Saturday, May 08, 2010

Boo words of ageing

Senior citizen. Senior anything. Nursing homes. Care homes. Old people. Retirement estate. All of these phrases are moving into the category of not being mentioned in nice company.

I know that I instinctively use the word 'older' when I could use a more descriptive term but it somehow doesn’t feel right.

I guess this is a form of political correctness, but it makes me feel uncomfortable when somebody points out what is happening. The Ageing in Place Tech blog has a good article about just this subject.

I wonder what the next stage is - “less young” people?

There are good reasons for being careful with language, for instance I say ‘retirement’ and it will have a very different meaning to your understanding. However, I have a feeling that I am being pressured by the language police. Dick Stroud

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