Mr. President - It is the 'Democratic' Party

[mrhnau]

So you wouldn't mind if we called it the Pubic Party? It's just my accent. The English language is flexible.

You would mind? It's insulting?

Ah-hah

Bad analogy. Democrat is not demeaning or crude. Pubic is. If Bush said something like "Demagogue party" or "Demon party" I could understand being upset. Democrat is often used incorrectly as Crushing correctly stated. How about the following quote?

Of the 31 seats, I think less will be retained after 08. I don't think the Repubs got motivated enough during the midterms, and we'll see a shift back, at least in the Senate, in 08.

Should we be insulted? He said REPUB! *gasp* I doubt anyone is upset about that. Come on As stated earlier, absoltely trivial, but some people want something to whine about... so be it Only a person looking for insult is going to be insulted.

You know, it's SO PAINFULLY obvious this man is a buffoon, I'm sorry. Even Cheney can't bring himself to emulate the Chief's linguistic blunders. I doubt even Limbaugh will do that (and that's saying something).

LOL! If you want to consider him so I don't think any of the alternatives in the past were any better. Kerry or Gore were not exactly the Einsteins of our era. Honestly, I would have prefered other candidates. I more voted against someone than for. Bush is not the worlds leading genius, but the same claims were made about Reagan. In retrospect, I don't find many now that consider him a buffoon. I think years down the road, Bush will be vindicated. Especially if a Democrat comes into office and Iraq/Al Qaeda starts becoming a problem on American soil.

I'm not a Republican, nor will I ever be. The party has lost its way in my view. Bush himself is not conversative enough in my opinion and much of the Republican party is not either.

 

[crushing]

So you wouldn't mind if we called it the Pubic Party? It's just my accent. The English language is flexible.

You would mind? It's insulting?

Ah-hah

Flexible indeed. I think we are generally losing or dropping our inflections. 'Iraq war' instead of 'Iraqi war', 'Afghan elections' instead of 'Afghani elections', 'P' instead of 'Puff' (when used with Diddy) and 'Welp' instead of 'Well, people'.



Sorry about the previous mistake with the two links. When THE insult we are discussing is made into a proper name, it is no longer ungrammatical, nor insulting. . . I suppose.

 

[shesulsa]

mrhnau - my username is shesulsa ... not ... shelusa

 

[mrhnau]

mrhnau - my username is shesulsa ... not ... shelusa

Sorry was typing in a hurry... Don't be insulted like Michael! *expects TON of negative rep from Shesulsa now*

 

[shesulsa]

Sorry was typing in a hurry... Don't be insulted like Michael! *expects TON of negative rep from Shesulsa now*

LOL! No, that would be childish! Thanks.

 

[tellner]

shesulsa, it was in reference to the correspondent's suggestion that calling it the "Democrat Party" was just an accent, an example of the flexibility of the language or some similar lame excuse and that Democrats shouldn't be offended. If he really believes that, then he wouldn't mind if someone else applied the same logic to his Party. Goose, Gander and all that.

 

[shesulsa]

shesulsa, it was in reference to the correspondent's suggestion that calling it the "Democrat Party" was just an accent, an example of the flexibility of the language or some similar lame excuse and that Democrats shouldn't be offended. If he really believes that, then he wouldn't mind if someone else applied the same logic to his Party. Goose, Gander and all that.

I thought so, I was just trying to be polite and respectful; you know, like a good American citizen.

 

[Ray]

So ... you're saying the intentional mispronunciation or bastardization and butchering of the English Language - which, btw, his father didn't do nor does his brother - is "accent"?

My parents had southern accents, but they could at least accentually pronouce the correct word.

My father speaks with a "St George" accent (as in old southern Utah). My oldest brother speaks with a central US accent. I have one brother who spoke with a heavier Spanish accent because he ran with some gangs in the 70's.

The bastardization and butchering of the English Language has been going on for centuries.

As for "accentually pronouncing the correct word," which I guess means that the English word with the intended meaning was pronounced "correctly" but with an accent. I don't know but I've been around several people who pronounced "specific" as "pacific" and wasn't sure whether they had the right word with the wrong accent or visa versa. Another time, a very intelligent degreed man spoke of a "call yum" which turned out to be a column (but I recognize it as "call um").

Then again, there are several indications that the "group noun" (like "team") is going to no longer have the singular reference ("the team have" vrs "the team has"). We'll chalk that up to the same changes that cause people to have "an historic event" without having "an history book."

If Bush's grammer and pronunciation are the biggest problems people have, then I'm an happy 'publican.

 

[CoryKS]

I'm curious ... you are aware we live in a republic and not a dictatorship, right? Because the President of the United States is supposed to serve the people of the United States - all of them. Are you saying the President owes no respect to any citizen he serves???? Surely you're referring to another country ...???

Yes, I am aware that we live in a republic. And I think that it would be poor service indeed to disrespect those one serves. My post did not address the matter of whether or not the president was being disrespectful. I was commenting on a viewpoint that appears to think it's okay to heap scorn on someone and expect none in return. To use your service analogy, it brings to mind a restaurant customer who thinks it's okay to yell at the waitress and then demands to see a manager if she dares to roll her eyes.

 

[shesulsa]

As for "accentually pronouncing the correct word," which I guess means that the English word with the intended meaning was pronounced "correctly" but with an accent. I don't know but I've been around several people who pronounced "specific" as "pacific" and wasn't sure whether they had the right word with the wrong accent or visa versa. Another time, a very intelligent degreed man spoke of a "call yum" which turned out to be a column (but I recognize it as "call um").

Then again, there are several indications that the "group noun" (like "team") is going to no longer have the singular reference ("the team have" vrs "the team has"). We'll chalk that up to the same changes that cause people to have "an historic event" without having "an history book."

