| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | Offensive language Thread poster: Tom in London
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:46
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
Ice Scream wrote:
Looks like your complaint has fallen on deaf ears, Tom. I don’t think the forums are of any interest to ProZ any more. It’s all about the Facebook group (which I wasn’t allowed to join, being such a subversive).
So perhaps you need to get in touch with the Chief directly rather than waiting around for the Indians.
The Facebook group is run by He Who Shall Not Be Named.
| | | | Arianne Farah 
Canada
Local time: 10:46
Member (2008)
English to French
| I agree it should be renamed | Nov 29, 2021 |
In the same way I don't use 'gypped' or 'shanghaied', I wouldn't use 'powwow'.
Some terms have become so common, they've lost their bite (I'm thinking of you, 'scotch tape'), but powwow is not a term I would use in the normal course of things, and it would definitely raise some eyebrows here in Canada.
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:46
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
Arianne Farah wrote:
In the same way I don't use 'gypped' or 'shanghaied', I wouldn't use 'powwow'.
Some terms have become so common, they've lost their bite (I'm thinking of you, 'scotch tape'), but powwow is not a term I would use in the normal course of things, and it would definitely raise some eyebrows here in Canada.
The tape thing would only be offensive if it were "Scottish Tape" and if there were something objectionable in relating Scottishness to tape.
OR
if it were "Scotch Whisky Tape" and if there were something objectionable in relating Scotch Whisky to tape.
Just thought I'd point that out as a neat way to (hopefully) close this thread.
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Tom, if you can think you can close this thread with a split infinitive and wanton misuse of the word “hopefully”, think again.
Much umbrage could be taken around these parts over the verb “to welsh” (renege), perpetuated by the bastard English who continue to wage their war of attrition on my country’s culture, language, communities, industry and natural resources, yes a full 700 years of hurt, but, you know, it’s historical, it’s not personal and it’s entirely poss... See more Tom, if you can think you can close this thread with a split infinitive and wanton misuse of the word “hopefully”, think again.
Much umbrage could be taken around these parts over the verb “to welsh” (renege), perpetuated by the bastard English who continue to wage their war of attrition on my country’s culture, language, communities, industry and natural resources, yes a full 700 years of hurt, but, you know, it’s historical, it’s not personal and it’s entirely possible to just get over it. ▲ Collapse
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Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 10:46
Japanese to English
+ ...
| Offensive language | Nov 30, 2021 |
People are becoming more and more alert to defamatory language. Now, in France, gypsies are no longer "les tsigane" but "les gens du voyage" (the traveling people). Par consequent, those time-honored cigarettes, Gitanes, are now known as "les cigarettes du voyage".
| | | | | Powwow according ... | Nov 30, 2021 |
... the American Heritage Dictionary, Longman the New Oxford American Dictionary Oxford and Collins, yes, but what about the native people themselves: Do they really feel offended when this word is used in a very di... See more ... the American Heritage Dictionary, Longman the New Oxford American Dictionary Oxford and Collins, yes, but what about the native people themselves: Do they really feel offended when this word is used in a very different context, to express something quite similar, but in a non-offensive tone? Hadn't we already discussed the use of borrowed words recently and when a language is going to die out? Doesn't this (and other) word(s) help to keep up the awareness for these native nations? Anybody here who belongs to the Sioux, Apache, Comanche, who could clarify this issue? ▲ Collapse
| | | | esperantisto
Local time: 17:46
Member (2006)
English to Russian
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER | Suggestion: talaka | Nov 30, 2021 |
My suggestion: let’s use the word ‘talaka’ (stressed on the last syllable). It means something like ‘a gathering to do a big work’ in Belarusian. I’m pretty sure no Belarusian will be offended
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Arianne Farah wrote:
In the same way I don't use 'gypped' or 'shanghaied', I wouldn't use 'powwow'.
Some terms have become so common, they've lost their bite (I'm thinking of you, 'scotch tape'), but powwow is not a term I would use in the normal course of things, and it would definitely raise some eyebrows here in Canada.
