Paul Cooper

RT @[email protected]

BCE/CE always feels like straight-up euphemism, a testament to how unsecular secular culture is. I feel like an actually secular culture wouldn't care, would just keep using AD, treating the meaning of "Anno Domini" as basically a curiosity like the etymology of "Wednesday".

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A.Z. Foreman: serious philology, silly behavior on Twitter

“BCE/CE always feels like straight-up euphemism, a testament to how unsecular secular culture is. I feel like an actually secular culture wouldn't care, would just keep using AD, treating the meaning of "Anno Domini" as basically a curiosity like the etymology of "Wednesday".”

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Jan 3, 2023 at 9:52amMastodon Twitter Crossposter
Show threadPaul CooperJan 3, 2023
I think it's good that academic writing has developed BCE/CE as a more culturally inclusive international standard (and I would always use it in that context) but if you're writing popular history then AD/BC is still the vernacular, and where you'll find most readers/listeners.
Show threadMatthew TaylorJan 3, 2023
@PaulMMCooper always feels weird that someone hasn't tried to develop and absolute Kelvin style version of dates - for almost everyone to be slightly clueless about.
At least with CE, it's just a matter of terminology for the same system.
Show threadPaul CooperJan 3, 2023
@mat8iou yes true
Show threadLeslie MolsonJan 3, 2023
@PaulMMCooper I agree, but I also support not using Christian terminology wherever possible. My current project is trying to stop saying "Oh my god" and similar expressions. It's extremely hard, which kind of makes me think it's worth trying.
Show threadStéphane CharetteJan 3, 2023

@PaulMMCooper
> like the etymology of "Wednesday"

What!? You cannot just drop a line like this on us! Now I have to google it and see what the story is... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_the_days_of_the_week#Germanic_tradition

Names of the days of the week - Wikipedia