soldier = sailor

[Jesse Sheidlower]

This is clearly why we need to adopt "warfighter".

Jesse Sheidlower

On Thu, Feb 04, 2010 at 11:37:14AM -0500, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> Weve already discussed whether or when marines are ever soldiers.  But the
> following ex., obviously written by someone with professional-level
> skills, shows that "soldier" now subsumes sailors too, at least for some
> people:
>
>
> 2007 _Moviefone_ [
> http://insidemovies.moviefone.com/2007/03/07/feature-page-5-1-films/]:
> German director Wolfgang Petersen's U-boat drama realistically captures the
> claustrophobia and uncertainty of a fighter sub and portrays the German
> soldiers as real people, not Aryan monsters.
>
>
> Perhaps, as skeptics will chuckle, this is merely a slip. Maybe. But if so,
> it is a bizarre slip IMO. The writer obviously knows what the movie is
> about.
>
> Consider too the peculiar phrase "fighter sub." That supports the idea that
> the writer is not very familiar with even everyday military/naval usage, at
> least as little boys grew up learning it in the '50s.  I've heard Fox News
> refer to all combat aircraft as "fighter planes."
>
> (If you don't understand my point, you may be proving it.)
>
> The explanation (if one is needed) may be that over the past couple of
> decades, all members of the armed forces have come to be described in
> journalism as "warriors" generally. (There are several reasons for this.)
> But if "warrior" can subsume "sailor," why can't "soldier"?
>
> Inglish. Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.
>
> JL
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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