[Ads-l] Enslavement of Native Americans [was: wench

[Charles C Doyle]

The perceived distinction between "slave" and "enslaved person" reminds me (a little) of a discussion we had a few years ago:  the distinction between "Jew" (occasionally deemed impolite or offensive) and "Jewish person" (regarded as more polite).

--Charlie

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From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Michael Quinion <michael.quinion at WORLDWIDEWORDS.ORG>
Sent: Friday, April 1, 2016 2:00 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: Fw: [ADS-L] Enslavement of Native Americans [was: wench
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On 01/04/2016 17:43, Z Rice wrote:
> As I said the first time, the use of the term "slave" on this mailing list
> is very telling as it implicitly LEGITIMIZES the enslavement of children,
> women, and men. The language in your message, and on this mailing list
> engages in this practice, and I will never submit to navigating history
> with that sort of manipulative language and warped thinking.

Your repeated assertion of this nonsense is becoming tiresome.

Somebody who has been enslaved is a slave. The word is nothing more than
a useful identifier. You can't change the English language by diktat, no
matter how much a word might offend you.

--
Michael Quinion, World Wide Words
http://www.worldwidewords.org

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