Definitions, Nouns, and Politics
2020-01-10
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1The United States will hold a presidential election in November of 2020.
2From now until then, you are likely to hear or read many reports about the things U.S. politicians say.
3Sometimes, the reports or politicians' statements will have words that carry a somewhat different meaning than what you might think.
4One example is minority.** It is a noun, but sometimes people use it like an adjective, as in the term minority groups.
5This seemingly simple word will be the subject of our report today.
6The word minority has a long history.
7The Google Ngrams search engine shows it first appeared in the English language somewhere around the year 1510.
8The Online Etymology Dictionary notes that minority comes from the Middle French word minorité.
9By the 1530s, the English term meant "state or condition of being smaller."
10But it does not really carry that meaning anymore.
11Minority slowly took on new meanings during the 1700s.
12By the 19th century, minority generally had two meanings.
13Webster's Dictionary of 1828 notes one was: "the state of being under age."
14The other was "the smaller number; as the minority of the senate or house of representatives; opposed to majority."
15By the beginning of the 21st century, minority had taken on more meanings.
16Webster's New World Dictionary, 4th edition, for example, lists four main meanings.
17One of them is a "racial, religious, ethnic, or political group smaller than and differing from the larger, controlling group in a community, nation, etc."
18But such definitions do not always line up with how Americans use terms, as we will see.
19John McWhorter is an American expert on language.
20In his book, Words on the Move, McWhorter writes that Americans often think of specific groups of people when using the term 'minority.'
21"In the minds of American English speakers... minorities are considered to be black and Latino people," he adds.
22A report on the television program "CBS This Morning" provides an example of what McWhorter is talking about.
23The title of this 2016 video is "Clinton and Sanders fight for minority votes in Milwaukee debate."
24Let us listen to some of the report.
25Notice that it takes note of only one kind of minority in the United States.
26"The debate was in Wisconsin, but the candidates were clearly focused on the next primary, in South Carolina, where African-Americans could decide the outcome."
27In his book, McWhorter noted that the term "minority feels forced when applied to other groups, even when they, too, constitute numerical minorities of the population."
28In other words, the term minority often carries a much more narrow meaning than what the recent dictionary definition might suggest.
29But here is an important point to consider: minority carries this narrower meaning when Americans are talking about local or national issues.
30They might mean something closer to the dictionary definition when talking about groups of people outside the United States.
31Here is an example. Imagine two statements by an American political candidate.
32The first statement is about U.S. college admissions.
33The politician might say:
34"I believe we need to do all we can to encourage minorities to apply to colleges."
35In this statement, our make-believe politician is probably using minority in the way that McWhorter wrote about.
36The politician is probably not talking about Americans of Asian ancestry, although they do make up about five or six percent of the U.S. population.
37The politician is also probably not referring to other kinds of minority groups in the country - Jewish people, for example.
38Now, imagine our politician is making a point about U.S. foreign policy.
39The politician might say:
40"I believe America should send aid to the Kurds and other minorities in the Middle East."
41In this case, the politician would be referring to a broader, more extensive idea of what minority means.
42In other words, small groups that do not make up the majority - whether that be along religious, racial or other lines.
43Today, we took you on a journey of one word, from its birth in English to its modern usage in American politics and the news.
44We showed you that a commonly heard noun can carry slightly different meanings, and that its meanings have grown and changed over time.
45The next time you are reading or watching a story about American politics, ask yourself about the language that the speaker uses.
46Are there some terms - nouns, verbs, or adjectives - he or she uses often?
47Do you think the speaker might be using the term in a way that matches what you see in the dictionary?
48If not, what might explain the difference?
49Asking yourself these kinds of questions will improve your understanding of American English, as well as American politics and culture.
50And that's Everyday Grammar.
51I'm Ashley Thompson.
52And I'm John Russell.
