Actually, a Mac is a personal computer, but it's not a Personal Computer. Note the capitalizations.
Personal Computer, in capitals, is actually an IBM trade name for the circa 1981 product of their Project Chess [note the "PC" initials again] initiative; abreviated "PC" it is technically still a trade name, and in that sense a Mac is not a PC. Non-IBM computers of that type should technically be called PC-compatibles.
The problems are that IBM hasn't exactly been aggressive in defending their trade name against infringement, and the term "personal computer" (not capitalized) had been in use before then, although at that time wasn't as widely used as either "microcomputer" or "home computer."
Okay; back on topic:
ER Room. Emergency Room room?
OR Room. Operating Room room?
Hot water heater. Why do you need to heat hot water?
AC current. Alternating Current current?
And last but not least (and a few insiders will get this)...
A knight chevalier.
Knight knight!
Yours in Budo,
---Brian---
Joe Stitz
"Black belt and white belt are the same, white belt is the beginning of technique. Black belt is the beginning of understanding. Both are beginner belts."
- Doug Perry -Hanshi, KuDan -Shorin Ryu ShorinKan
Never heard that; in these parts we say "turn on" the light.
One of my English teachers told me that we say "turn on" and "turn off" because early gas lamps had valves that turned. Same with "turn up" and "turn down" the heat or the stove.
My grandmother used to say "put out" the light instead of "turn off" the light. She grew up with oil lamps and candles.
Yours in Budo,
---Brian---
Big question. Is it improper to say "bo staff", in the prescence of japanese and/or Japanese instructors?
Richard Scardina
It is improper to say "bo staff" period. That's like saying "pistol handgun" or "dagger knife." That fact that the two words are from different languages does not change the fact that it's redundant.
That horrible phrase probably came about by someone trying to make clear the difference between a "bow" and a "bo," but amongst Budoka it should not be necessary; we should know from the context of the conversation what the object is that's being discussed. Would one say "katana sword" or "kama sickle"? Hopefully not!
Last edited by Brian Owens; 26th April 2009 at 10:29.
Yours in Budo,
---Brian---
Wait a minute...after writing my response above I thought to myself, Self, hasn't this already been covered?
Sure enough, it was...by you. You wrote, "Bo Staff (In martial arts a staff is a quarter stick-bo is the Asian term and translates the same) 'Stick Staff'"
What gives?
Yours in Budo,
---Brian---
I think Rickster is aware of the redundancy of "bo staff", but his question now refers to the appropriateness of its use in front of Japanese speakers.
My take is this. In a Japanese context, a staff is a "bo". In an English context, a "bo" is a staff. "Bo staff", like "sumo wrestling", is a useful way of getting specialized terminology across to an uninformed audience. If your audience understands "bo", there's no need to use "bo staff". If they don't, then I see no big deal in using "bo staff" to get the point across. In any case, I doubt Japanese folks will much care.
Context über alles.
Josh Reyer
Swa sceal man don, žonne he ęt guše gengan ženceš longsumne lof, na ymb his lif cearaš. - The Beowulf Poet
It's another example of a redundancy: the double post
We also have difficulties due to differences in langugage and sociolinguistics.
There is no single Japanese word for "staff". The closest we can find are words like "bo" and "konbo", the second also covering what we would call a "club" in English.
Compound this with jargon used in different arts - bo, jo, hanbo, tanbo, tanjo, kon, tetsubo...
I have come across Japanese school kids who couldn't read the word "jodo", they kept pronuncing it "tsuedo" due to their lack of exposure to budo terminology.
Why is a jo not a bo? Sociolinguistics is such a weird thing!
Andrew Smallacombe
Aikido Kenshinkai
JKA Tokorozawa
Now trotting over a bridge near you!
Linguistically, in Japanese a "bo" is any thin, long stick, bar, or rod that can be held in the hand. So, for example, a long rod used to hang laundry is a "sentaku-bo" ("sentaku" meaning "laundry"). Cotton swabs/Q-tips are called "menbo" (cotton "bo"). Matchsticks are "matchi-bo". "Testsubo" is literally "iron rod/bar", and aside from a weapon (also called "kanabo", or "metal rod"), also refers to exercise bars and gymnastics bars.
"Jo" is the Chinese reading for the character used to write "tsue", meaning "cane, walking stick". It's literal definition is "a 'bo' used for walking".
Josh Reyer
Swa sceal man don, žonne he ęt guše gengan ženceš longsumne lof, na ymb his lif cearaš. - The Beowulf Poet