Re: Where are all the eels going?


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Posted by Mike Dennis on July 15, 2007 at 09:16:27 from 84.64.29.63 user MTD.

In Reply to: Re: Where are all the eels going? posted by Adam Quinan on July 14, 2007 at 19:24:54:

There are two points here, the books are as I said a snapshot in time and AR uses the word in its descriptive sense of an object (and the usage I seem to remember is by one character that is portrayed as older, if not elderly, and the impression is given that his usage is not entirely appropriate.) As far as I can recall AR never uses the word in a derogatory sense. This is what matters, of course if he was writing today his language would reflect modern usage - this is what makes English so interesting, it constantly changes to reflect society at that moment (people seem to forget that the Oxford English Dictionary is not a guide to using our language but a guide to how our language is used.)
Now before the anti so-called political correctness brigade have a go, PC is not about preventing people from using language its about attempting to use language so that it doesn't exclude (by making assumptions - using man to describe men and women) or offend. Admittedly, the second one is always difficult to judge - especially as the English are particularly good at giving offence and then claiming not to have done so ("Some of my best friends are Jews." during the Second World War is a classic example). Also offence can only really be judged by those who are offended, but this in itself takes you down a path that finds me straying even further away from AR!


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