticking continuously since 1859 (except maybe when they change batteries, but you know what I mean.)

Continually refers to an action that has a start and a finish, which happens over and over, but doesn’t go on uninterrupted. So this guy next door, he peed on my wall last night, zipped up and walked away. Tonight, he’ll probably do the same thing. Continual, right?

And I continuously hate his guts.

What do you think? Leave a comment and let’s talk.