| صفحات الموضوع: < [1 2 3] | Off topic: I need to go to the loo/toilet ناشر الموضوع: Claudia Mattiozzi
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Rachel Fell 
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Tom in London wrote: "Loo" is a horrible lower middle-class euphemism for "lavatory". People who say "loo" also say: "tummy" instead of "stomach" "jimjams" instead of "pyjamas" "telly" instead of "television" "uni" instead of "university" "poo" instead of "sh*t" "supper" instead of "dinner" etc. 
Lavatory's fine, but loo isn't LMC, just colloquial. Words like tummy and jimjams sound like words used with small children. I think it may also be that certain words are used more by one gender than the other...
| | | | | Teaching "slang" | Nov 16, 2010 |
Claudia Mattiozzi wrote:
I believe the teacher should not teach "slang" words.
While I do agree that people learning a second language should learn the "proper" way to say things (although in this case no one can seem to agree on what that proper term would be), I also think it is important to learn colloquial terminology.
I have taught English as a second language for many years, and I think it is very important that students learn how native speakers communicate. After all, even if your daughter prefers not to say "loo", it is important that she understand what a loo is.
If she learns to speak English very well, but cannot understand native speakers, she will not be able to communicate. Half of communication is understanding.
| | | | Neil Coffey
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| May I be so adventurous as to request permission to urinate? | Nov 16, 2010 |
Catherine Gilsenan wrote:
"Yes, I'm sure you can go to the toilet (indicating ability), but I think you mean 'May I go to the toilet' (indicating permission)".
Just to make clear for non-native speakers: "can" is a perfectly normal, acceptable way of asking for permission. There is absolutely no need to use "may" in this case. The latter would tend to imply asking "special" permission, e.g. for something that is not normally allowed, or would be used to make a polite suggestion ("May I recommend...?"). For asking permission for something "boring" like going to the toilet, I would say that "can" is really the usual verb, and that "may" would sound odd.
Oh, and re "loo" as a UK speaker I'm not quite sure what all the fuss is about-- isn't it just a slightly informal, slightly euphemistic, perfectly acceptable word for "toilet"?
[Edited at 2010-11-16 20:08 GMT]
| | | | | A comment from a non-native speaker | Nov 16, 2010 |
Hello everyone,
I find it intriguing how many posts can be made in reply to such a seemingly "banal" question.
In the Czech Republic, we usually teach learners of English to "go to the toilet", because with bathrooms and WC separated in most houses and flats, "going to the bathroom" wouldn't give much sense. Unless you wanted to do it in the washbasin, of course. ... See more Hello everyone,
I find it intriguing how many posts can be made in reply to such a seemingly "banal" question.
In the Czech Republic, we usually teach learners of English to "go to the toilet", because with bathrooms and WC separated in most houses and flats, "going to the bathroom" wouldn't give much sense. Unless you wanted to do it in the washbasin, of course.
[Upraveno: 2010-11-16 20:42 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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May I leave the room? was the question usually put when I went to school. The teacher was rarely interested in knowing what I was about to do.
| | | | | Class matters | Nov 17, 2010 |
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/the-art-of-etiquette-a-bluffers-guide-to-being-posh-445059.html
The article reminded me of a very interesting (and funny) book I read a few years ago, when studying English (in its British variety) at uni. The book is "Watching the English" by anthropologist Kate... See more http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/the-art-of-etiquette-a-bluffers-guide-to-being-posh-445059.html
The article reminded me of a very interesting (and funny) book I read a few years ago, when studying English (in its British variety) at uni. The book is "Watching the English" by anthropologist Kate Fox. She argued that most of the time a word is used instead of another on the basis of class. So, no upper-class speaker would ever say toilet, nor any other word of French origin. Conversely, working class and would-be "social climbers" often use this kind of word, for French should make you sound "posher" (but of course they're wrong, the true posh say!)
In real life I don't know, just ... I've always found a way to express such thought even in languages I don't know at all and must say that "toilet" "toilette" and similar sounds helped a lot! ▲ Collapse
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This is, of course, nonsense, but it beautifully illustrates our obsession with class in the UK.
What class do you belong to, Tom? Are you looking up or down at the lower-middle?
Incidentally, whichever class I belong to could not care less whether the words we use pigeonhole us socially, and so "loo" is fine. We also write out potentially offensive words, such as shit, in full.
All fascinating fun.
Tom in London wrote: "Loo" is a horrible lower middle-class euphemism for "lavatory". People who say "loo" also say: "tummy" instead of "stomach" "jimjams" instead of "pyjamas" "telly" instead of "television" "uni" instead of "university" "poo" instead of "sh*t" "supper" instead of "dinner" etc.
| | | | | That's cheered me up no end! | Nov 17, 2010 |
Tom in London wrote:
"Loo" is a horrible lower middle-class euphemism for "lavatory". People who say "loo" also say:
"tummy" instead of "stomach"
"jimjams" instead of "pyjamas"
"telly" instead of "television"
"uni" instead of "university"
"poo" instead of "sh*t"
"supper" instead of "dinner"
My father plagued my early years with his upper-middle class euphamisms - he might have had the class to use them but he didn't have the money to send me to the schools where the other pupils used them, so I was called a "snooty, stuck-up snob".
It was a hard lesson to learn but I'm pleased to see that the words I use today officially put me down with the real workers, except that I shit with the upper classes.
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| They're not really euphamisms | May 13, 2012 |
Tom in London wrote: "Loo" is a horrible lower middle-class euphemism for "lavatory". People who say "loo" also say: "tummy" instead of "stomach" "jimjams" instead of "pyjamas" "telly" instead of "television" "uni" instead of "university" "poo" instead of "sh*t" "supper" instead of "dinner" etc.
I have the feeling that there isn't really a universally acceptable word for it. My parents used "loo" when I was growing up. I use both words "loo" and "toilet" as an adult, along with "bathroom" when required. I remember when an elderly relative of mine, who was in her 80s, came to visit about 10 years ago, and she asked "Where can I go to wash my hands?" She was very confused when I took this literally and directed her to the bathroom which contains a sink for washing your hands (our toilet/loo/lavatory does not). To me, the silliest example of a euphamism in English for a lavatory is a "WC". This is an acronym for "Water closet". I mean, seriously?! To me, that is a closet full of water.
As for your list of "lower middle class euphemisms", the first two are really children's words, "telly" and "uni" are fairly common, "sh*t"...well, the correct term is "faeces", and the dinner/supper thing is more of a regional than a class-based distinction. "Sh*it" is a vulgar word whichever way you look at it, which is why it is so good as an insult. It would sound strange and somewhat comical if a person said, "Come back here you piece of poo!"
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