After driving down to Bell Buckle for various family matters pretty much every weekend since our wedding (in Bell Buckle) on September 3, Jon and I are going to actually STAY HOME at our house in Knoxville for 4 whole days and do nothing over the holiday.
Well, we do need to finish some more unpacking from moving. And I need to get a few of the last things out of the basement of my old house, which is sold and closing next week (thank you sweet Jesus). And we might paint our bedroom (I am thinking a nice, mossy green and fresh white trim) but other than that....nuthin'.
Sadly for moi, this is the every-other-year-year when the chirrens are with their father for Thanksgiving break, so I won't see them for five whole days, which is no fun for this mama.
What are you doing for Thanksgiving?
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I plan on stuffing myself with turkey and then settling down with a few good porno sites.
This year I get my wish and we are going out to the BIG buffet at the Crowne Plaza. My children are being magnanimous about this. They MUCH prefer to stay at home. But we have to host every holiday because we are the only ones with the space, and although everyone brings things, I still have to deal with the cleaning before and after as well as the turkey, the pies, and more, and it just wears me out to the point I can hardly enjoy it. So this is my year off.
For the rest of the weekend, we are going to a wedding on Friday, a dear friend who had a bad first marriage and has now found a truly wonderful guy, so we are really happy for her. And we'll go to the Fantasy of Trees, and probably the ONK home tour.
Odd, the only time I've ever heard/seen people use the word "chirrens" is when they are trying for an offensive and racist black dialect--sort of the verbal equivalent of blackface.
I'm not saying you're racist, but tossing around a dialect like that really does go beyond annoying.
I always say chirrens, as do most of my family members at various times.
But gee, if the provenance is genuinely racist, I'll stop.
I HATE HOLIDAY SEASON IN NYC!
Too many tourists, too much traffic, and too much cash handouts to building staff that barely does an acceptable job all year long.
Thursday we will be avoiding all the Macys Thanksgiving Day parade insanity in my neighborhood. We will be guests at my sister's house on Long Island.
Trying not to freak out in anticipation of the hours it will take to for a trip that is usually only 40 minutes away.
Have a Happy thanksgiving!
Urban Dictionary, which I know is not an authoritative source defines it as
"n. ebonics for children. Also heard as chirren(s), chillun(s), and childring."
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=chirren
So, gee, I do think the provenance is genuinely racist.
What I meant to say, but hit send too quickly, was that while Urban Dictionary is not an authoritative source, it's the closest we've got for something like this. A Google search for "chirrens" brings back mostly sites where it is used in an ebonics context.
Oh,come on anon ,maybe it's just a southern thang.
I'm sure there are other words that are both "ebonic" and "white" in the south. There's no mutual exclusivity about it.
I'm from Nashville, so I know a southern thang from a racist thang, thanks.
The evidence is there. So unless you are able to defend a whole host of other dialect-isms, I'd stop using "chirren."
I'm an African American Studies professor. A friend sent me this link.
Lots of words are both southern, meaning white southerners use them regularly, and "black." There are only a few words I consider genuinely racist and of course, context is incredibly important in determining whether a word is truly being used in an offensive manner.
As an African American man, I do not consider this word used in this context racist in the least. If it is racist in this usage, then so is the use of "chitlins" by white southerners.
The United States is a melting pot. We all use words taken from many subcultures within our greater culture. Sensitivity is important but over-sensitivity to the point of ridiculousness serves no one, including my own folks.
I'm from Nashville, so I know a southern thang from a racist thang, thanks.
And I will add that the word "thang" is actually an excellent example of a word that is clearly ebonic or black in origin but has come to be used in an affectionate, casual, fun way in the greater, white culture. Very similar to "chirrens."
Take it easy,anon.Katie surely did not mean to offend. She genuinely seems not to have even been aware that someone would find the word "chirrens" to be offensive.She is just way too sensitive and kind-hearted for that.However,I was just thinking... How can a non-English group lay claim to how an English word is pronounced and take it upon themselves to decide for the world that their group owns that pronunciation (and no one other than their own tribe can use that word?)It seems so silly and juvenile.If this is a problem it is obviously a problem that no one can ever solve.Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we should all be greatful that we live in the land of opportunity and we all have a table to place our copious amounts of food upon.There are so many more life-threatening problems that we could all focus upon,don't ya think?
No, but the group of English speakers as a whole has decided how the word children is _spelled_, so really, what is the point in spelling it differently in a post except in...what? I don't know. Is it a try to be cute or clever? It's certainly distracting--not a hallmark of good writing--an absolute stopper in the paragraph as the reader has to figure out, no matter how quickly he does it, what is meant. It calls attention to itself, and not in a good way. (Read Strunk & White for a good discussion on that).
And, TO ME, it smacks of condescension. Now whether that's toward black people or southern people, or whichever group you want to say is the originator of that pronunciation, it's still condescending, even if the implication is supposed to be "I'm so down to earth and of the people." (And for the record, my use of "thang" was in response to another poster.)
Yes, there are more important things to worry about. Absolutely. Could this matter less? No. But I do happen to think that many of the problems of the world can be solved through effective communications, and am a little put off when someone who is supposed to be a writer and a researcher is so sloppy. It's dispiriting.
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