which way to express
Jan 13th 2010 21:56
subject
context
expression-variety
1) Suppose you are American and the person you are talking with is not American, and you tell him about one of manners in a crowded train in America...
(a) "In America we take it for granted that young people give up their seats to old people in a crowded train."
Is this usage of "we" correct?
I mean, in this case "we" does not contain the person you are talking with, but is that no problem?
2) I hear that in English the phrase "senior citizens" is sometimes used when you refer to old people in general.
Then, in the context of (a), is it acceptable that you replace "old people" with "senior citizens"?
Thank you in advance!!!
(a) "In America we take it for granted that young people give up their seats to old people in a crowded train."
Is this usage of "we" correct?
I mean, in this case "we" does not contain the person you are talking with, but is that no problem?
2) I hear that in English the phrase "senior citizens" is sometimes used when you refer to old people in general.
Then, in the context of (a), is it acceptable that you replace "old people" with "senior citizens"?
Thank you in advance!!!
- 9
- 2
- 1
Journals Statistics
| Total | 495 entries |
|---|---|
| This Month | 0 entries |
| This week | 0 enrties |
Latest entry
| A World Discovered By Wearing Glasses (5) |
| Before I Arrived ... (6) |
| The First Time (4) |
| After a Long Time (2) |
| To Start / To Start On (5) |
Latest comments
| Apr 26th tony |
| Apr 25th :-) |
| Apr 17th tony |
| Apr 16th tony |
| Apr 16th tony |
Entries by Month
| 2012 |
|---|
| - April (6) |
| - March (7) |
| - February (24) |
| - January (32) |
| 2011 |
| - December (20) |
| - November (23) |
| - October (20) |
| - September (18) |
| - August (10) |
| - July (26) |
| - June (20) |
| - May (7) |
| - April (5) |
| - March (14) |
| - February (4) |
| - January (10) |
| 2010 |
| - December (5) |
| - November (11) |
| - October (5) |
| - September (6) |
| - August (2) |
| - July (6) |
| - June (6) |
| - April (9) |
| - March (3) |
| - February (4) |
| - January (22) |
| 2009 |
| - December (13) |
| - November (16) |
| - October (31) |
| - September (26) |
| - August (13) |
| - July (18) |
| - June (9) |
| - May (28) |
| - April (16) |
1) Suppose you are American, and the person you are talking with is not American, and you tell him about one of the customs in a crowded train in America...
I mean, in this case "we" does not include the person you are talking with, but is that no problem?
In question (a), "we" is understood to include the American speaker and other Americans in general. It is obvious from the context that it does not include the non-American listener because the sentence starts with "In America".
In question (b), you can definitely replace "old people" directly with "senior citizens":
"...young people give up their seats to senior citizens in crowded trains."
In fact, it sounds a little more polite than "old people" so I would recommend using this phrase! :)
I want to add one small detail, which is that the phrase "older people" is somewhat softer and more polite in English than the phrase "old people."
There are complicated cultural reasons behind the fact that which phrase to use is a sensitive issue. To oversimplify, there are two competing images of old people in US culture: (1) They are experienced and wise, and worthy of respect (2) They are doddering fools, incapable of taking care of themselves and out of touch with the rapid changes which are happening around them.