-
4 votes
-
A brief overview of popular slang of the 1920s in the US
2 votes -
Are there any gender-neutral or non-binary honorifics?
I've been thinking a good bit about gender-neutral language lately, and I've been making an effort to eliminate unnecessarily gendered language from my day-to-day speech. However, there are a few...
I've been thinking a good bit about gender-neutral language lately, and I've been making an effort to eliminate unnecessarily gendered language from my day-to-day speech. However, there are a few sticking points for me that I am having a hard time with finding my way around. One of the most difficult for me, having been brought up in the deep south and still living there, are honorifics like "sir" and "ma'am". I use these when addressing pretty much anyone, and it's a habit I'm having a hard time breaking. It's got me thinking about whether there are any good alternatives that would feel respectful of the person I'm addressing while not sticking out too much. If that's not an option (and I suspect it would be asking too much) then what are your ideal alternatives, either neologisms, borrowed from other languages, or just repurposed words that are in current use?
Examples of usage that I would love to replace:
"Yes, sir/No, ma'am"
"Excuse me, sir/ma'am"
"Mr./Mrs./Ms." (I use this less often but still catch myself at times. I also think this one has the best alternative currently in use, with Mx. catching on in some places)Also, if this question is missing the mark or disrespectful in any way, please let me know. I'm still learning!
21 votes -
Why is the shape (❤) called a heart? And why is biological heart called a heart as well?
4 votes -
Replacing ableist and mental health exclusive language (crazy, insane, whack, ...)
Vernacular mental health terms are used in everyday language as a nonspecific indicator of extreme value judgement or deviation from an expectation or norm. Examples of words include 'crazy',...
Vernacular mental health terms are used in everyday language as a nonspecific indicator of extreme value judgement or deviation from an expectation or norm. Examples of words include 'crazy', 'cray', 'insane', 'whack', 'mental', and 'retarded'. I think we can criticise the language on numerous grounds:
- It normalises poor mental health as something extreme or atypical
- Where the language is used to connote a negative value judgement (example 3) it reinforces the association that "poor mental health" = "bad"
- It can be triggering to people with mental health issues because of the way they are or their condition is perceived or because of experiences they have had
- It can be imprecise, in the sense that there are often more contextually appropriate words to describe the specific quality being discussed
Examples:
- "This new track from Lone is insane!" -- positive use cf. 'extremely good'
- "I can't believe Tesla bought all that BTC, that's insane!" -- neutral use, no value or ethical judgement, observing deviation from typical or expected behaviour cf. 'unexpected'
- "Trump is fucking insane" -- negative use cf. 'extremely bad'
Some alternatives:
- 'wild' -- I use this particularly for positive and neutral connotations
- 'ridiculous' -- for the negative connotation
- Something more specific to the context, e.g. "Trump is fucking evil", or "This new track is banging", or "I had a hectic morning" instead of "I had a crazy morning"
Questions:
- Why has 'retarded' faced so much backlash and fallen out of acceptable usage, but other terms like 'crazy' have not?
- Are the criticisms valid and do they apply to all of the examples? Are there more grounds to criticise this language on that I have not listed?
- Are there other ways the language is used which is not covered in the examples?
- What alternatives do you use?
- Is use of crazy/insane/mental/... common in non-English languages? If not, what is used instead?
Thanks for your input! 🙏
36 votes -
What does "performative" mean?
Judith Butler has some influential pieces that talk about performative or performativity. I see online lots of people seem to think there's no difference between "performance" and "performative"....
Judith Butler has some influential pieces that talk about performative or performativity.
I see online lots of people seem to think there's no difference between "performance" and "performative".
So, in philosophy, what do theyean when they say performative?
