Page 2 of 16
Re: Smallwhite needs help with English vocabulary
Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 10:06 am
by Cainntear
smallwhite wrote:As for that damn bread (from Aldi) that doesn't last for the 5 days it says it should... "doesn't last 3 days" didn't sound right to me because it means to me "will be eaten up within 3 days" more than "will stay fresh for 3 days". I shall now make it sound right to me
An alternative is "keep". "It won't keep for 3 days." I'm not sure how universal this is -- it might be a slightly old-fashioned term.
Re: Smallwhite needs help with English vocabulary
Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 10:26 am
by smallwhite
dampingwire wrote:you could also say "It won't actually keep for 5 days; it will go mouldy in 3."
Oh.
"keep" is actually what I said to my friend. I thought it was comprehensible but wrong
Re: Smallwhite needs help with English vocabulary
Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 10:38 am
by Adrianslont
smallwhite wrote:dampingwire wrote:you could also say "It won't actually keep for 5 days; it will go mouldy in 3."
Oh.
"keep" is actually what I said to my friend. I thought it was comprehensible but wrong
Oops, yes, "keep" is, in my revised opinion, better than "last". "Last" might imply that you like it so much that you will gobble it up. That problem is overcome if you mention the mould, though!
I will say however that "keep" sounds like one of those words younger people don't tend to use - in Australia anyway. Not use it in this way, I mean.
Re: Smallwhite needs help with English vocabulary
Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 11:24 am
by jeff_lindqvist
Handicapped, disabled and even challenged can be stigmatizing these days, so in Sweden some organizations use the term variety. Abilities aren't disabled/challenged - they vary from person to person. Who knows if the term will survive.
Re: Smallwhite needs help with English vocabulary
Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 11:52 am
by tomgosse
smallwhite wrote:What is the proper, everyday noun or adjective to describe a mentally retarded person? One of my childhood friends is about 10 years older than me, but has appeared like a 4 year old ever since I can remember. So, he can eat by himself but he can't wash his own hair, can't read and can't be left alone. How do I say, for example, "I grew up with a childhood friend who is mentally retarded so I know..."?
Cantonese: 弱智 [adjective]
That's the proper word though we use it to insult people as well.
Thanks!
In the United States the word
retard is now considered very pejorative. And,
by law, can no longer be used in Federal Documents.
Re: Smallwhite needs help with English vocabulary
Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 2:40 pm
by Aozora
jeff_lindqvist wrote:Handicapped, disabled and even challenged can be stigmatizing these days, so in Sweden some organizations use the term variety. Abilities aren't disabled/challenged - they vary from person to person. Who knows if the term will survive.
It seems the acceptable terminology changes as people latch on to the previous term to insult or put down people
Like the term "special needs" which isn't derogatory at all, but now people say, "Oh he's
special" to make fun of someone so it starts taking on negative connotations. I hadn't heard of "intellectual disability" until this thread. Sorry to sidetrack the thread further.
Re: Smallwhite needs help with English vocabulary
Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 6:38 pm
by Serpent
Yeah, that's an unfortunate tendency. Abled people can't do much about it though, other than avoiding the derogatory usage, of course.
Re: Smallwhite needs help with English vocabulary
Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 10:41 pm
by dampingwire
Aozora wrote: Like the term "special needs" which isn't derogatory at all, but now people say, "Oh he's special" to make fun of someone so it starts taking on negative connotations. I hadn't heard of "intellectual disability" until this thread. Sorry to sidetrack the thread further.
In the UK
special needs has been used for a long time to refer to children at school who have particular requirements, usually caused by a learning difficulty or physical disability. A
special school is one which caters exclusively for pupils with special needs. That terminology has been around since at least the 1970s (in the UK, at least).
Re: Smallwhite needs help with English vocabulary
Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 10:49 pm
by Cainntear
jeff_lindqvist wrote:Handicapped, disabled and even challenged can be stigmatizing these days, so in Sweden some organizations use the term variety. Abilities aren't disabled/challenged - they vary from person to person. Who knows if the term will survive.
In the UK, "learning disability" is often used for conditions like Down's and ASD. It's not considered derogatory. "Mentally disabled" or the older"mentally handicapped" would be considered offensive.
Re: Smallwhite needs help with English vocabulary
Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 10:50 pm
by Cainntear
jeff_lindqvist wrote:Handicapped, disabled and even challenged can be stigmatizing these days, so in Sweden some organizations use the term variety. Abilities aren't disabled/challenged - they vary from person to person. Who knows if the term will survive.
But I suppose the important thing is we are more likely talk about people "having disabilities" rather than "being disabled" in this circumstance.