2007-10-08 02:57:26 · 27 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Senior Citizens
Aw, Hyacinth...why are you teasing our brains so early in the day? Please invite me to one of your candlelight suppers so that we can discuss this further....and I DO expect to be served on your best periwinkle china!
2007-10-08 05:04:28 · answer #1 · answered by night-owl gracie 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Because "old" is the opposite of both "new" and "young". We sometimes talk about the start of a "new" day. But we also often use the expression...."the day is still young". Somehow people have naturally gravitated to the use of "young" as the opposite of "old" when talking about people in terms of age.
Of course, in recent years we've tried to get around using that "old person" handle with the use of expressions like "senior citizen". Not a bad thought when you consider that there are getting to be more and more sprightly "seniors" around who are getting out there and being active in ways that less than a hundred years ago would have been rare, and even considered "Unseemly". LOL Grannies ain't what they used to be.
2007-10-08 10:13:09 · answer #2 · answered by sharmel 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
New people? No, they are already referred to as "young
people". Or such has been my understanding over the years,
and I've made that reference many times with others. If you
referred to them as "new people" that would refer to anyone
that's new to your area, or school, or apt. complex, community
what have you. "Young people" has been used even in
movies, and is the accepted reference to the teenage set.
2007-10-08 14:18:00 · answer #3 · answered by Lynn 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because children aren't people. You aren't people until you're a contributing member of society - about 16-18. Old people, at one time, were contributing members of society, so they retain the respect of being called people, with the specific designation that they're obsolete (old).
It's basic manufacturing accounting:
Babies/toddlers = raw materials <----not yet goods/people
kids/pre-teens = work in progress <-----not yet goods/people
late teens-adults = finished goods <-----Now People
elderly = obsolete goods <-------People, albeit past their shelf life.
2007-10-08 10:05:50 · answer #4 · answered by Bob 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Marketing
2007-10-08 09:59:51 · answer #5 · answered by Mr. Vincent Van Jessup 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because "children" already have a meaning, a special category of people. There can't be "old" children.
And the word "people" could be associated with either "young" or "old".
2007-10-08 10:01:19 · answer #6 · answered by Somewhere in Time 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The word 'old' is used for children too. If I say, He was going to meet his three year old son,will it be incorrect English ? I do not think so.
2007-10-08 10:28:57 · answer #7 · answered by yogeshwargarg 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Excellent question..none of the answers has satisfied me yet though...perhaps it is because I am an old person and expect more where as a new person will settle for less?
2007-10-08 11:23:26 · answer #8 · answered by Southern Comfort 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That's becos you're putting it in English.
In Chinese, for example, there are 2 different words for "old." One is for people, plants and animals, and the other word is for everything else.
And so the antonym for the one is "young" and for the other it is "new." No problem there.
2007-10-08 10:10:54 · answer #9 · answered by ╡_¥ôò.Hóö_╟ 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I LOVE Hyacinth: I LOVE
Hyacinth: I can't get "Keeping
Up Appearances" for a long
time cause I cancelled my
cable cause it was too Spensive. Ok, NE1 who has
old "appearances" videocassettes, let me know,
I can pay a reasonable price.
I have no answer for your
question.
2007-10-08 21:07:35 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Good question. In same vein, Can children be said to be as comfortable in childhood as some adults are in adultry ?
2007-10-08 13:35:51 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