LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
Friends.
-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Disney CMs calling guests " Friends"?
- Thread starter tallica
- Start date
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
Once again... Friends as a salutation to a group is absolutely acceptable, but it cannot be used individually unless one actually is a friend. It's just plain proper grammar. Maybe if they taught English grammar in school now this would be recognized as an incorrect way to greet an individual one does not know.
Last edited by a moderator:
_caleb
Well-Known Member
Of course it can. Multiple people have done in here in this thread.
The bigger issue is that neither you nor I get to make the rules for how Disney (or anyone else for that matter) can and cannot use a word. And "rules" made by experts don't matter when it comes to cultural usage.
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
What you’re talking about actually has nothing to do with grammar, but leaving that aside, “gentleman” likewise falls short of the standards you’ve laid out: one can’t idiomatically address an individual as “gentleman”, and the traditional definition of the term (which for hundred of years was restricted to men born into nobility and the gentry) doesn’t apply to the vast majority of people today. “Sir” does work as an individual form of address, but it too is an overextension of the term’s original meaning, which applied only to men of a certain rank.
All of which is to say that “gentlemen”, “sir”, and “friend(s)” are all being used nonliterally when employed as forms of address for strangers.
_caleb
Well-Known Member
I am not playing games. Some people do not identify as either a lady or a gentleman. Regardless of how you feel about this, Disney has made it clear that they are trying to be as inclusive as possible. Using "friend" avoids introducing gender into the interaction between CM and guest.
You've made it clear that because you see this group as being a very small percentage of Disney's clientele, Disney ought not change their wording to include them. Disney obviously sees it otherwise.
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
I read usage books for fun (sad, I know). Self-appointed language authorities make all sorts of silly pronouncements that bear no relation to actual usage (“Don’t split infinitives”, “Never put prepositions at the end of sentences”, etc.), but I’ve never come across any sort of claimed rule against the use of “friend” for people who aren’t actually our friends. On the contrary, such use of the term is a traditional feature of our language, attested by examples going back hundreds of years.
MickeyLuv'r
Well-Known Member
Congrats, you answered your own question.
MickeyLuv'r
Well-Known Member
WDW already uses "guy" and "guys."
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
I doubt very much they use “guy” to address individuals—“Hello, guy, please move behind the line” sounds totally unidiomatic.
“Guys” used for groups sounds fine to me, though some may not like it. It too is meant nonliterally (it originally referred to effigies of Guy Fawkes).
MickeyLuv'r
Well-Known Member
So people are not allowed to have a different opinion? That's what this thread boils down to, and as has been pointed out, that crosses into an unhealthy discourse.
The opening post of this thread said friends. Forum members have said numerous times, the word folks is better. "Folks, if I could have your attention, I need you to move behind the yellow line." CM's use and have been using the word folks for many years.
In the singular, in most cases, CM's don't really need to say friend at all. "Welcome. Please follow me to your table."
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
Do you not read these posts. When talking about group salutations is when Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls is acceptable in a theme park environment and should not have been changed. It never was inappropriate and still isn't when used in that situation. I never said they could be used when addressing individuals. If we go back to the beginning of this discussion I said and I stand by the idea of saying something like Hey, Friend or stand in line friend or excuse me friend stand behind the rope is not the proper way to address individuals unless the word Friend is proceeded by the possessive word "my" friend or "your" friend or "their" friend, otherwise it is being used incorrectly. You seem to want to intermingle the singular and group salutations. They cannot both be used properly in alternate situations. That is less being "sensitive" and more culturally "dumbing down". No I didn't just call you dumb. In this sense it is the errosion of a universal language that means the same thing to everybody. People cannot just create their own language on a whim without making sure that everyone is on the same page. Before to long our language would become something that even we don't understand. At what point does it become acceptable to say things like "I ain't gonna got no more nothin for ya". You understand what is said but it doesn't fit in with universally accepted grammar. That is why I don't like it. Like I said it's like fingernails on a chalk board to me. Doesn't my sensitivity require consideration as much as others?
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
Where in my post did I insinuate this?
MickeyLuv'r
Well-Known Member
Dear reader,
The question is not if anyone has used it this way. They have. They have often done so as a form of manipulation. The question discussed how comfortable we feel with the word being used this way. This thread has established that some people are, and some are not. English is used by a great many people around the world. There is variation in how words are used in different locations and over time.
The opening post of this thread was, "Has anyone else that has visited the parks recently noticed CMs referring to you/your party as "friends"? "
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
I’m not really sure how to respond to all this except to say that I do indeed read these posts very carefully and that I do not agree that there is such a thing as “a universal language that means the same thing to everybody”. If there were, there would be nothing to discuss in this thread.
MickeyLuv'r
Well-Known Member
Um.....Monsters INC.
"That guy" is in every show.
In much of the USA, "Could you guys move behind the line.." is a common usage.
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
How does any of this relate to what I wrote?
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
That isn’t a form or vocative address. You can refer to someone as “that guy”, but you can’t idiomatically address someone in the singular second person as “guy” (unless their name is actually “Guy”). If you’re really going to debate me on that point, you’re just arguing for the sake of it.
vikescaper
Well-Known Member
My sister has a shorter haircut and has been mistakenly called “sir” in the past. To avoid any embarrassment of my sister or cast members, I am perfectly fine with friend or friends being used
MickeyLuv'r
Well-Known Member
This thread reminds me a little of the old "Using a paper FP past the window debates." Ultimately, CM's themselves will decide how often they want to use the word friend to talk to parkgoers. I suspect many CM's will find it odd and will find other words they prefer to use, or just avoid using words at all. I am thinking back to most recent visit, and as far as I can recall CM's often simply said something like, "Please wait there for me."
It seems to me, that - if everyone goes back to the start of this thread, some folks felt it was okay, but a significant number of people used the word 'creepy' and/or agreed with the posts that said it felt creepy to be called a friend by a CM.
Many of the early posts said things like:
"Friend" sounds like you are part of a cult.
Friends kind of works, I would be OK with it being used with me. But still, hearing it sounds off and not Disney enough like. I get a sense of false sincerity when so many others have used it in public, such as in sales pitches. Saying that, I don't really know what other better term might be used in its place.
I would tell them "I'm not your 'friend' buddy"
I love the good intentions behind "Hello, friends," but to me the syntax just makes it sound odd and jarring. Personally, I don't mind "Hello, guys," "Hello there," or even just a "hey". I like the latter because the more colloquial approach and relaxed context somehow gives me a sense of warmth.
That is just 4 examples from the first two pages, none of them mine.
It seems to me, that - if everyone goes back to the start of this thread, some folks felt it was okay, but a significant number of people used the word 'creepy' and/or agreed with the posts that said it felt creepy to be called a friend by a CM.
Many of the early posts said things like:
"Friend" sounds like you are part of a cult.
Friends kind of works, I would be OK with it being used with me. But still, hearing it sounds off and not Disney enough like. I get a sense of false sincerity when so many others have used it in public, such as in sales pitches. Saying that, I don't really know what other better term might be used in its place.
I would tell them "I'm not your 'friend' buddy"
I love the good intentions behind "Hello, friends," but to me the syntax just makes it sound odd and jarring. Personally, I don't mind "Hello, guys," "Hello there," or even just a "hey". I like the latter because the more colloquial approach and relaxed context somehow gives me a sense of warmth.
That is just 4 examples from the first two pages, none of them mine.
MickeyLuv'r
Well-Known Member
Ultimately, it isn't up to you or me what WDW employees say.