tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post923846363588104636..comments2023-10-07T22:37:49.244+13:00Comments on The Hand Mirror: Is there some kind of course we can make the marketing departments take?katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15742280289613450293noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-90141290008302361612011-04-05T09:57:20.547+12:002011-04-05T09:57:20.547+12:00Totally agree.
I've been thinking a bit, abs...Totally agree. <br /><br />I've been thinking a bit, abstractly perhaps, about Yuri Gagarin, and in particular about how the BBC world service were talking about the 30th anniversary of the "first man in space". My thoughts were along the lines of, well, he was a man, and the first one in space, and that phrase has a certain shared cultural "resonance", so maybe it's hard to exactly criticise its usage, but wouldn't it be nice when one day we all see that as an odd way of saying it, rather than "first person in space". <br /><br />I actually think it is a good time to start using the later phrase (in terms perhaps of "cultural stickiness"), and the media for example could help by at least interchanging the terms, or using "person" outside of the "iconic" phrase.<br /><br />All that seems like vague academic ponderings compared to saying "putting man back into space", which makes me wince. Shame it doesn't do the same for so many other people. I sure hope it wasn't chosen to (offhandedly) link in with the current "man" marketing craze.Matthew Gnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-18906429647822652362011-04-05T00:12:47.257+12:002011-04-05T00:12:47.257+12:00The predictable responses you mention can be count...The predictable responses you mention can be countered by an equally obvious one. "So if 'man' means people, why the fuck didn't you just say 'people' then?"<br /><br />As many have commented before, words mean something. You don't just pluck words out of the air and say "That sounds good, I'll use that". <br /><br />Well, it seems a lot of people do, but it takes so little effort to add "OK, but what does it <b>mean</b> when I use words like this? I know what it means to me, but what will it mean to my readers? What sort of message does it send?<br /><br />See how little effort it takes - I just did it then.<br /><br />What is worse than the casual misuse of language without due care for its implications is situations like this, where a deliberate change has been made. Someone had to give thought to the issue to make the change. And chose exclusionary language.<br /><br />Just bizarre.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com