Fascinating thing, language. Just one little word, one little sound can trigger so many different responses.
Last week it was revealed that the Fabian Society, a left-wing think-tank with dubious relevance to 2008, thinks people should stop using the word ‘chav’. Spokesman Tom Hampson said it betrayed a deep level of "class hatred" and was "deeply offensive to a largely voiceless group".
Tom – bollocks! It’s part of our great British inventiveness and flair for sarcasm/cheek/irony/leg-pulling .. call it what you will. It says what some of us want to say about another section of society – in just four letters. Brilliant.
This morning I read that three residents of the Greek island of Lesbos have lost a court battle to ban the use of the word ‘lesbian’ to describe homosexual women (or ‘gay’, if you must, but that would open up a whole new can of etymological worms).
How can you BAN a word? How many policemen/women would you need to enforce such a law. About one for every person should do it.
Lesbian, lesbian, lesbian! There, Mr Policeman, come and get me!
The Lesbian trio (residents of Lesbos) were worried that all its female inhabitants would be defined as lesbians (female homosexuals).
Durr…
Mrs N and I have been to Lesbos. It’s a delightful place. The people are lovely, and we didn’t mistake any of them for lesbians (female homosexuals).
We have also been to St Michael’s Mount. And not one of the people we saw there resembled a saint or a branch of M&S. Mind you, when we went to Melton Mowbray … all those strange crimped heads. Makes you wonder.
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