I like Internet better than its expanded "Intergalactic Computer Network" (according to legend) Geoffrey, my repulsion may be due to a particular person's use of it, and the people I heard using it growing up - but let us not get into psychotherapy here, as you say, it's just a word. I also said I wasn't against the evolution of the language; this is just something I will not use, and quite probably never will. "You" can be used nicely as a singular and plural. -----Original Message----- From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Geoffrey Marnell Sent: Tuesday, 2 February 2010 2:27 PM To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: atw: Re: Youse Hi Rebecca, You seem to have a visceral repulsion to "youse": "Send me to hell if this is already the case.." Folks, these are just words, and, in the case of "youse", doing the work that no other word is doing. And doing work that many of us (even Ken Randall) considers useful. Why are we turning up our nose? Why the shuddering repulsion to what is really just a sound. Would you turn up your nose at any neologism used for second-person plural? What about "yout"? Would that be OK? Or "yey" (which sounds like "they")? Did anyone turn up their nose when "internet" came into existence? Or "blog"? What is so distasteful about "youse" that is not distasteful about "blog"? Maybe no one turned up their noses because it wasn't Lakemba lads, or Altona lads, who were the early adopters of this word. I'm getting a strong whiff of snobbery from this thread. Please tell me what I am wrong. But also ... please explain ;-) Cheers, I think. Geoffrey Marnell Principal Consultant Abelard Consulting Pty Ltd T: +61 3 9596 3456 F: +61 3 9596 3625 W: www.abelard.com.au Skype: geoffrey.marnell -----Original Message----- From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Rebecca Caldwell Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2010 5:10 PM To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: atw: Re: Youse Long words sounding 'nicer' doesn't come into my way of thinking, sometimes, even with a simile, a different/long word just sums things up better (to me) but that's about it. Ha ha, I write for engineers, so you are right about writing for audience, simple is always better in this case, but until 'youse' is taught in schools as a second person plural, then I'll stay away. (Send me to hell if this is already the case..) -----Original Message----- From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Peter Martin Sent: Tuesday, 2 February 2010 2:00 PM To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: atw: Re: Youse Rebecca Caldwell wrote: > By the way, I wasn't trying to > discriminate or elevate the more articulate speakers over those who are not, just an > observation on my part. > Sorry, Rebecca, but it did come out that way. It's a bit circular, isn't it ? Aren't "well spoken" ones ones that would never say "youse"? So they're "more articulate" ? (Speak better) Ergo when they don't say "youse" they must be right. Cause and effect ? This is more or less the same reason given by Norman rulers of England after 1066 in laying down rules about why people shouldn't use Anglo Saxon words. It's why we are "supposed" not to say "got" when it can be a perfectly good word. It's why we're supposed to use such silly terms as "coition" and all those other Latinate euphemisms for sex and all kinds of other functions ("micuration" ? heaven help us!) instead of precise 4 letter words that mean exactly the same thing, but take about 4 syllables less to say it. We (and our teachers) were conned into believing that Latinate and French terms were good, Anglo-Saxon ones (and pigs?) bad. Long words "sound nicer"? Try to outlive all that. If you're writing for people who say "youse", maybe we should think about using "youse"? -PeterM peterm_5@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx I like a man who grins when he fights. - Winston Churchill ************************************************** To view the austechwriter archives, go to www.freelists.org/archives/austechwriter To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe" in the Subject field (without quotes). 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