7 votes -
Disney brought its streaming service to Iceland last year – the country's education minister has sent a letter of complaint over the lack of Icelandic dubbing and subtitling
5 votes -
Denmark sermons law could stifle free worship, warns Church of England bishop – Robert Innes says proposed translation law could affect religious freedoms across Europe
13 votes -
Molotov - Frijolero (2003)
5 votes -
Lous and The Yakuza: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert (2021)
5 votes -
Jacques Brel - Ne me quitte pas (1959)
5 votes -
Salami slicing
6 votes -
Have you ever found a word from a 'fictionary' to be actually good at describing something?
A fictionary is a social-experiment-dictionary where people come up with new words to describe the (mostly) emotions people feel where current ones fail. Someone here said they had a dead...
A fictionary is a social-experiment-dictionary where people come up with new words to describe the (mostly) emotions people feel where current ones fail.
Someone here said they had a dead reckoning after her mother died the same way her grandma did (from cancer at her 50s) and realizing she (I think) might die the same way.
I've personally used anemoia (nostalgia for a time you weren't around for) as a way to describe me whenever I wish I was 15-35 years older or associate the time period of the 80s to mid 2000s with optimism, near total lack of mental health issues, techno-utopianism and "the end of history".
8 votes -
How do you convey emotions in text?
It's something I've struggled for a long time to do in text conversations. People will often think I'm mad when talking in a way that I think is perfectly normal or that I'm a brick wall while...
It's something I've struggled for a long time to do in text conversations. People will often think I'm mad when talking in a way that I think is perfectly normal or that I'm a brick wall while discussing disagreements and well, that can't be fun. I often have to reassure certain people that it's not the case.
Sometimes I try to show how I'm feeling through emotions or more "fluffy" language but I feel like that's too excessive and feels kinda fake to me?
It's also something I've more recently struggled with because I'm trying to write personally on my blog and I'm not exactly sure how to convey my feelings other than stating it like a robot like "This makes me mad" or "That's depressing" or "It makes me feel great".
It feels off to me and maybe it's just a me problem but I think that's also because I write the same way I speak and so, it just sounds strange.
I don't know, this post is rambly and I've been wanting to write something like this in the last few days but I just have to push enter at some point.
10 votes -
It turns out
7 votes -
How to revive a dead language: Although it was the language of sacred texts and ritual, modern Hebrew wasn’t spoken in conversation till the late nineteenth century
10 votes -
Brazilian court orders Sony to unban PS5 console
9 votes -
Anyone willing to teach me ASL?
I'm a sucker for languages and lately I've been wanting to learn a sign language (not specificallly ASL as I put in the title, I'm open to learning any local flavour). And well, with COVID and...
I'm a sucker for languages and lately I've been wanting to learn a sign language (not specificallly ASL as I put in the title, I'm open to learning any local flavour).
And well, with COVID and everything, I figure this may be a good opportunity to do this with someone else and have someone to talk to. So, is there anyone on Tildes who would be willing to have regular informal video chats, where we talk and you try to teach me as we go? (And of course I can accommodate by text if needed)
No hard commitment, this can just be something we try once and if it's boring for either of us we don't have to continue :) But I'm hoping it'll be fun enough to be a regular thing!
PS. I can teach you French in return if you are interested!
10 votes -
Is computer code a foreign language?
14 votes -
The best books on The Philosophy of Language
4 votes -
How many languages are there?
5 votes -
Why we say "OK"
7 votes -
The quest to revive the Hawaiian language
7 votes -
What is the meaning of "Cheeki Breeki"?
3 votes -
Classic 80's sketch: Peace on Earth (w. English Subtitles)
5 votes -
Ryusenkei & Hitomitoi - Aishu No Talio (2020)
6 votes -
A list of TokiPonists on Twitter
8 votes -
Stromae - Racine Carrée (Montréal, 2015, full concert)
10 votes -
In Louisiana, Cajuns are keen to preserve their identity
10 votes -
Resources for learning Hebrew?
I'd like to learn Hebrew, and my understanding is that the OT vocabulary is very limited, though creative word use, particularly in Hebrew poetry is a challenge to understand. I don't know enough...
