positionality = "social status or position"

[Laurence Horn]

At 2:11 PM -0700 8/28/07, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>You mean "dubya" ?
>
>   JL

"Tridubya" (for www) sounds too much like an invitation most invitees
would be happy to decline.

LH

>
>Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU> wrote:
>   ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>-----------------------
>Sender: American Dialect Society
>Poster: Laurence Horn
>Subject: Re: positionality = "social status or position"
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>>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
>
>Yes, in a way it's surprising that hasn't turned into "Tridub" or
>something similarly reduced by now.
>
>LH
>
>>
>>Beverly Flanigan 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
>>>
>>>
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