Think about words for a moment. We use them every day without giving it a second thought but those words – by their very nature – convey a whole host of information on top of their basic meaning. This other information – connotation if you want to get technical – can communicate layers upon layers of meaning whether intentional or unintentional.
Take the word ‘gardener’ for instance. Webster’s Third New International Dictonary defines a gardener as one employed to care for the gardens or grounds about a home, business concern, or other property. Not too difficult. But if you tell someone you “have a gardener,” their thoughts will almost immediately conjure up visions of a full-time employee working the flowers, shrubs, trees, and other plants on a majestic estate in old-world Britain or a sprawling plantation south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Use this word and you’re likely to receive some quizzical looks.
Now let’s say you tell someone you “have a lawn service.” Do you think you’d still get the quizzical looks? Probably not. Lawn services are very common these days and can range in size from the neighbor boy with a push-mower to a large-scale company with a host of employees and a fleet of fancy riding-mowers. But when you get right down to it, their function is essentially the same: take care of the grounds; which usually means cutting the grass but can also mean installing and caring for trees and plants. The same thing a gardener would do.
The term ‘gardener’ has a connotation that will be forever be attached to the servants of long ago…even though the job they performed is still very common today.
The same could be said about the word ‘maid’. Webster’s Third New International Dictionary defines a maid as one employed to do domestic work in a home, hotel, motel, or institution. Along the same lines as ‘gardener’, when you tell someone you “have a maid,” you’ll likely be met with a raised eyebrow or two. This is because when we use ‘maid’ in the residential setting, the term connotes a live-in servant that performs domestic work.
Now let’s say you tell someone you “have a cleaning service.” Same raised eyebrows? Probably not. Cleaning services – like lawn services – are very common these days and serve a very practical purpose: to provide cleaning for houses, businesses, offices, commercial establishments, and buildings of all kinds. Their size can range from a lone individual working out of their home to a large-scale business with multiple employees, company vehicles, and even uniforms. Whichever term you use – cleaning service or maid – you’re essentially communicating the same thing: someone who cleans for you.
We’ve gotten away from using the terms ‘gardener’ and ‘maid’ in the 21st century for precisely the reasons discussed above: their connotation runs toward servant rather than employee.
Perhaps we should attempt to bring them back…in a modified form that would help reduce the servant connotation. Perhaps we should start referring to a ‘gardening service’ or a ‘maid service’. We would certainly be communicating the same information without all the baggage that goes with the two terms on their own.
The point of all this is that we shouldn’t be afraid to use the original terms to communicate what we mean. The time of “political correctness” has thankfully come and gone. Now we can get back to saying what we really mean. So don’t be afraid to tell someone you’ve hired a gardener to cut your grass every week or a maid to clean your home or office every other week. We’re intelligent enough to understand that you don’t mean you have live-in servants at your beck and call.
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