1The United States will hold a presidential election in November of 2020. From now until then, you are likely to hear or read many reports about the things U.S. politicians say. Sometimes, the reports or politicians' statements will have words that carry a somewhat different meaning than what you might think. 2One example is minority.** It is a noun, but sometimes people use it like an adjective, as in the term minority groups. 3This seemingly simple word will be the subject of our report today. 4History and change over time 5The word minority has a long history. The Google Ngrams search engine shows it first appeared in the English language somewhere around the year 1510. 6The Online Etymology Dictionary notes that minority comes from the Middle French word minorité. By the 1530s, the English term meant "state or condition of being smaller." But it does not really carry that meaning anymore. 7Minority slowly took on new meanings during the 1700s. 8By the 19th century, minority generally had two meanings. Webster's Dictionary of 1828 notes one was: "the state of being under age." The other was "the smaller number; as the minority of the senate or house of representatives; opposed to majority." 9By the beginning of the 21st century, minority had taken on more meanings. Webster's New World Dictionary, 4th edition, for example, lists four main meanings. 10One of them is a "racial, religious, ethnic, or political group smaller than and differing from the larger, controlling group in a community, nation, etc." 11But such definitions do not always line up with how Americans use terms, as we will see. 12Change in meaning 13John McWhorter is an American expert on language. In his book, Words on the Move, McWhorter writes that Americans often think of specific groups of people when using the term 'minority.' "In the minds of American English speakers... minorities are considered to be black and Latino people," he adds. 14A report on the television program "CBS This Morning" provides an example of what McWhorter is talking about. The title of this 2016 video is "Clinton and Sanders fight for minority votes in Milwaukee debate." 15Let us listen to some of the report. Notice that it takes note of only one kind of minority in the United States. 16"The debate was in Wisconsin, but the candidates were clearly focused on the next primary, in South Carolina, where African-Americans could decide the outcome." 17In his book, McWhorter noted that the term "minority feels forced when applied to other groups, even when they, too, constitute numerical minorities of the population." 18In other words, the term minority often carries a much more narrow meaning than what the recent dictionary definition might suggest. 19But here is an important point to consider: minority carries this narrower meaning when Americans are talking about local or national issues. They might mean something closer to the dictionary definition when talking about groups of people outside the United States. 20Here is an example. Imagine two statements by an American political candidate. The first statement is about U.S. college admissions. 21The politician might say: 22"I believe we need to do all we can to encourage minorities to apply to colleges." 23In this statement, our make-believe politician is probably using minority in the way that McWhorter wrote about. 24The politician is probably not talking about Americans of Asian ancestry, although they do make up about five or six percent of the U.S. population. The politician is also probably not referring to other kinds of minority groups in the country - Jewish people, for example. 25Now, imagine our politician is making a point about U.S. foreign policy. The politician might say: 26"I believe America should send aid to the Kurds and other minorities in the Middle East." 27In this case, the politician would be referring to a broader, more extensive idea of what minority means. In other words, small groups that do not make up the majority - whether that be along religious, racial or other lines. 28Closing thoughts 29Today, we took you on a journey of one word, from its birth in English to its modern usage in American politics and the news. 30We showed you that a commonly heard noun can carry slightly different meanings, and that its meanings have grown and changed over time. 31The next time you are reading or watching a story about American politics, ask yourself about the language that the speaker uses. Are there some terms - nouns, verbs, or adjectives - he or she uses often? 32Do you think the speaker might be using the term in a way that matches what you see in the dictionary? If not, what might explain the difference? 33Asking yourself these kinds of questions will improve your understanding of American English, as well as American politics and culture. 34And that's Everyday Grammar. 35I'm Ashley Thompson. 36And I'm John Russell. 37John Russell wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 38**There are two main pronunciations of minority. They are: maɪˈnɔːrəti and məˈnorəti 39_____________________________________________________________ 40Words in This Story 41etymology - n. an explanation of where a word came from; the history of a word 42dictionary - n. a book or reference guide listing the words or terms of one language and their meanings 43focus - v. to direct your attention or effort at something 44constitute - v. to make up or form something 45encourage - v. to make (something) more appealing or more likely to happen 46journey - n. a trip; travel from one place to another 47We want to hear from you. 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