yoda as a generic

Tue May 4 18:54:38 UTC 2010

At 11:18 AM -0700 5/4/10, Dave Wilton wrote:
>  >Also, who sez the origin must be forgotten to make a "true generic"?
>
>What is the population of the universe of people who know what a quisling
>is, but do not know who Vidkun Quisling was? I would guess that it's pretty
>damn close to zero.

I think you're underestimating.  There are probably even people who
know that a quisling is a traitor (if not necessarily a
fifth-columnist) who think it's named for the reprehensible
behavioral charactistics of some sort of fish in the sardine/anchovy
family.

LH

>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of
>Jonathan Lighter
>Sent: Tuesday, May 04, 2010 11:11 AM
>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>Subject: Re: yoda as a generic
>
>There is?  Other than the denotation, I mean.
>
>Now if the contrast were, "He's a regular Yoda" and "He's a quisling," I'd
>have to agree.  If one turns to Ron as their linguistics yoda, surely that's
>generic.
>
>I prophesy/prophesize that if "yoda" is not yet widely used and recognized
>as a synonym for "guru," it soon will be.
>
>Also, who sez the origin must be forgotten to make a "true generic"?
>
>JL
>
>
>On Tue, May 4, 2010 at 1:54 PM, Charles Doyle <cdoyle at uga.edu> wrote:
>
>>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>  -----------------------
>>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>  Poster:       Charles Doyle <cdoyle at UGA.EDU>
>>  Subject:      Re: yoda as a generic
>>
>>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>---
>>
>>  Ron may be grumpy, but I'd say he's also RIGHT. There's all the difference
>>  in the world, lexically, between "He's a yoda" and "He's a quisling."
>>
>>  --Charlie
>>
>>
>>  ---- Original message ----
>>  >Date: Tue, 4 May 2010 13:42:14 -0400
>>  >From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> (on behalf of
>>  Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM>)
>>  >
>>  >Ron, are you auditioning for Grinch or for Scrooge? Or are you trying to
>>  >genericize your own name?
>>  >
>>  >I know, I know--you're one of the happiest people you know. And I can
>>  >outgrump you any day.
>>  >
>>  >Fine... you don't like genericization in this case. I don't see the
>>  >problem, but I'll grant you the point. Would you settle for a
>>  >"snowclonelet" of "the Yoda of X"? That does not solve the problem of
>>  >"my Yoda", but it does address this particular usage, does it not?
>>  >
>>  >     VS-)
>>  >
>>  >On 5/4/2010 1:02 PM, ronbutters at AOL.COM wrote:
>>  >> It is (apparently) true that the quotation that Amy cites has one of
>the
>>  legal markers of generics: it is not Capitalized. Even so, I don't think
>it
>>  is really generic, the fundamental criterion for which is that most people
>>  do not recognize a connection between the word and its etymogical proper
>>  noun. Any name can be used the way YODA is used here. Even "quixotic" is
>>  probably not truly generic for most people who know the word.
>>  >> ------Original Message------
>>  >> From: Dave Wilton
>>  >> Sender: ADS-L
>>  >> To: ADS-L
>>  >> ReplyTo: ADS-L
>>  >> Subject: Re: [ADS-L] yoda as a generic
>>  >> Sent: May 4, 2010 5:14 PM
>>  >>
>>  >> It's been around a while. From Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 3,
>>  "School
>>  >> Hard," shooting script 7/30/1997, by David Greenwalt:
>>  >>
>>  >> Spike talking to Angel: "You think you can fool me? You were my sire,
>>  >> man...you were my Yoda!"
>>  >>
>>  >>
>>  >> -----Original Message-----
>>  >> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
>>  Behalf Of
>>  >> Amy West
>>  >> Sent: Tuesday, May 04, 2010 7:19 AM
>>  >> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>>  >> Subject: yoda as a generic
>>  >>
>>  >> (I did a quick search of the since-1999 ADS-L archive and the
>>  >> before-April-2008 Language Log archive before posting this: I
>>  >> apologize if I missed something.)
>>  >>
>>  >> I spotted this use of "yoda" as generic -- equivalent to "guru" -- in
>>  >> the Boston Globe yesterday:
>>  >>
>>  >> I am drawn to Prohibition, as I am to all catastrophes, so I turn to
>  > >> Prohibition yoda Dan Okrent for enlightenment. Okrent is author of
>>  >> the forthcoming book "The Last Call: the Rise and Fall of
>>  >> Prohibition."
>>  >>
>>  >> --Sam Allis, Boston Globe, May 3, 2010, p. 23, G section
>>  >>
>>  >>
>>
>http://www.boston.com/ae/events/articles/2010/05/03/remembering_the_dark_day
>>  >> s_during_the_nations_dry_times/
>>  >>
>>  >> ---Amy West
>>  >>
>>  >
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>
>
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