If you don't like the term powwow, nobody's forcing you to use it. But telling other people what words they should use seems kind of authoritarian to me.
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:46
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER | The point is..... | Nov 30, 2021 |
Gerard Barry wrote: Arianne Farah wrote:
In the same way I don't use 'gypped' or 'shanghaied', I wouldn't use 'powwow'.
Some terms have become so common, they've lost their bite (I'm thinking of you, 'scotch tape'), but powwow is not a term I would use in the normal course of things, and it would definitely raise some eyebrows here in Canada.
If you don't like the term powwow, nobody's forcing you to use it. But telling other people what words they should use seems kind of authoritarian to me.
...that Proz uses it as part of its standard terminology and as a company based in a part of upstate New York where many Native Americans continue to live, I am really surprised and quite concerned. Isn't it time to find a better name for these in-person meetings between translators?
[Edited at 2021-11-30 10:02 GMT]
| | | | | My suggestion: | Nov 30, 2021 |
Tom in London wrote: Isn't it time to find a better name for these in-person meetings between translators?
Poker table (who in this round will tell her/his true price, name her/his customers, whether she/he uses DeepL and how to evaluate the work of your colleague sitting next to you next time in front of the same agency you both work for*).
* but only you know that
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:46
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER | My suggestion | Nov 30, 2021 |
"Pretending to be friendly whilst sizing up any potential competitors working in the same language pair"
Potential name for these get-togethers: "Oh Wow!"
[Edited at 2021-11-30 12:25 GMT]
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Tom in London wrote: Gerard Barry wrote: Arianne Farah wrote:
In the same way I don't use 'gypped' or 'shanghaied', I wouldn't use 'powwow'.
Some terms have become so common, they've lost their bite (I'm thinking of you, 'scotch tape'), but powwow is not a term I would use in the normal course of things, and it would definitely raise some eyebrows here in Canada.
If you don't like the term powwow, nobody's forcing you to use it. But telling other people what words they should use seems kind of authoritarian to me. ...that Proz uses it as part of its standard terminology and as a company based in a part of upstate New York where many Native Americans continue to live, I am really surprised and quite concerned. Isn't it time to find a better name for these in-person meetings between translators? [Edited at 2021-11-30 10:02 GMT]
I'd consider powwow to be a sort of loan word adopted into the English language after the initial contact between white people and natives in North America centuries ago. I fail to see what could be offensive about it. In any case, people are offended all the time about something. It's hardly a reason to rewrite the dictionary.
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:46
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER | That is precisely the problem | Nov 30, 2021 |
Gerard Barry wrote:
..... I fail to see what could be offensive about it.....
| | | | MollyRose
United States
Local time: 09:46
English to Spanish
+ ...
| each person has a choice | Nov 30, 2021 |
Per Gerard Barry (and many people everywhere), "People are offended all the time about something. It's hardly a reason to rewrite the dictionary."
Exactly.
Of course, some people hurl insults on purpose, there are words that are intended to offend, and tone of voice usually indicates the speaker's intention; however, for the most part, no offense is intended. It is also up to the hearers to decide how to respond (no matter what the speaker's intent might be), not accord... See more Per Gerard Barry (and many people everywhere), "People are offended all the time about something. It's hardly a reason to rewrite the dictionary."
Exactly.
Of course, some people hurl insults on purpose, there are words that are intended to offend, and tone of voice usually indicates the speaker's intention; however, for the most part, no offense is intended. It is also up to the hearers to decide how to respond (no matter what the speaker's intent might be), not according to how others think they should. We all have a free will to ignore or react in a positive or negative manner to everything.
Anybody can ignore an obvious offense, allowing it to roll off like water off a duck's back, as the saying goes. Or they can choose to be angry if somebody wishes them well or says something good. Nobody can please all the people all the time. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mr. Satan (X)
English to Indonesian
| Indeedy doodle do | Dec 1, 2021 |
MollyRose wrote:
Or they can choose to be angry if somebody wishes them well or says something good.
Merry Christmas!
[angry mob noises]
Uh... Happy Holiday?
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