[Vocabulary] Accident prevention field

Status
Not open for further replies.

Walt Whitman

Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
Italian
Home Country
Italy
Current Location
Italy
English teacher

What would you understand if I said, "My husband works in the accident-prevention field"? (or, maybe, also "in the field of accident prevention):-??
Thank you.

WW
 

SoothingDave

VIP Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2009
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Yes. Either way.
 

Walt Whitman

Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
Italian
Home Country
Italy
Current Location
Italy
Thank you, SoothingDave.

Actually, I was wondering about the meaning. What kind of job is that?
WW
 

SoothingDave

VIP Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2009
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
I don't know. I'm not married to him. Maybe something to do with insurance or safety.
 

Raymott

VIP Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
English
Home Country
Australia
Current Location
Australia
English teacher

What would you understand if I said, "My husband works in the accident-prevention field"? (or, maybe, also "in the field of accident prevention):-??
Thank you.

WW
I would suspect that he is what we call an OHS officer (Occupational Health and Safety)
OHS (Workplace health and safety) | australia.gov.au
But I could be wrong. It could mean that he a teacher's aide who does playground duty. Men's wives will often use terms that inflate the importance of their husband's occupations (as do people themselves). If that is the case, it's not meant to be understood correctly or specifically.
 

Rover_KE

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
He's probably a health and safety officer — the people who forbid police officers from rescuing folk from paddling pools unless they've had deep-water training.
 

Walt Whitman

Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
Italian
Home Country
Italy
Current Location
Italy
I’ve just realized that the sentence should have been “My father works in the accident prevention field”. The context was a lesson about jobs and professions. One of my students came up with the sentence I posted. He explained to me that his father trains workers to deal with emergency situations (first aid courses for example).
I see that the sentence as it stands is not clear enough to natives, so I was wondering if you could suggest a more precise word or phrase.
I apologize for taking so long to post context and correct sentence:oops:.
WW
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
I see that the sentence as it stands is not clear enough to natives, so I was wondering if you could suggest a more precise word or phrase.
If you are thinking about normal conversation, then 'My father works in the accident prevention field' is OK. For most people, the question and answer are simply conversational gambits. If they are genuinely interested, they will ask follow-up questions.
 

MikeNewYork

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
I’ve just realized that the sentence should have been “My father works in the accident prevention field”. The context was a lesson about jobs and professions. One of my students came up with the sentence I posted. He explained to me that his father trains workers to deal with emergency situations (first aid courses for example).
I see that the sentence as it stands is not clear enough to natives, so I was wondering if you could suggest a more precise word or phrase.
I apologize for taking so long to post context and correct sentence:oops:.
WW

If the job involves teaching first aid, it seems to me that the job is about "emergency preparedness" not accident prevention. We provide first aid after an emergency, not to prevent one.
 

Walt Whitman

Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
Italian
Home Country
Italy
Current Location
Italy
Thanks a lot for your replies.
I believe Mike has hit the nail on the head.
WW
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top