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ventaA quick question:
[Poll #1344729]
Edit: I don't mean "give me a list of names", I mean "which term would you naturally use in conversation if talking about such a thing".
If you're going to fill in an answer, please do so before reading on.
I would habitually refer to that sort of stereo (ie portable, speaker at either end, tape deck in the middle) as a ghetto-blaster. I seem to remember that that's what everyone was calling them in the 80s when I first started interacting with such things.
Problem is, I've no idea of the origin of the term. Which ghettos were being blasted exactly ? Is it possible that someone somewhere might find it an offensive term ?[*] Is it even in common enough usage now that I could expect someone to be sure what I meant - or am I just hopelessly outdated in my choice of name ?
What other words are there ? Apart from radio-cassette player, of course. I'm not very clear on what exactly a boombox might be - could it be one of those, or is it subtly different ? Can I still call it a ghetto blaster if it's got a CD player in it ? Does the choice of name depend on the kind of music player - could one still blast ghettos with Wagner, for example ?
[*] According to Wikipedia, yes. But it's a particularly shoddily written piece, plus I'm interested in what other people think.
That image is just quickly grabbed from google image search, so if you're in The Future, it's probably red-exed by now.
[Poll #1344729]
Edit: I don't mean "give me a list of names", I mean "which term would you naturally use in conversation if talking about such a thing".
If you're going to fill in an answer, please do so before reading on.
I would habitually refer to that sort of stereo (ie portable, speaker at either end, tape deck in the middle) as a ghetto-blaster. I seem to remember that that's what everyone was calling them in the 80s when I first started interacting with such things.
Problem is, I've no idea of the origin of the term. Which ghettos were being blasted exactly ? Is it possible that someone somewhere might find it an offensive term ?[*] Is it even in common enough usage now that I could expect someone to be sure what I meant - or am I just hopelessly outdated in my choice of name ?
What other words are there ? Apart from radio-cassette player, of course. I'm not very clear on what exactly a boombox might be - could it be one of those, or is it subtly different ? Can I still call it a ghetto blaster if it's got a CD player in it ? Does the choice of name depend on the kind of music player - could one still blast ghettos with Wagner, for example ?
[*] According to Wikipedia, yes. But it's a particularly shoddily written piece, plus I'm interested in what other people think.
That image is just quickly grabbed from google image search, so if you're in The Future, it's probably red-exed by now.
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no subject
Date: 2009-02-06 10:14 pm (UTC)I use the term "ghetto blaster" because it's the name those things had when they first came out.
I don't link it with Ghettos, the name itself sounds active, and exciting, and noisy, which is what it was.
Prior to these things coming out the only way to play music away from electric power cables was to form a band, or to handcrank an organ or gramophone. The sheer excitement of these things in the 1980s gave them their name. I don't imply anything offensive when I use the term, and don't intend to stop using it.
But then I don't think that golliwogs are that offensive UNLESS they are implied to be so by someone expressing bigoted views. The negative connotations of their name (at least the wog part) , yes. The negative racial stereotypes involved in their gestation (a la little black sambo), definitely.
But ....the actual black-stuffed-dolly-come-teddy - how is that different than the politically correct "ethnic" dollies and teddys, that every childminder has to have these days to pass OFSTED regulations even if all of their charges are white and they live in a geographical area with very few mixed-race residents? How about "ethnic" TV characters like Milo off the Tweenies, Dipsy the Darker-faced Teletubbie, and Upsy Daisy the Rasta-haired doll?
OK, you can flame my white a*se now. I'll bring marshmallows.