Spazz

by Scott Bird | October 14, 2005

Until recently I believed that only minor changes to the English language had taken place in the US; until I was asked the meaning of a couple of words that are common in the UK. Having read a few books over the past week or so that look at the history of the language, I’m becoming increasingly aware of subtle differences.

One area in which this is often a major issue is in the naming of new products. This morning I noticed a wheelchair with the fortune to have the name ‘Spazz’ - a word which has very different uses on either side of the Atlantic. Suffice to say a new name may be required if the company expects to sell them in the UK.


© 2004 - 2007 Scott Bird.

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Comments

1

Scott, I could not believe this! I don’t know what it means in the UK, but I think they’d have a hard time selling them in the US, too. :-)

Posted by: marcia | October 18, 2005 2:40 AM

2

I guess it means something different to the people who made it. In California it’s actually a positive term, rather than the usual derogatory abbreviation of spastic.

Posted by: scott | October 18, 2005 7:17 AM

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