Unacceptable words defining a woman?

[Ikari]

I don't care if people use it - I'm opposed to it being used in the workplace. :shrug:

My workplace colloquialisms do not differ from my social ones....well a bit less cursing.

 

[Aberration]

My workplace colloquialisms do not differ from my social ones....well a bit less cursing.

My boss and a coworker are Scottish. I have to actually increase my cursing. If we weren't constantly cursing and putting each other down we would never get anything done. And its an extremely complex and technical environment. But then again its also a manufacturing environment, so we are just glorified knuckle draggers anyways. From what they tell me absolutely anything goes, just don't call them stupid. Insulting someones intelligence will almost instantly start fists flying. We have a female Scottish admin who I have never met, that I guess is just as bad. But I don't talk that way around women, usually. It takes a whole lot for me to let it lose around women. It is obviously a cultures thing.

I don't really see how anyone would consider chick, dude or any of our standard colloquialisms as negative. The only word that I can think of that is unacceptable to define a woman is 'productive'. Otherwise I wouldn't have had to by a washer.

And if you didn't laugh, well :shrug:

 

[TheGirlNextDoor]

My workplace colloquialisms do not differ from my social ones....well a bit less cursing.

Well, I admittedly work in an uptight environment where the state has been known to drop in unannounced.... so the rule is professionalism to the nth degree.

I'm not quite so uptight in my personal life...

 

[Aunt Spiker]

My workplace colloquialisms do not differ from my social ones....well a bit less cursing.

*giggle* Mine do - a lot . . . I even change my voice when I'm business. LOL My husband hates it - I can handle a problem over the phone all cool and nice and hte moment I end the phone call I start bitching and cussing about the problem. He says "no - you're not allowed to be all buttery and then like poison the next second - don't talk to me." LOL - He'll avoid me, leave the room entirely to get away.

He likes my business butter. Sometimes I have to deal with him like that to get through something.

 

[Frogfussle]

I don't think so. I use "chick" sometimes to refer to myself or other women.

However, I have noticed that some older people -- between about 40 to 60 -- find it mildly offensive. To me, it's like "dude."

I'm 76. Being male I obviously wouldn't know if females, young or old, consider it offensive. I do consider it silly but I have the advantage or disadvantage, depending on your outlook, of not wanting to be up on all the latest buzz words. All generations since the invention of dirt have made up buzz words and they do it on about ten year cycles.

I am of the opinion there are no "bad words" just bad intentions. I don't take offense when called a "senior citizen" although I also that that is silly. Calling me what I am, an old man, won't make me one bit older or one bit unhealthier. I think PC is ridiculous but its like feeling one must speak in the latest teen slang and buzz words is totally silly too. (I couldn't think of a way to work awesome into the last sentence.)

 

[Leo]

I'm 76. Being male I obviously wouldn't know if females, young or old, consider it offensive. I do consider it silly but I have the advantage or disadvantage, depending on your outlook, of not wanting to be up on all the latest buzz words. All generations since the invention of dirt have made up buzz words and they do it on about ten year cycles.

I am of the opinion there are no "bad words" just bad intentions. I don't take offense when called a "senior citizen" although I also that that is silly. Calling me what I am, an old man, won't make me one bit older or one bit unhealthier. I think PC is ridiculous but its like feeling one must speak in the latest teen slang and buzz words is totally silly too. (I couldn't think of a way to work awesome into the last sentence.)

I'm still in my late teens, but I totally agree with you. I don't like 'buzz words' (although I sometimes use slang in informal speech - but not when I write,) and I am very interested in the correct usage of the English language. I have found that people take more notice of your opinions when you express them clearly, and with grammatical rectitude.

I must confess to sometimes using the term 'chick' when speaking to my contemporaries, but I have never used it in any derogatory sense. To me one of the problems with using terms such as 'great' or 'awesome' is that repetition has lost them any meaning. Awesome does not just mean impressive; it involves evoking awe, dread and fear. It is not a catch-all for impressive or enjoyable, and has now joined 'nice' and 'great' in being effectively meaningless in common usage. I seldom, if ever, use it. But awesome is too widely (mis)used to be considered teen slang.

 

[SmokeAndMirrors]

I'm still in my late teens, but I totally agree with you. I don't like 'buzz words' (although I sometimes use slang in informal speech - but not when I write,) and I am very interested in the correct usage of the English language. I have found that people take more notice of your opinions when you express them clearly, and with grammatical rectitude.