I'd like to learn Hebrew, and my understanding is that the OT vocabulary is very limited, though creative word use, particularly in Hebrew poetry is a challenge to understand.
I don't know enough about the distinctions between Ancient and modern Hebrew to be certain, but I believe they are significant enough that Duolingo won't be a good fit, particularly as definitions of words in ancient Hebrew aren't always agreed upon.
Are there any recommendations? I have the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia and a couple other books, since I thought they would be good references, but a lot of the word formations are dependent on pronunciation, and reading descriptions of how to pronounce words isn't doing it for me.
8 votes -
Stephen Krashen on Second Language Acquisition (SLA), reading and research
5 votes -
Lykke Li – Bron (2020)
5 votes -
Ten Meter Tower (short movie)
5 votes -
Notes about Nagorno-Karabakh by Martin Sonneborn, EU parlamentarian and satirist
4 votes -
A beginners' course in modern Icelandic
10 votes -
This word does not exist
17 votes -
AAVE (African American Vernacular English)
6 votes -
The many languages of India
7 votes -
Anders Behring Breivik now wants to be released on probation – he is also planning a new lawsuit against the state for violating his human rights
9 votes -
Conlang Critic: Toki Pona
9 votes -
Conlang Critic: Lingwa de Planeta
4 votes -
A tildes thread for toki pona, the minimalist conlang
Toki Pona is a minimalist conlang famous for having a vocabulary of under 130 words. There are communities of speakers on all major social media platforms. This is an introduction thread for...
Toki Pona is a minimalist conlang famous for having a vocabulary of under 130 words. There are communities of speakers on all major social media platforms. This is an introduction thread for speakers, learners or the toki-curious to introduce themselves. I'll advise on learning resources, or just answer general questions if anyone is interested.
I'm a toki pona speaker and creator of the YouTube channel 'seme li sin?' which translated news stories into toki pona.
mi wile e ni: kulupu wawa pi toki pona lon lipu Tetesu. jan ale pi toki pona li jan pona mi. sina ken la o kepeken e toki pona lon lipu ni!
26 votes -
What are your favorite conlangs?
I saw this post. And it reminded me of a hobby I haven't paid much attention to for a while. Apparently there are at least two people who are moderately fluent at Toki Pona, soon to be joined by a...
I saw this post. And it reminded me of a hobby I haven't paid much attention to for a while. Apparently there are at least two people who are moderately fluent at Toki Pona, soon to be joined by a third.
In the meantime, I was wondering what conlangs you find to be interesting or unique?Edit - Also, do you speak any conlangs?
12 votes -
TietoEVRY, a software company from Finland, has developed a new font called Polite Type which uses machine learning to rewrite offensive language into more inclusive forms
10 votes -
Which is "Bouba", and which is "Kiki"?
14 votes -
Speech acts
2 votes -
Redefining “racism”: Against activist lexicography
8 votes -
Tag plurality
'videos' tag is plural even though long read is not (vs "long reads"). I keep typing 'video' into the tag list because of that. IMO it makes more sense as a singular noun, as tags generally...
'videos' tag is plural even though long read is not (vs "long reads"). I keep typing 'video' into the tag list because of that.
IMO it makes more sense as a singular noun, as tags generally describe the submission, not the plurality of submissions in the group. Though I feel this is not a new discussion. It also seems to be the case in other examples I can find eg. ask.survey (vs ask.surveys)
8 votes -
Are there any words/terms that people often use that are offensive to you/your group of people?
Inspired from my conversation with @CALICO about how the word "trap" is offensive and how less than a day later, the r/animemes mod team has banned the word for the same reasons that he has cited,...
Inspired from my conversation with @CALICO about how the word "trap" is offensive and how less than a day later, the r/animemes mod team has banned the word for the same reasons that he has cited, which has caused practically universal backlash and closed the sub to anything not related to that decision.
6 votes -
Samfundssind – A word buried in the history books helped Danes mobilise during the pandemic, flattening the curve and lifting community spirit
9 votes