{"id":6913,"date":"2004-12-03T09:11:35","date_gmt":"2004-12-03T16:11:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/2004\/12\/03\/pc-pcs.html"},"modified":"2004-12-03T09:11:35","modified_gmt":"2004-12-03T16:11:35","slug":"pc_pcs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2004\/12\/03\/pc_pcs.html","title":{"rendered":"PC PCs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Heh. The Global Language Monitor<\/a> has released their annual report<\/a> on the Most Politically Correct Phrases and Terms for 2004.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Device<\/em> for master <\/em>and captured device <\/em>for slave <\/em>in computer networking terminology<\/strong> — As reported<\/a> here <\/a>when it happened. Allow me to once more say that it’s freakin’ goofy. I am sensitive to language use, and probably overly-sensitive about not offending folks, but it’s a perfectly legit technical term. If “master” and “slave” are now officially taboo words, we’re in a lot of trouble.\n
  2. Non-same sex marriage<\/em>, for marriage<\/em> used in Democratic Presidential Primaries<\/strong> — I didn’t run across this one. I think I can understand where it’s coming from (if marriage is to be deemed as open to both gay and straight couples, it’s probably useful to have a term to distinguish them, especially since we already have the “same-sex marriage”); I wouldn’t call this one PC, but I’d call it rather clumsy.<\/p>\n
  3. Waitron<\/em> for waiter <\/em>or waitress<\/em><\/strong> — Oh, gag me. Okay, it’s less clumsy than calling them “one of the waitstaff,” but “server” also works pretty well, from what I’ve experienced. Unless that starts to verge into #1.<\/p>\n
  4. Red Sox Lover<\/em> for Yankee Hater<\/em> during the ALCS playoffs<\/strong> — Shrug. I guess it depends on where it’s coming from and who it’s being implosed upon.<\/p>\n
  5. Higher Power<\/em> for God<\/em><\/strong> — Well, that’s hardly new (AA’s been using the term for decades. Depending on the context, it may even be a better term (since it encompasses a broader range of religious thought). <\/p>\n
  6. Progressive<\/em> for classical liberal<\/em><\/strong> — Actually, there’s a lot of battle going on about the “liberal” label, with some folks shunning it, some folks arguing that they deserve it, and some folks scratching their heads. It may actually be a better term (as a better antonym for “conservative”).<\/p>\n
  7. Incurious<\/em> rather than more impolite invectives for President Bush (such as idiot <\/em>or moron<\/em>)<\/strong> — Actually, I think “Incurious George” is a lot more clever (both as wordplay and as a descriptor) than the rather prosaic alternatives. In some ways it’s more descriptive and less pejorative per se<\/em>, yet can be taken easily as a negative by those who want to. And, frankly, anything that’s less impolite is likely to be a good thing in my book.<\/p>\n
  8. Insurgents<\/em> substituting for terrorists <\/em>in Iraq<\/strong> — This is a tough one, because there are aspects of the folks fighting in Iraq that qualify for both labels. What I object to is the insertion of one phrase for the other for reasons other than accuracy of description. If someone commits a terrorist act (which I would consider sawing off kidnapping victims heads on video to be), then call them terrorists, at least in that context. If someone is fighting against the established authority, or for a different regime, call them insurgents, at least in that context. Rejecting one term or the other just because it makes a better political point in what should be a characterization of the facts is where I get torqued off.<\/p>\n
  9. Baristas<\/em> rather than waitrons<\/em><\/strong> — Only at Starbucks, baby.<\/p>\n
  10. First year student<\/em> rather than Freshman, <\/em>though Frosh <\/em>is still acceptable<\/strong> — Gag me. Unless we’re going to go that route with all the labels (and, frankly, on a college level, it’s an increasingly obsolete term, as folks pursue more terms that are shorter or longer than the Frosh-Soph-Junior-Senior quartet describe, at least formally), it’s irksomely PC. And, heck, wait’ll they realize what “sophomore” means, or wait until the anti-agists decide that “senior” is a pejorative term as well …<\/ol>\n

    So, actually, looking at the above, I don’t have too many objections. Languages evolve, whether we like it or not (and we usually do both). When they evolve not because folks are seeking a better new term, but because someone gets the vapors over an older term — then we move back to a Victorian era of bowdlerization, whether the objectors realize it or not.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Heh. The Global Language Monitor has released their annual report on the Most Politically Correct Phrases and Terms for 2004. Device for master and captured device for slave in computer…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-zt-pc"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4950,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2003\/11\/28\/more_on_masters.html","url_meta":{"origin":6913,"position":0},"title":"More on Master\/Slave Relationships","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 28-Nov-03 8:30pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Yeesh. The Master\/Slave controversy just gets better and better. More details here on the whole origin of the matter: Sandoval said a Probation Department employee complained to the Office of...","rel":"","context":"In "ZT & PC"","block_context":{"text":"ZT & PC","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/zt-pc"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4988,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2003\/11\/19\/just_crazy_enou.html","url_meta":{"origin":6913,"position":1},"title":"Just crazy enough to be true …","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 19-Nov-03 6:38am","format":false,"excerpt":"An e-mail purportedly from the Los Angeles County Purchasing and Contract Services Director urging technology vendors with county contracts to avoid \"unsensitive\" technical terms. The County of Los Angeles actively...","rel":"","context":"In "ZT & PC"","block_context":{"text":"ZT & PC","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/zt-pc"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4755,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2004\/01\/12\/words_mean_thin.html","url_meta":{"origin":6913,"position":2},"title":"Words mean things","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 12-Jan-04 10:01am","format":false,"excerpt":"War. Terror. Crime. Drugs. Poverty. Injustice. Abuse. Bigotry. Disease. All horrible things that certainly would seem to be high on the list that any congresscritter would be devoting his or...","rel":"","context":"In "ZT & PC"","block_context":{"text":"ZT & PC","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/zt-pc"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":128453,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/10\/28\/words-mean-things-civil-war-edition.html","url_meta":{"origin":6913,"position":3},"title":"Words Mean Things (Civil War Edition)","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 28-Oct-15 5:02am","format":false,"excerpt":"Language evolves and changes. Words get worn down over time, or drift and find new meanings. Old word stop meaning what they used to. Or sometimes our understanding of words changes, and what was acceptable becomes fraught, for reasons serious or silly.That said, I'm always a bit leery of intentional\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5354,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2004\/04\/01\/oooooh_critical.html","url_meta":{"origin":6913,"position":4},"title":"Oooooh … critical …","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 1-Apr-04 6:07pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Okay, so I can be politically sensitive. And I can understand why Microsoft would prefer to remove the swastikas from their Bookshelf Symbol 7 font (which seems to be distributed...","rel":"","context":"In "My Computer"","block_context":{"text":"My Computer","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/my-computer"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4801,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2004\/01\/05\/crimped_style.html","url_meta":{"origin":6913,"position":5},"title":"Crimped style","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 5-Jan-04 7:09am","format":false,"excerpt":"An interesting article on product crimping and price discrimination, detailing ways that vendors (computer manufacturers, airlines, etc.) artificially reduce \"feature sets\" when marketing lower cost versions of their product. For...","rel":"","context":"In "Big Business"","block_context":{"text":"Big Business","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/big-business"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6913\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}