I say "cock", you say "male barnyard fowl"

[pne]

In general, I use British words when talking to Amy, but there are a couple I'm unsure about...

Specifically, for a male hen, whether to use "cock" or "rooster", and for the implement you use to remove pencil marks, whether to use "rubber" or "eraser". In each case, I think the first word of each pair is more British, but it has an undesirable slang meaning in the States, so I'm not sure whether it would be a good idea to learn that word, only to be laughed at later. (As I was in biology class so many years ago for asking for "my rubber" back.)

It's a pity when words get effectively displaced from use (as, for example, it's probably nigh impossible to use "gay" in the sense of "merry"; I imagine that for nearly all English speakers, the "homosexual" meaning is the prominent one), but I imagine the pragmatical approach will be to use (globally) less offensive/risqué words even if they're (locally) not the most appropriate word.

Comments

[swelegant.livejournal.com]

If there's more than one name for an object/animal, I think it would be a great idea for you to teach Amy both names.

I remember when I was about eight years old I used to read a lot of American teen magazines. In one, there was a section comparing British and American words and phrases and it was a real moment for me, because the American books and magazines I read started to make a lot more sense. I think it would be cool if she had that understanding before she started reading books by herself.

I found that when I read old kids books like Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden and Mallory Towers/St Claire's I picked up a lot of old-fashioned terminology that isn't used much, if at all, anymore. If you're keen for her to learn things like that, they're a good place to start.

As an aside, in Australia, the word "gay" has taken on another meaning. Teenagers often use it as a response to something they find distasteful/objectional, e.g. "That's so gay". And there's an icecream bar called Gaytime, but I'm not sure if they sell it anymore.

That's so gay

[pne.livejournal.com]

As an aside, in Australia, the word "gay" has taken on another meaning. Teenagers often use it as a response to something they find distasteful/objectional, e.g. "That's so gay".

That usage seems to have some currency in the States, too, judging by what I read on the Internet. Though there are a fair number of people who object to this usage of the word (on similar grounds to using, say, "retarded" to mean merely "objectional" rather than something like "learning at a slower pace").

Re: That's so gay

[ladyortyger.livejournal.com]

That usage seems to have some currency in the States, too

Yes, very much so. And you are right, a fair number of (enlightened) young people find this objectionable and strive to tell people they should not do it (much like with 'retarded.')

[sovereigna.livejournal.com]

As an aside, in Australia, the word "gay" has taken on another meaning. Teenagers often use it as a response to something they find distasteful/objectional, e.g. "That's so gay".

Agreed. I'm SO sick of hearing that! Why can't they come up with things that aren't offensive?? Oh wait, they're teenagers, that's their job :S.