Brexit and the waning days of the United Kingdom

[Sheilbh]

I think this is one that changed while I was a kid. I remember learing about eskimos and then at some point later learning that they're actually callued inuit.

I've no idea on the sort of politics around it - and this is interesting to learn - but I definitely remember there being a shift when I was a kid (and possibly a sense that you shouldn't say "eskimo").

[Valmy]

what the hell is upper working class?

Doesn't matter, the poll is about how people see themselves, and very few see themselves as that.

15% is very few?

[crazy canuck]

i thought it's only a slur in canada, is it not? Innuit in Alaska use the term eskimo? Unless that's another error, in which case i apologize.

And yes I think you're right that it is used in Alaska.

You really would benefit from not going full Childish Yi.  The correct answer was posted directly above your post.

[Grey Fox]

It's more Viper style, imo.

[grumbler]

but they would make more then a lower middle class guy, right? so why are they placed below? a 60k a year plumber is ranked below a 30k middle management guy because he wears overalls?

The survey is about how people self-identify, not about their income.  Eskimos have a hundred words for different kinds of snow; Brits have a hundred words for different levels of social class.

Two common errors, but there is enough acknowledgement now that it should be corrected.  Eskimo is a slur and should not be used.  The Inuit, who I think you are referring to, did and do not have 100 words for snow.  That was another misunderstanding that has since been corrected.

One common error:  you assume that the expression "Eskimos have a hundred words for different kinds of snow" refers to any actual people or any actual kinds of snow.  It's a figure of speech, relatively common in American English.

I will try to avoid using it here, as it clearly is taken literally by those not familiar with it's use as a figure of speech.

[Syt]

Where can I find a list of those snow words?

[crazy canuck]

but they would make more then a lower middle class guy, right? so why are they placed below? a 60k a year plumber is ranked below a 30k middle management guy because he wears overalls?

The survey is about how people self-identify, not about their income.  Eskimos have a hundred words for different kinds of snow; Brits have a hundred words for different levels of social class.

Two common errors, but there is enough acknowledgement now that it should be corrected.  Eskimo is a slur and should not be used.  The Inuit, who I think you are referring to, did and do not have 100 words for snow.  That was another misunderstanding that has since been corrected.

One common error:  you assume that the expression "Eskimos have a hundred words for different kinds of snow" refers to any actual people or any actual kinds of snow.  It's a figure of speech, relatively common in American English.

I will try to avoid using it here, as it clearly is taken literally by those not familiar with it's use as a figure of speech.

There are things that used to be commonly said in American English that should not now be said.  Hardly a defence.   

[Maladict]

One common error:  you assume that the expression "Eskimos have a hundred words for different kinds of snow" refers to any actual people or any actual kinds of snow.  It's a figure of speech, relatively common in American English.

Nah, that's another error. I'm getting a single google hit on that sentence, so not common at all.

[crazy canuck]

One common error:  you assume that the expression "Eskimos have a hundred words for different kinds of snow" refers to any actual people or any actual kinds of snow.  It's a figure of speech, relatively common in American English.

Nah, that's another error. I'm getting a single google hit on that sentence, so not common at all.

It may be that people where Grumbler live are unware (and uncaring) about how offensive the term is to some Inuit.  That would explain his response.

[grumbler]

One common error:  you assume that the expression "Eskimos have a hundred words for different kinds of snow" refers to any actual people or any actual kinds of snow.  It's a figure of speech, relatively common in American English.

Nah, that's another error. I'm getting a single google hit on that sentence, so not common at all.

No, that's an error.  I get 1,940 results, so fairly common.

[grumbler]

Where can I find a list of those snow words?

Then you'll complain that there are, in fact, only 97, and three of those are repeats.

[grumbler]

There are things that used to be commonly said in American English that should not now be said.  Hardly a defence.

As you are hardly the Grand Poobah of American English, your opinion is simply noted.  Canadians, I agree, should avoid the phrase.

[grumbler]

Again, CC continues to assume that his values are universal ones.

I would no more call an Inuit an Eskimo than i would call a Lokata a Sioux.  But I do use idioms, and if CC is personally offended by reading the word "Eskimo" I can, as I noted, do my best to avoid disturbing his sensibilities by using that particular idiom here.

[Barrister]

I would no more call an Inuit an Eskimo than i would call a Lokata a Sioux.  But I do use idioms, and if CC is personally offended by reading the word "Eskimo" I can, as I noted, do my best to avoid disturbing his sensibilities by using that particular idiom here.

Eskimo isn't, by and large, considered a slur.  It's not like redskin, and certainly not like the n-word.

But Eskimo isn't their preferred term.  It's other people's name for them.  And like many people, both groups or individuals, they should be called what they prefer to be called.

[crazy canuck]

Again, CC continues to assume that his values are universal ones.

I would no more call an Inuit an Eskimo than i would call a Lokata a Sioux.  But I do use idioms, and if CC is personally offended by reading the word "Eskimo" I can, as I noted, do my best to avoid disturbing his sensibilities by using that particular idiom here.

Why you are choosing to defend the use of an offensive term is mystery.  The fact that you have tried to personalize it, is par for the course.