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Originally Posted by kennyc
No. It is not invalid. It is perfectly valid in the context. That is the way people are reacting to it. You're blowing this comment way out of proportion just as you are with the original issue itself in defending it.
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i am not sure how i can be "blowing the original issue out of proportion" by requesting that people show more tolerance than several have been and stating repeatedly that no-one is trying to "force" anyone to use a word they don't want to. on the other hand, it seems to me that the people opposed to the use of liseuse have been blowing quite a few things out of proportion and i am very concerned by some of the turns this discussion has taken.
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Again let me state my position. I have no problem with the word being used in the French speaking forums but object to it in the English-speaking forums and particularly in the Reviews and News sections. There are perfectly good English terms in use historically as well as by the device manufacturers. We do not need a made-up word (like Kindle for example).
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once again, and hopefully for the last time, 1. "liseuse" is not a made-up word ; 2. no-one is forcing *anyone* to use liseuse instead of a word they prefer, and the virulence of some of these reactions is quite uncalled-for ; 3. like your apt reference to "kindle" demonstrates, the vocabulary around this phenomenon is still evolving, and who knows what will end up being adopted by most people as a generic term for dedicated reading devices. it's quite possible that in the US at least it *will* be kindle, despite the utter lack of any obvious connection between the original meaning of that word and the act of reading or anything having to do with reading. that is the way language works.
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If people insist on using it in the English forums, I can't change that, but I certainly can express my objection or reaction to them using the term. It will eventually work itself out.
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and as long as you keep the discussion respectful to all involved, i have no problem with it. however i do have a problem with a few people rather thuggishly derailing a thread completely simply because they object to a word used in it, *regardless* of which forum it is in. i also have a problem with people attempting to lend deeply unsavoury connotations to a perfectly inoffensive word by comparing it to a racial slur, and i also have a problem with the general intolerance and disrespect this discussion has degenerated into many times. as has already been said, IT IS JUST A WORD; if you don't like it, don't use it. but there is no reason to attack people who *do* like it and want to use it.