Date:  Tue, 1 Nov 1994 21:54:06 CST

From:  salikoko mufwene <mufw[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MIDWAY.UCHICAGO.EDU>

Subject: Re: offending idioms



In Message Tue, 1 Nov 1994 14:10:36 PST,

 "Jim Ague, ague[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]redrck.enet.dec.com, Col Spgs,       CO"

 <ague[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]redrck.enet.dec.com> writes:



>While here, he received his US citizenship, and of course considered himself a

>true African-American, born in one, naturalized in the other. The twist to the

>story is that Darryl, and Mattie, were descendants of British Colonialists that

>had settled in in Northern Rhodesia several generations ago.



  I did not know that in proposing that "African American" be used instead

of "Black American" the intention was to appropriate "African" for 'black'

only! The bottom line in this pseudo-intellectual insanity is: why should

you care how a particular group or subset thereof wants to be identified?

Who is trying to legislate language here: the user/speaker or the linguist?

Sali.

Salikoko S. Mufwene

University of Chicago

Dept. of Linguistics

1010 East 59th Street

Chicago, IL 60637

s-mufwene[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]uchicago.edu

312-702-8531; fax: 312-702-9861