This garment has qualities I admire, linguistic question

[Never_falter2]

? But I didn’t start to talk about social class here, did I? I know dropping the h like in (h)ouse or (h)orse is a social class thing but dropping the h in (h)our is done by everybody... but I did not mention. In our country we learn RP as the correct English accent for a non native speaker to use... which i think is somehow correlated with class.

Maybe this is a stupid question. A year ago... I was asked for my background on a board, told them my social class, everybody hated me... not sure why was it because they hated my class or because or because they hated me talking about social class... is this a taboo topic in the anglosphere? I am still not sure what happened there (and that was also the reason why I overreacted here when somebody mentioned social class, so sorry)... and recently I ran into trouble for talking about social class again... and what makes this really bad for me (apart from me hating to be flamed for whatever reason). I still do not understand what was going on there... after all this is not really important, just people on a board.

 

[Mach123]

? But I didn’t start to talk about social class here, did I? I know dropping the h like in (h)ouse or (h)orse is a social class thing but dropping the h in (h)our is done by everybody... but I did not mention. In our country we learn RP as the correct English accent for a non native speaker to use... which i think is somehow correlated with class.

Maybe this is a stupid question. A year ago... I was asked for my background on a board, told them my social class, everybody hated me... not sure why was it because they hated my class or because or because they hated me talking about social class... is this a taboo topic in the anglosphere? I am still not sure what happened there (and that was also the reason why I overreacted here when somebody mentioned social class, so sorry)... and recently I ran into trouble for talking about social class again... and what makes this really bad for me (apart from me hating to be flamed for whatever reason). I still do not understand what was going on there... after all this is not really important, just people on a board.

That is an extremely delicate, debatable and funny question in America.

Dead Link Removed
This author takes a very funny look at answering the question. I wouldn't attempt it. : )

 

[Freida]

Americans are really weird about class and money. For example, you never ask someone what their salary is. It's just not done. Which can really complicate the hell out of a job search! How do you know what salary to ask for if you don't know what people in the job get paid? So you have to go to anonymous websites to find out.

If someone asked me about my background I would answer what kind of job I had, where I lived, if I had kids, that type of thing. If I included "my background is upper class, or middle class or what ever" most (American) people would probably wonder where that answer came from because it doesn't match the question.

We don't really use class references to describe ourselves. It's more of a commentary on a social situation.
example....
the death rate of lower middle class residents in this town is higher than those who are upper middle class

Its like when an American says "Hi, how are you" The response is "fine thanks". They are NOT really asking how you are, unless there is a follow up question.

Ex...
Hi, I heard you had surgery recently, how are you?

That is one of the biggest confusions for my foreign friends. And then someone from the UK or Australia will come along and tell you they do it totally differently :laugh:

 

[Never_falter2]

I think we do not really define class by money where I am from... for example... say a person studied history of Art or Ancient Egyptian Philology or Middle High German or or something like this and earned a PhD. They would always be a higher class to me no matter how poor.
Same for the person coming from a family notable for whatever. Same for the person who has values which I associate with higher class (say as chivalrousness) and there is also values I asssociate with lower class (such as honesty or calling a spade a spade).

So if we say our class is this or that, we talk more about our culture, not about how much we earn.
As for money we don’t discuss this here that much too. It is important for people in which jobs they work but more for the prestige and they do not want to work in a job which is below that of their fathers.

BTW where I am from the greeting is not “How are you?“. It is “Hello“ or “Good day“. That’s always funny for us when Americans ask “How are you?“... but the answer to “how are you“ is also “Good“ or “I/One cannot complain“

 

[Never_falter2]

By they way. Do I speak correct military slang?

Six - your back
Kitchen Six - those having your back in the kitchen, such as your wife
Fourteenhundred - two o‘clock a.m.
Jack - an egoistic individual
Brew - coffee
Jack brew - egoistic individual prepares coffee for himself but not for others
The sandbox - Iraq
Nam - Vietnam
Scoff - food
Go AWOL - (go absent without leave) on civvy street disappear
Civvies - Civilians
Nasty Civvies - maybe civilians but somehow suck more than usual
Buzz - a rumor
Chair force - Air Force, not sure if I am allowed to use that word... but a Air Force soldier told me about so I think it cannot be to secret and I thought it was pretty funny.

 

[Freida]

Fourteenhundred - two o‘clock a.m.

two p.m. *)

Chair force - Air Force, not sure if I am allowed to use that word... but a Air Force soldier told me about so I think it cannot be to secret and I thought it was pretty funny.

LOL it's supposed to be an insult, but as I told an army guy the other day "dont be a hater just cause I was sitting at my desk drinking a latte while you were slogging thru the mud" so it's a friendly one. I wouldn't suggest using it as a civilian though

I'm not sure of the Jack ones... haven't heard those

 

[Never_falter2]

Oh, yeah right... fourteenhundred is two p.m. - we do not have a.m. and p.m. over here. We call fourteenhundred, fourteen o‘clock or more often two o‘clock in the afternoon.

??Is chairforce a bit like the n-word? You can use it but others cannot.

I think Jack might be only UK???

Actually guess I should be sleeping it is *scratches head* zero-hundred-nineteen -did I get that right? 0119=Zero-hundred-nineteen - over here.

 

[Freida]

0119=Zero-hundred-nineteen

LOL yea -- the time between 00:00 and 0100 are tough - so everyone kind of says it differently
I think I'd use 0019 zero zero nineteen maybe..? huh

 

[Mach123]

I think we do not really define class by money where I am from... for example... say a person studied history of Art or Ancient Egyptian Philology or Middle High German or or something like this and earned a PhD. They would always be a higher class to me no matter how poor.
Same for the person coming from a family notable for whatever. Same for the person who has values which I associate with higher class (say as chivalrousness) and there is also values I asssociate with lower class (such as honesty or calling a spade a spade).

So if we say our class is this or that, we talk more about our culture, not about how much we earn.
As for money we don’t discuss this here that much too. It is important for people in which jobs they work but more for the prestige and they do not want to work in a job which is below that of their fathers.

BTW where I am from the greeting is not “How are you?“. It is “Hello“ or “Good day“. That’s always funny for us when Americans ask “How are you?“... but the answer to “how are you“ is also “Good“ or “I/One cannot complain“

Class is only defined by money in cases where people don't know the difference. Money is not equal to class nor class equal to money. It's a long story and I certainly don't understand it completely. To do the research you have to start by necessity with the revolutionary war and our seperation from the British crown. Opinions vary widely on the topic but suffice it to say anyone can rise as high as they want (or they can try at least) because the class "structure" meaning you're stuck in the class in which you were born, was done away with by that war. ( in theory at least)

 

[blackemerald1]

The important thing about class is that it does exist but everyone denies it does. :wtf:

 

[Never_falter2]

I see. So I guess you best avoid the topic as a foreigner.

BTW... *cough* talking about cultural differences and taboos... is it true that ALL American women shave down there and being hairy is a taboo? #Januhairy

 

[Mach123]

I see. So I guess you best avoid the topic as a foreigner.

BTW... *cough* talking about cultural differences and taboos... is it true that ALL American women shave down there and being hairy is a taboo? #Januhairy

I'll let the girls answer but. I had a girlfriend once who didn't and it's fine (shave anything). If you mean pubic area I'll say IDK but visible hair in a bikini? I hope not. Legs and armpits? People would notice so I guess that'd mean it's taboo. There are different opinions, but you don't see lots of real hairy people (male or female) in the magazines.