I must confess to sometimes using the term 'chick' when speaking to my contemporaries, but I have never used it in any derogatory sense. To me one of the problems with using terms such as 'great' or 'awesome' is that repetition has lost them any meaning. Awesome does not just mean impressive; it involves evoking awe, dread and fear. It is not a catch-all for impressive or enjoyable, and has now joined 'nice' and 'great' in being effectively meaningless in common usage. I seldom, if ever, use it. But awesome is too widely (mis)used to be considered teen slang.

I think there is most definitely a place for slang. Properly used, it can lend a vital edge and voice at the appropriate moments when your write. There's nothing wrong with bending the rules, as long as you know what you're doing. Writing would be so boring if writers always followed the rules.

I also sort of resent the idea of there being a "proper" form of a language. Any form with consistent grammar is proper, as far as I'm concerned. I don't ascribe to the idea of dialectic superiority. Every form of a language is unique in its own way, and deserves respect for what it is. There's a difference between being poorly spoken and having a dialect. To relate this to your country, I can think of few things more edgy and poetic than Cockney rhyming slang. It makes me wish I didn't have such a boring Standard American dialect myself.

 

[Leo]

I think there is most definitely a place for slang. Properly used, it can lend a vital edge and voice at the appropriate moments when your write. There's nothing wrong with bending the rules, as long as you know what you're doing. Writing would be so boring if writers always followed the rules.

I also sort of resent the idea of there being a "proper" form of a language. Any form with consistent grammar is proper, as far as I'm concerned. I don't ascribe to the idea of dialectic superiority. Every form of a language is unique in its own way, and deserves respect for what it is. There's a difference between being poorly spoken and having a dialect. To relate this to your country, I can think of few things more edgy and poetic than Cockney rhyming slang. It makes me wish I didn't have such a boring Standard American dialect myself.

I agree with all that. But I am not confusing dialectical usage with being poorly spoken. The best writers use regional dialect with expertise, and as you say, it can add both colour and edge to a story. I do however, think it is a mistake to be too regionally dialectical - you can lose part of your audience if your speech is too provincial, and either not understood, or resented.

I mentioned that board where I was nearly thrown out for using terms like 'chick' when I was nearly 15. Well maybe some of those people had good reason to object to my language, because I was trying to talk to those grown-ups like I did with my mates - and I think they resented it. Since then I have been much more careful with my writing.

But yeah Cockney slang can be quite entertaining. See if you can guess the words to which these Cockney expressions allude -

I'm on my Todd
He's in the Daft and Barmy
I'm going to the J.Arthur
Lend us your **** Sparrow, will you?
Don't care for him, he's a bit of a Lester
He's pretty flash since he got his new Jam Jar
Can't stay, I've got a Bottle and Glass in a few minutes
No more of your Porkies please
Careful with that - it cost me a Bobby Moore
She fell down the Apples and Pears
It was a fair way, so I took the Oxo
He was a Tea Leaf

And there's nothing boring about American speech - you wouldn't believe the amount of trouble I got into when I was in your fair land. Like this poor elderly man who was almost apoplectic with frustration when I asked directions to the 'coach station' (Greyhound Bus Depot). I had similar problems with 'the lift' (elevator) and with 'chips' (fries). LOL - I got served what we call 'crisps' when I asked for chips. :lol:

 

[maquiscat]

Don't care for him, he's a bit of a Lester

This isn't a Red Dwarf thing is it? And by that I'll also include that the character name was derived from the slang.

 

[Leo]

This isn't a Red Dwarf thing is it? And by that I'll also include that the character name was derived from the slang.

LOL, no. The slang derives from Lester Piggot, a well known racing jockey of yesteryear.
Anyway, since no one else had a go - here are the answers:

I'm on my Todd - I'm on my own - rhymes with Todd Sloane
He's in the Daft and Barmy - He's in the army
I'm going to the J.Arthur - I'm going to the bank - rhyming with J.Arthur Rank.
Lend us your **** Sparrow, will you? - Lend us your barrow, will you?
Don't care for him, he's a bit of a Lester - Don't care for him, he's a bit of a bigot - rhyming with Lester Piggot.
He's pretty flash since he got his new Jam Jar - He's pretty flash since he got his new car.
Can't stay, I've got a Bottle and Glass in a few minutes - Can't stay, I've got a class in a few minutes
No more of your Porkies please - No more of your lies please - rhyming with pork pies.
Careful with that - it cost me a Bobby Moore - Careful with that - it cost me a score (twenty pounds).
She fell down the Apples and Pears - She fell down the stairs.
It was a fair way, so I took the Oxo - It was a fair way, so I took tube (London Underground) - rhyming with Oxo cube.
He was a Tea Leaf - He was a thief.