Wordsmith Talk |
About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us | |||
Register Log In Wordsmith.org Forums General Topics Q&A about words The long chair
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
OP I've noticed that, unlike most boards, there seems to be a fair representation of English/British people here, so perhaps my comment/question will make more sense.
It concerns the French importation - chaise longue - which literally means 'long chair', and refers to a sofa with only one arm rest. Every American I know refers to it as a chaise lounge. This changes spelling, pronunciation and literal meaning. Serendipitously, of course, it evokes the image of someone lounging in this sofa, which is quite apposite, given the use to which it is put.
My questions, such as they are, are these:
1. Has anyone else noticed this tendency, and not just amongst people from the USA?
2. Does anyone have an opinion on whether or not this form will eventually predominate?
3. Do any of the language mavens here have strong normative opinions regarding this phrase? Being English and mildly traditional myself, when it comes to language, I usually deplore the apparent corruption of a good phrase, but I find the 'lounge' idea quite fascinating.
cheer
the sunshine warrior
Postscript: One of the best (in normative terms) users of English I know, is a Professor of Philosophy in Los Angeles, and she was surprised when I pointed out to her that she used the lounge, rather than the original longue, version of this phrase, since she had never thought about it before.
Entire Thread Subject Posted By Posted The long chair shanks 04/03/00 12:55 PM Re: The long chair peter 04/03/00 06:34 PM Re: The long chair jmh 04/03/00 08:46 PM Anglophone tests? shanks 04/04/00 09:28 AM Re: Anglophone tests? Philip Davis 04/04/00 12:10 PM Re: Anglophone tests? shanks 04/04/00 02:50 PM Re: Anglophone tests? Philip Davis 04/04/00 09:35 PM Re: Anglophone tests? Jackie 04/05/00 05:46 PM Re: Anglophone tests? Philip Davis 04/06/00 02:26 AM Re: Anglophone tests? Jackie 04/08/00 11:48 PM Re: Anglophone tests? tsuwm 04/09/00 07:13 PM Re: Anglophone tests? jmh 04/04/00 12:14 PM Re: The long chair jmh 04/03/00 09:09 PM Re: The long chair Cathryn 04/08/00 01:31 PM Re: The long chair jmh 04/09/00 09:02 PM Re: The long chair arosebyanyname 06/08/02 03:18 AM
Moderated by Jackie
Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics Forums16Topics13,913Posts229,373Members9,182 Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members Ineffable, ddrinnan, TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV
9,182 Registered Users
Who's Online Now 1 members (wofahulicodoc), 166 guests, and 2 robots. Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days) A C Bowden 25
Top Posters wwh 13,858Faldage 13,803Jackie 11,613wofahulicodoc 10,562tsuwm 10,542LukeJavan8 9,919Buffalo Shrdlu 7,210AnnaStrophic 6,511Wordwind 6,296of troy 5,400
Forum Rules · Mark All Read Contact Us · Forum Help · Wordsmith.org