positionality = "social status or position"

[Laurence Urdang]

Perhaps it's the contamination of saying "double-u, double-u, double-u" so many times that makes syllables seem cheap.
  L. Urdang
  Old Lyme

Beverly Flanigan <flanigan at OHIO.EDU> wrote:
  ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Beverly Flanigan
Subject: Re: positionality = "social status or position"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sure. Why use a three-syllable word when you can use a six-syllable one?

At 01:54 PM 8/28/2007, you wrote:
>---------------------- Information from the mail header
>-----------------------
>Sender: American Dialect Society
>Poster: Jonathan Lighter
>Subject: positionality = "social status or position"
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Dr. James Peterson of Bucknell appeared on Fox's _Live Desk_ in a
>discussion of the Michael Vick case. He suggested that in regard to
>inner-city youngsters who have become successful professional athletes,
>many people resent their "positionality in our culture."
>
> An admittedly cursory examination of the 60,000 "positionality"
> Googlits reveals that it means something like "social status or position
> as determined by a combination of inherent and socially attributed
> characteristics."
>
> In other words, notably in the present case, "social status or position."
>
> JL
>
>
>---------------------------------
>Looking for a deal? Find great prices on flights and hotels with Yahoo!
>FareChase.
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org