Date: Fri, 28 Jan 1994 08:15:28 -0600

From: Joan Livingston-Webber webber[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]CWIS.UNOMAHA.EDU

Subject: waiter/waitress



Most of my restaurant experience in Omaha is at inexpensive

ethnic places where the people don't refer to themselves at

all. At a Chilean restaurant on Tuesday, I had a hard time

simply understanding at all. (It was very good food however.)

I do occasionally go to the Olive Garden, and, there, we are

served by waitresses and waiters. Actually, I THINK the most

common script is something like, "My name is _____ and I'll

be serving you/be back for your order"--shifting to verbs

where gender-marking isn't an issue. Here, I'm still

encountering female grad students using "mankind." And my

department still has an officially designated "chairman." I

hardly expect the restaurant trade to have gone beyond the

English department, tho it would be nice to be surprised.



--

Joan Livingston-Webber webber[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]unomaha.edu

"What gets better is the precision with which we vex each other."

-Clifford Geertz