Enjoy your meal

[CarloSsS]

I look forward to an acceptable English equivalent to 'monsieur/senor/pane/etc' and 'bon appetit/buen apetito/dobrou chut/etc'.

What's unacceptable about "enjoy your meal"? I guess it is, according to you, unacceptable because it's the equivalent of "dobrou chut".

Moderator's note: The discussion of 'Enjoy your meal' rather took over the PC thread, so I have moved discussion of this expression to a new thread. 5jj

 

[5jj]

Re: Politically Correct Language

What's unacceptable about "enjoy your meal"?

I did not say that it was unacceptable. I didn't mention it - or any other expression in English, because there is simply not a commonly accepted standard expression.

 

[CarloSsS]

Re: Politically Correct Language

You did not, I inferred it. You said:

I look forward to an acceptable English equivalent to 'monsieur/senor/pane/etc' and 'bon appetit/buen apetito/dobrou chut/etc'.

From that, I inferred that you actually said something like:

'I will be happy when there's an acceptable English equivalent to "dobrou chut"', which, I think, means something like "There are equivalents to "dobrou chut", but all of them are unacceptable to me." Is that so (slight nuances aside)?


P.S. I'm just trying to understand what unacceptable expressions you meant. In no case, am I trying to pick you up on words.

 

[5jj]

Re: Politically Correct Language

+'I will be happy when there's an acceptable English equivalent to "dobrou chut"', which, I think, means something like "There are equivalents to "dobrou chut", but all of them are unacceptable to me." Is that so?

No. I meant simply that there is simply not a commonly accepted standard expression, as I said in post #21. If I sit down as a guest or host in a private home or in a restaurant in most countries in Europe, I know the polite formula. I don't know one in my own language.

 

[CarloSsS]

Re: Politically Correct Language

I still don't understand. Let me put it like this:
Is the phrase "enjoy your meal" meaning "dobrou chut" a commonly accepted standard expression? If not, can you elaborate as to why that is?

 

[5jj]

Re: Politically Correct Language

Is the phrase "enjoy your meal" meaning "dobrou chut" a commonly accepted standard expression?

No - and "enjoy your meal" does not 'mean' "dobrou chut". It is simply one expression that some English speakers use in some situations in which Czechs would use "dobrou chut".

If not, can you elaborate as to why that is?

For a start, it would not be appropriate for a guest to say to a host.

 

[CarloSsS]

Re: Politically Correct Language

All right. Now, let's put the Czech "tranlation" of "enjoy your meal" aside. Is the phrase "enjoy your meal", in itself, a commonly accepted standard expression. If it is, then I think that I finally understand what you were trying to say.

 

[5jj]

Re: Politically Correct Language

Is the phrase "enjoy your meal", in itself, a commonly accepted standard expression.

Once again, NO. We haven't got one in English. I have said this several times in this thread.

 

[CarloSsS]

Re: Politically Correct Language

Which means that if a native speaker of English uses it, they use something that's not a commonly accepted standard expression (whatever that means ). Did I at least get that right?

 

[5jj]

Re: Politically Correct Language

Carlo, anything else I say will be merely repeating what I have said before.

 

[emsr2d2]

Re: Politically Correct Language

I find "Bon appetit" rather charming, whether I'm in a restaurant or at a private house for dinner. I have a feeling that no English phrase will ever quite have the same feeling.

 

[CarloSsS]

Re: Politically Correct Language

I still don't understand 5jj's answers. Could somebody else please give their opinion on whether or not the phrase "enjoy your meal" is "a commonly accepted standard expression" and what actually "a commonly accepted standard expression" means?

 

[5jj]

Re: Politically Correct Language

I still don't understand 5jj's answers. Could somebody else please give their opinion on whether or not the phrase "enjoy your meal" is "a commonly accepted standard expression" and what actually "a commonly accepted standard expression" means?

Which of the four words commonly, accepted, standard and expression do you not understand?

 

[CarloSsS]

Re: Politically Correct Language

Separately, I understand each of them. But if used together, I'm not sure about their meaning. Maybe an example of one " commonly accepted standard expression" and one "commonly unaccepted standard expression" would help me to understand what the phrase means.

 

[Raymott]

Re: Politically Correct Language

Separately, I understand each of them. But if used together, I'm not sure about their meaning. Maybe an example of one " commonly accepted standard expression" and one "commonly unaccepted standard expression" would help.

"Commonly accepted standard expression" means that you can use the expression and expect to be understood, without being ridiculed for saying it, etc. Your second expression is not a commonly accepted standard expression.

 

[5jj]

Re: Politically Correct Language

Separately, I understand each of them. But if used together, I'm not sure about their meaning. Maybe an example of one " commonly accepted standard expression" and one "commonly unaccepted standard expression" would help me to understand what the phrase means.

Well, if an expression is not commonly accepted, then it's not really a standard expression,

"Merry Christmas", "Happy Christmas" and "Happy New Year" are widely used at the appropriate time of year. They are fairly fixed (standard) expressions, and they are widely, i.e. commonly, accepted. There is no reason why we shouldn't say "Cheerful Christmas" or "Merry New Year", but we don't. They are not commonly accepted standard expressions.

Many people say "Enjoy your meal" at the appropriate time, but many don't. It is not such a standard expression as for example, "bon appétit" is in France.

 

[CarloSsS]

Re: Politically Correct Language

"Commonly accepted standard expression" means that you can use the expression and expect to be understood, without being ridiculed for saying it, etc. Your second expression is not a commonly accepted standard expression.

All right. So in that case, if I say "enjoy your meal", which according to 5jj is not a commonly accepted standard expression, I might get ridiculed for saying it? When I was in the US, I was told "enjoy your meal" several times, so I thought it's all right to use it.

 

[Raymott]

Re: Politically Correct Language

All right. So in that case, if I say "enjoy your meal", which according to 5jj is not a commonly accepted standard expression, I might get ridiculed for saying it?

No, you wouldn't be ridiculed for saying that expression in Australia. I would call that a commonly accepted standard expression here. It's certainly not uncommon; I don't think it's commonly unaccepted, nor uncommonly accepted. But these are all simple descriptive terms. A c.a.s.e is not a grammatical term.

 

[CarloSsS]

Re: Politically Correct Language

Well, if an expression is not commonly accepted, then it's not really a standard expression,

"Merry Christmas", "Happy Christmas" and "Happy New Year" are widely used at the appropriate time of year. They are fairly fixed (standard) expressions, and they are widely, i.e. commonly, accepted. There is no reason why we shouldn't say "Cheerful Christmas" or "Merry New Year", but we don't. They are not commonly accepted standard expressions.

Many people say "Enjoy your meal" at the appropriate time, but many don't. It is not such a standard expression as for example, "bon appétit" is in France.

So we could say that "a commonly accepted standard expression" is just what sounds natural in English?

 

[CarloSsS]

Re: Politically Correct Language

No, you wouldn't be ridiculed for saying that expression in Australia. I would call that a commonly accepted standard expression here.

I see. So maybe it's just a regional thing, that is AmE vs. BrE vs. AusE.