How many Jewish people in the British Isles ?

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JohnD said:
are you going to tell us that in your opinion, in Britain today, English-speaking people to not understand the term Xenophobia do mean "Dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries?"

In your estimation, what proportion of the population, in Britain today, of English-speaking people, can understand and translate the Greek word ξένος ?

How would you translate the word "stranger" into Greek?
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John You don't need to explain as EFL put it far better than you or I could.

A fear of spiders is???
 
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Bodd said:
. Its was something we were allowed to do years back. Joke
Sorry I'm getting sentimental.

It's our culture.

Standing at a bus stop in Tel Aviv I asked the fella standing next to me.
"what times the bus due"
He didn't find me funny either.
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You can still joke. You are hiding behind a false excuse. Creating this victimhood situation because of this so called political correctness. Those shouting PC to justify why they think they cannot say something are simply trying to find a convenient scapegoat for their lack of understanding and nuance.
 
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Kankerot said:
You can still joke. You are hiding behind a false excuse. Creating this victimhood situation because of this so called political correctness. Those shouting PC to justify why they think they cannot say something are simply trying to find a convenient scapegoat for their lack of understanding and nuance.
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You talk tit
 
EFLImpudence said:
How does that follow from the definition of phobia in the same dictionary?
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it doesn't need to

in the same way that "guinea pig" does not follow from the definition of either "guinea" or "pig"

I fear you are wandering down the cul-de-sac of trying to define what, in your opinion, words ought to mean, rather than what they do mean.
 
Kankerot said:
Can you give me some examples of unpopular correct usage?
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No.

Are you saying language is immutable or should be immutable?
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All so-called language evolution is the result of incorrect usage by the ignorant.
It should not be a democratic process because the ignorant will always win.
What has already happened cannot be reversed but that is no reason to continue the process.

There are new words added to the English language to reflect how society ebbs and flows.
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I'm not talking about new words but the unnecessary misuse of present words.
 
JohnD said:
it doesn't need to
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Rubbish.

in the same way that "guinea pig" does not follow from the definition of either "guinea" or "pig"
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So, whoever named it was ignorant. Too late to change it. Q.E.D.

I fear you are wandering down the cul-de-sac of trying to define what, in your opinion, words ought to mean, rather than what they do mean.
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No. They only apparently mean what they do mean because of misuse (by the ignorant).
Stop misusing them and correct those who do.
 
If pedantry were taken to the extreme we would still be doffing our caps to our 'betters'.
Language evolves. Live with it.
 
I agree that language evolves, always has, always will. Your language ELF is just what you were taught. What the kids in the past were taught was different, the kids in the future and it will be different again. Nearly everything moves, changing, (sometimes) improving so why shouldn't language? Communication is the main point of language, so if kids move the meaning of a word and the word usage changes meaning but everyone understands then why is that a problem?

Who anyway decided what was the exact 'correct' meanings of words? How, for an example, did Samuel Johnson decide what was correct in spelling, and meaning when he wrote the dictionary? Did he get any wrong, I wonder.. and upset the ELF purists of the past! '-)
EFLImpudence said:
All so-called language evolution is the result of incorrect usage by the ignorant.
It should not be a democratic process because the ignorant will always win.
What has already happened cannot be reversed but that is no reason to continue the process.


I'm not talking about new words but the unnecessary misuse of present words.
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sodthisforfun said:
Why?
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Why not? No one seems to know exactly how it originated.
The alternative is that it was done on purpose for some perverse reason.

Is there a reason for the name?

If it is a misinterpretation of a foreign name then the person who started it obviously did not know what it meant - i.e. ignorant.
If, as is a theory, they were originally sold for a guinea; definitely not named after the country; that still leaves the question "Why pig?".


If I say I live in a Conservative consistancy, am I trying to evolve the language or have I made a mistake because I don't know the correct word - i.e. ignorant?
Are you thinking 'ignorant' is just an insult?
 
Sometimes spelling can be important. It can change the meaning of a sentence.
Other times, we know what was meant, and can do the mental substitution.
The wrong spelling can be an indication of one's education.
But to accept today's use of words and phrases can indicate a willingness to move with the times.
 
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