Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/11/15

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Subject: RE: [Leica] pukka (was NY Photo Expo: A talk with Leica
From: "Lee, Jonathan" <Jonathan.Lee@hrcc.on.ca>
Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1999 14:50:41 -0500

How interesting that pukka should have two opposite meanings depending on
where you are, expecially since the people who I have heard use pukka
prejoratively have been from Malayisia and India, ex-British colonies.

Reminds me of a story related to me by a Canadian colleague who was doing a
sabbatical in the UK.  He stepped out of the lab for a minute saying he was
"Going to get a pop".  This met with howls of laughter since he should have
said "I'm going to get a fizzy drink." Of course if you said you were going
to get a fizzy drink in Canada, they would also laugh.

Everytime I ask for the washroom in the US, I also get these funny looks.  I
keep on forgetting that Americans call it a restroom.

Jonathan Lee

- -----Original Message-----
From: dmorton@journalist.co.uk [mailto:dmorton@journalist.co.uk]
Sent: Monday, November 15, 1999 2:18 PM
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Cc: dmorton@journalist.co.uk
Subject: RE: [Leica] pukka (was NY Photo Expo: A talk with Leica


Jonathan.Lee writes:

> Pukka is used in English (at least post-colonial Canadian 
English) to 
> denote
> something as authentic is a degrogatory fashion.  Calling 
something a 
> pukka
> Leica is not a complement. 

Interesting, because in British English "Pukka" is positive and 
is *never* used pejoratively.

David Morton
dmorton@journalist.co.uk