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Author Topic: PA-a misnomer?  (Read 7021 times)

Scott Van Den Elzen

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Re: PA-a misnomer?
« Reply #10 on: January 08, 2008, 11:25:55 PM »

Words mean whatever the people who say them and the people who hear them think they mean.  Your "distinguished instructor" doesn't get to decide what "PA" or "SR" or "Sound System" mean to everyone who says these things or hears these things.
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Scott
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E. Lee Dickinson

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Re: PA-a misnomer?
« Reply #11 on: January 08, 2008, 11:49:03 PM »

Matthew Whitman wrote on Tue, 08 January 2008 17:59

However, it isn't acronyms that keep me awake,


Or initialisms*, for that matter.


*From 'words I learned on PSW' chapter 5.
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E. Lee Dickinson
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Dave Barto

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Re: PA-a misnomer?
« Reply #12 on: January 09, 2008, 12:25:42 AM »

Dave Dermont wrote on Tue, 08 January 2008 13:29

Yeah...I have given up trying to get people to stop calling a lectern a podium.


My father taught me that when I was about 6 years old in church and it has drove me nuts ever since.  I started carrying around a handful of copies of this in my brief case to hand to people when they called the lectern a podium.

Once at a large conference the keynote speaker asked for a podium and the stage hand brought out a podium and placed it on the stage.  The expression on the speaker's face was priceless when he walked up onto the stage and looked around for his lectern, but all that was there was a podium.  Afterwards he was furious at the hand.  The hand tried to explain to him that he asked for a podium and thats what he got.  After 5 minutes or so the hand finally just walked away.
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Dave Barto
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Re: PA-a misnomer?
« Reply #13 on: January 09, 2008, 01:44:42 PM »

Quote:

Words mean whatever the people who say them and the people who hear them think they mean. Your "distinguished instructor" doesn't get to decide what "PA" or "SR" or "Sound System" mean to everyone who says these things or hears these things.



This reply makes absolutely no sense.  Perhaps you might change your mind when your doctor asks for a tongue depressor and the nurse hands him an anal probe.
 "Oh, sorry doctor, but to me tongue depressor means anal probe."
 "No problem, I actually needed a stethoscope, but I refer to it as a tongue depressor."

That's called reductio ad absurdum, by the way.  I learned it from my high school debate teacher.  Would you like to discredit her, too, while you're at it?

-Matt
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Andy Peters

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Re: PA-a misnomer?
« Reply #14 on: January 09, 2008, 02:38:12 PM »

Matthew Whitman wrote on Tue, 08 January 2008 12:03

Back in the day I was taught that a concert sound system should not be referred to as a "PA".  A PA, my distinguised instructor stated, is a system used purely to address the public (think back to announcements made by your elementary school principal).

Problems tend to arise for me, however, when I describe my "sound system".  People immediately start asking me to help them with their car stereos and home theaters.  If I say "PA", folks generally know what I'm talking about.

Am I splitting hairs here, or should I stick to my pedantic guns?


As a top-grade pedant, I say: Stick to your guns!

We are sliding down towards an idiocracy ....

-a
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Tony "T" Tissot

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Re: PA-a misnomer?
« Reply #15 on: January 09, 2008, 02:46:02 PM »

Andy Peters wrote on Wed, 09 January 2008 11:38


As a top-grade pedant, I say: Stick to your guns!

We are sliding down towards an idiocracy ....

-a


Aren't you more of a didact?
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Scott Van Den Elzen

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Re: PA-a misnomer?
« Reply #16 on: January 09, 2008, 11:06:23 PM »

Matthew Whitman wrote on Wed, 09 January 2008 10:44

Quote:

Words mean whatever the people who say them and the people who hear them think they mean. Your "distinguished instructor" doesn't get to decide what "PA" or "SR" or "Sound System" mean to everyone who says these things or hears these things.



This reply makes absolutely no sense.  Perhaps you might change your mind when your doctor asks for a tongue depressor and the nurse hands him an anal probe.
 "Oh, sorry doctor, but to me tongue depressor means anal probe."
 "No problem, I actually needed a stethoscope, but I refer to it as a tongue depressor."

That's called reductio ad absurdum, by the way.  I learned it from my high school debate teacher.  Would you like to discredit her, too, while you're at it?

-Matt

One of the reasons communication is a lot of work is that the same words mean different things to different people.  We all have different context that causes us to interpret language differently.

My point is that sticking to a rigid definition for a term like "PA" is likely to make things more difficult for yourself.  Meanwhile, those who don't take such things too seriously can live in blissful ignorance.

When describing your "PA/Sound System," is it better to be "right" or understood?  If it's up to me, I choose to be understood.
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Scott
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Ian Hunt

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Re: PA-a misnomer?
« Reply #17 on: January 09, 2008, 11:14:36 PM »

Who on earth did you marry?
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Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

Phil LaDue

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Re: PA-a misnomer?
« Reply #18 on: January 09, 2008, 11:29:46 PM »

Ian Hunt wrote on Wed, 09 January 2008 23:14

Who on earth did you marry?
Ian, I believe he is talking about a dog.

Steve Oldridge

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Re: PA-a misnomer?
« Reply #19 on: January 09, 2008, 11:37:45 PM »

Sometimes I think PA stands for "Pain in the A*s"

I must be right.. what else can it be when I plug "left in" to left input and "right in" to right input and get the sum of nothing from my speakers ???
God.. I love this yob  Rolling Eyes
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