Fwd:

[Robert Fitzke]

Another aspect of the para- quadra-plegic issue is that the words are often
applied to people who are not actually paralyzed. I've been, technically, a
hemiplegic for going on 35 years but I am ambulatory and have some minimal
use of my "paralyzed" arm and hand.

I think the more accurate term in my case, and most paras and quads I've
known,  is hemiparesis, i.e., partially paralyzed.

Bob
----- Original Message -----
From: "Wilson Gray" <wilson.gray at RCN.COM>
To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Thursday, August 04, 2005 5:37 PM
Subject: Re: Fwd:


> Not to mention what seems to be the near-universal pronunciation of
> -plegic as "puh-lee-jik." I can relate to "a-thuh-leet." After all, the
> cluster -thl- is bizarre, even when split by a syllable boundary. But,
> any newsreader who can pronounce "play" ought not to have any trouble
> saying
> "-plegic."
>
> -Wilson Gray
>
> On Aug 4, 2005, at 6:39 PM, Arnold M. Zwicky wrote:
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       "Arnold M. Zwicky" <zwicky at CSLI.STANFORD.EDU>
>> Subject:      Fwd:
>> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> --------
>>
>> lexical inflation strikes again...  or maybe just confusion.
>>
>> a report from a friend:
>>
>> Begin forwarded message:
>>
>>> From: Victor Steinbok <victor.steinbok at verizon.net>
>>> Date: August 1, 2005 3:04:11 PM PDT
>>> To: zwicky at csli.stanford.edu
>>>
>>> I have developed a new linguistic pet peeve. It started a while ago
>>> and was
>>> based on various appearances in printed and TV news reports (I
>>> don't listen to
>>> radio enough to notice). Over the weekend, it happened again, so I was
>>> reminded to check what you thought on the subject.
>>>
>>> I've noticed that over the past several years, "quadriplegic" became
>>> synonymous to "paralized" rather than the narrower meaning of
>>> "paralized in
>>> four limbs" (or something to that effect--i.e., usually affected by
>>> spinal
>>> damage in the cervical rather than the thoracic area). MS patients
>>> have become  quadriplegic. Anyone in the wheelchair is now
>>> quadriplegic, etc. What really  got me annoyed yesterday was the
>>> final comment in the TV report which mentioned "quadriplegics and
>>> paraplegics" even though the entire episode confounded the two
>>> terms and used "quadriplegic" to describe someone who was clearly--
>>> visibly--paraplegic.
>>>
>>> The particular report concerned electrode implants to allow
>>> paralyzed patients
>>> to cough. So the final comment was actually accurate, but it was
>>> the stopped-
>>> clock kind of accuracy (the one that tells the correct time twice a
>>> day). I
>>> was wondering if this bears closer investigation. I suppose, it
>>> might be
>>> difficult to track this down by simple searches, since each case
>>> might need to
>>> be evaluated as to whether the word quadriplegic actually refers to a
>>> quadriplegic or a paraplegic patient. But, at least, I thought I'd
>>> direct your
>>> attention to this so that the next time you hear it or see in print
>>> you might
>>> notice the context.
>>
>