Question Concerning Acceptable Language

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dougiemeats

dougiemeats

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I have a question regarding the proper "language" that is acceptable in these forums. I encountered this thread and noticed that moderators frowned upon the use of the word "homie" and similar styles of speech. It obviously wasn't a big deal, but I was interested in knowing more about what "style" is acceptable.

My question is; how do these statements differ (meaning, what makes one acceptable while another is not):

"Thanks, mate!"
"Thanks, homie!"
"Thanks, buddy!"

The only difference I see is the cultural (and generational) background of each phrase. Perhaps the use of the word "homie" provokes displeasing thoughts of gang association? Idiot teenagers? Dislike of rap? I'm not in disagreement with anyone and I will not take one side or the other. It is just something I am simply curious about.
 
I dont know, homie. In my 'hood we dont care what we dub each other.

Now gimme them gats so I can shoot the @#*! out of those damn hatin' mods!

Seriously though I dont think its so much to do with gangs as with idiot teenagers. 'Yo homie' 'What up dawg' 'That was gangsta'

Plus it would be hard to understand for non americans.
 
I don't see anything wrong with "homie". I think it's becoming very popularized like saying "thanks dawg" and stuff like that.
 
Something like “mate” is a well-established colloquialism, and doesn’t hinder regular conversation. On the other hand, “gangsta” talk is very much a small niche, impedes regular conversation, and just flat out annoys most people. If we allow homie, then we slide down the slippery slope: we’d have to allow dat, dawg, and all other kinds of annoying language that only makes reading less desirable.

What I’m trying to get at is that the, uh, “idiot language” can be pervasive, while most normal colloquialisms are not. For example, here’s a sentence in regular English:

That’s uncalled for.

An Australian might word it this way:

That’s uncalled for.

(Yes, exactly the same – there’s almost no way to change it.)

On the other hand, using the “homie” style, it can be rewritten as:

Dat be whack, yo!

See, that kind of language can be used in almost any sentence, thus becoming annoying as hell. On the other hand, most Australian/European/American/whatever colloquialisms are only used very sparingly.

Whew, sorry, didn’t mean to make that more complicated than it is. :)
 
GT4_Rule
I don't see anything wrong with "homie". I think it's becoming very popularized like saying "thanks dawg" and stuff like that.
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Really, the single word "homie" wasn't the issue. That particular user, however, had made many posts featuring a lot more ghetto-poseur slang (referring to AI cars as hoes; etc) as Sage mentions above.

So really the single event on which I commented was not particularly objectionable; but as the latest in a long string of poseur language, it was enough to make me take action.

Thanks for commenting!
 
dougiemeats
But what makes it any different than using words that are only used in Europe?
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It's not English, it's slang and and non-English first lanuage members will probably not know what your on about. Also as Sage pointed out it's just plain annoying. The word homie on it's own isn't offensive, neither are a lot of ghetto slang words tbh, but why type them when you can type English just as easilly and at the same time benefit people that don't have a grasp on English slang. At the end of the day, you agreed to use English properly when you signed up here. Theres not many American phrases I've seen on here that I didn't know what they meant. I can tell you now if all the English members started typing in Cockney slang it would seriousely annoy all the Americans after a short while and a good number of the English who don't know Cockney slang and anyone that doesn't know English as a first language.
 
Sage
Something like “mate” is a well-established colloquialism, and doesn’t hinder regular conversation. On the other hand, “gangsta” talk is very much a small niche, impedes regular conversation, and just flat out annoys most people. If we allow homie, then we slide down the slippery slope: we’d have to allow dat, dawg, and all other kinds of annoying language that only makes reading less desirable.

What I’m trying to get at is that the, uh, “idiot language” can be pervasive, while most normal colloquialisms are not. For example, here’s a sentence in regular English:

That’s uncalled for.

An Australian might word it this way:

That’s uncalled for.

(Yes, exactly the same – there’s almost no way to change it.)

On the other hand, using the “homie” style, it can be rewritten as:

Dat be whack, yo!

See, that kind of language can be used in almost any sentence, thus becoming annoying as hell. On the other hand, most Australian/European/American/whatever colloquialisms are only used very sparingly.

Whew, sorry, didn’t mean to make that more complicated than it is. :)
Click to expand...

Fo' sho', G. Fo' sho'.


*canes self*
 
Thanks for the explanation everyone. I did not realize that the member was a repeat offender of this.

Well thanks fo' answerin' mah questionizzle, but now I gots ta get back to pimpin' mah hoez. Peace, homiez! ;)

Edit: OK, maybe the question hasn't been fully answered. So if someone replied something along the lines of:

I tried your suggestion and it worked. Thanks, homie!
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...to one of their friends (not a moderator/administrator) here, that would be fine? I could see the reply as being disrespectful to someone of authority, but to a friend, I can't see it being a problem.
 
dougiemeats
...to one of their friends (not a moderator/administrator) here, that would be fine? I could see the reply as being disrespectful to someone of authority, but to a friend, I can't see it being a problem.
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I wouldn't really see that particular example as being a problem. :)
 
Famine
Fo' sho', G. Fo' sho'.


*canes self*
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:lol: - As far as saying, "Thanks, homie!", shouldn't be a problem. It's the way of talking like this, "Yo dwag, dat is wack yo!" that is the problem. :)
 
dougiemeats
Edit: OK, maybe the question hasn't been fully answered. So if someone [called] one of their friends (not a moderator/administrator) here, that would be fine? I could see the reply as being disrespectful to someone of authority, but to a friend, I can't see it being a problem.
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It wouldn't even be a problem, or disrespectful (unless part of a post that was clearly meant to be sarcastic) to the staff, so long as it was an individual occurance and not part of a general ghetto poseur attitude.
 
Duke
Really, the single word "homie" wasn't the issue. That particular user, however, had made many posts featuring a lot more ghetto-poseur slang (referring to AI cars as hoes; etc) as Sage mentions above.

So really the single event on which I commented was not particularly objectionable; but as the latest in a long string of poseur language, it was enough to make me take action.

Thanks for commenting!
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Ohh so in this case he was a repeat offender...

It's still the best to just stick with plain English for the sake of everybody else.
 
dougiemeats
Again, thank you guys for clearing this up. :)
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We try to be fair and consistent in our moderating, so we're glad to explain the logic we use any time people ask.
 

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