If Bush's grammer and pronunciation are the biggest problems people have, then I'm an happy 'publican.

Oh they're hardly the biggest problems, just the topic of this thread. And did you ever notice that Bush Sr. and brother Jeb don't seem to have the same "accent"?

 

[Ray]

Yeah, 'cause all Texans can't string a single sentence together.

You think that Foxworth's humor sold because it wasn't based on some bit of truth. I'm sure there are lots of educated Texans who speak very well, but I've met several who didn't.

 

[Ray]

Ray, it is not an accent, it is mis-use of the English language.

And, on account of the fact that Mr. Bush was educated down the road from my home, at Phillips Andover, in Andover, Massachusetts. That he graduated from Yale University in Connecticut. He received his MBA from Harvard University in Massachusetts. This education pedegree matches the best of any Northeast Liberal.

He just plays a Texan on television.

Do you mean "northeastern" liberal? Or is that a reference to some althetic team?

 

[mrhnau]

Oh they're hardly the biggest problems, just the topic of this thread. And did you ever notice that Bush Sr. and brother Jeb don't seem to have the same "accent"?

I don't have the same accent as my parents or sister, and we have always lived in the same state. Is that a big deal? I imagine there are a ton of similar families.

 

[DavidCC]

Referring to the Democratic Party as the Democrat Party is insulting BECAUSE THEY SAY IT IS. People outside that group may not see how it is insulting but they feel it is.

Apply the same measure to any ethnic group and who would argue it. Blacks and the N word. Hispanics with a damp posterior etc etc

but just to be fair Democrats coud start referring to the GOP as the 'Publican Party' that might be just as insulting.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source pub·li·can (pŭb'lĭ-kən) Pronunciation Key

n.

1. Chiefly British The keeper of a public house or tavern.
2. A collector of public taxes or tolls in the ancient Roman Empire.
3. A collector of taxes or tribute from the public.

 

[michaeledward]

I don't know but I've been around several people who pronounced "specific" as "pacific" and wasn't sure whether they had the right word with the wrong accent or visa versa.

Ray, I think you would find linguists who could explain that anomoly. I have seen that argument concerning the President's malaprop on nuclear. It is something about how the brain works that causes those displaced phonetics.

When the President mispronounces nuclear, he sounds like an idiot; just as someone who mispronounces the largest body of water on the planet. But, there is a bit of lingusitics associated with these mispronounciations which you can and do occur naturally in a small portion of the population.

I would think that the President would spend some time with a speech coach to correct the issue ... but, I think instead, perhaps, Karl Rove keeps him away from that, because it helps the President appear folksy.

Then again, there are several indications that the "group noun" (like "team") is going to no longer have the singular reference ("the team have" vrs "the team has"). We'll chalk that up to the same changes that cause people to have "an historic event" without having "an history book."

Team is a collective noun. When used to describe a group, it is properly paired with a singular verb. If you are referring to many teams, in the plural, we add the 's'.

Because collective nouns represent a single group made up of more than one members there can be times when it is used with plural verbs. This requires the members of the group to behave in ways that can not be explained in a single action; some of the team walked home and some took the bus. Walking and taking the bus are mutually exclusive in this description.

http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/collectivenoun.htm

 

[michaeledward]

Do you mean "northeastern" liberal? Or is that a reference to some althetic team?

You are correct. Northeastern. That should be capitalized, shouldn't it?

 

[michaeledward]

Referring to the Democratic Party as the Democrat Party is insulting BECAUSE THEY SAY IT IS. People outside that group may not see how it is insulting but they feel it is.

Actually, it is insulting because that is how the first people who used the term intended it.

http://mediamatters.org/items/200608160005

The ungrammatical conversion of the noun "Democrat" to an adjective was the brainchild of Republican partisans, presumably an attempt to deny the opposing party the claim to being "democratic" -- or in the words of New Yorker magazine senior editor Hendrik Hertzberg, "to deny the enemy the positive connotations of its chosen appellation."

In fact, I am going to expand on this thought ....

How were the Pacific Islanders fighting World War II identified? Did we identify them as "Japanese" or was there some other word, or words, that were common at the time? I have heard some words that I will not mention because of their negative connotation.

When did we stop using terms to dehumanize the decendents are Slavery? Did our forefathers choose those words because they uplifted people freed from slavery with the Emanicipation Proclaimation, or were they used to keep those people separate (less than) from our forebears.

I won't use those words publicly. Language is a powerful tool. And the words I am thinking of are hurtful words; spoken to inflict hurt on the group.

If our African-American, contemporaries use those hurtful words as self-descriptive slang, it does not change the intent of those who originally spoke those words. They were used to inflict hurt and to demean. Really, they aren't insulting becuase the Japanese and Japanese Americans feel they are insulting.

 

[Ray]

I would think that the President would spend some time with a speech coach to correct the issue ...

Not while he's in office. He can do it later. If he's being paid by my tax money he's going to be working, not getting voice lessons.

Team is a collective noun. When used to describe a group, it is properly paired with a singular verb. If you are referring to many teams, in the plural, we add the 's'.


Because collective nouns represent a single group made up of more than one members there can be times when it is used with plural verbs. This requires the members of the group to behave in ways that can not be explained in a single action; some of the team walked home and some took the bus. Walking and taking the bus are mutually exclusive in this description.

Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying! (I did mean "collective noun" and I stand corrected) The newspapers and newscasters have taken of late to say "the team have been" where they should have said "the team has been" almost exclusively.

 

[Ray]

You are correct. Northeastern. That should be capitalized, shouldn't it?

I don't believe capitalization is correct here.

 

[Ray]

Okay, if not the "democrat party" how about "that party of democrats?" That should be less insulting...