Arse or ass?

[TxRad]

I can't vouch for the other English-speaking nations, but I assure you it's still common in Australia and NZ.

IME, US-based English speakers are less likely to be aware that other versions of English exist, so if your priority is not startling people, "ass" will be accepted by almost all readers. But if I go changing my spellings just to avoid confronting readers with something unfamiliar, it's only going to leave them even more confused when they discover that February is summer and July is winter.

Not to mention people walk around upside down as opposed to hanging from the ceiling.

 

[sun_sea_sky]

Following the principle of "least surprise" for my readers I changed it to ass/asshole. Also changed a few spots where the British spelling was used (eg. colour, favour) so that it is internally consistent.

The story isn't "set" anywhere in particular, so I don't think it matters much.

Put it like this, if you are British/Australian but visit Literotica you will have got used to the "ass" version by now, or you aren't paying attention.

 

[oggbashan]

I try to avoid words that have different meanings depending on which side of the Atlantic, or world, the reader is.

It is easy to avoid using ass or arse, fanny and other sexual words, but more difficult with more normal words such as gas/petrol; sidewalk/pavement and tricky uses such as which is the 1st floor of a building. (UK - 1st floor is the one above the ground floor. If you press '1' on a UK lift you will have to walk down another level to reach the street.)

 

[colddiesel]

I can't vouch for the other English-speaking nations, but I assure you it's still common in Australia and NZ.

IME, US-based English speakers are less likely to be aware that other versions of English exist, so if your priority is not startling people, "ass" will be accepted by almost all readers. But if I go changing my spellings just to avoid confronting readers with something unfamiliar, it's only going to leave them even more confused when they discover that February is summer and July is winter.

It's messier than that. If in Oz you are not pulling your weight at work, the supervisor might tell you to get off your ass, however, if you persist in idleness you will be given the arse (sacked, fired)

But another example, if you have your ass (never arse) in a sling you're in serious trouble. Usage is not consistent and I think that arse is less common than Bramblethorn suggests - tho' it may be different where he /she comes from..

 

[cherylashi26]

Even people in my home town have started saying "ass" rather than "arse". Bunch of arseholes.

 

[Bramblethorn]

It's messier than that. If in Oz you are not pulling your weight at work, the supervisor might tell you to get off your ass, however, if you persist in idleness you will be given the arse (sacked, fired)

But another example, if you have your ass (never arse) in a sling you're in serious trouble. Usage is not consistent and I think that arse is less common than Bramblethorn suggests - tho' it may be different where he /she comes from..

I've lived in Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra at one time or another, and I've encountered "arse" in common use in all those cities. See e.g.:

Germaine Greer, on Julia Gillard's arse:
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/greer-defends-fat-arse-pm-comment-20120828-24x5i.html

Tony Windsor, on Tony Abbott's arse:
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/polit...history-lesson-for-abbott-20120816-24bgi.html

Malcolm Turnbull, on anonymous parliamentary smart-arses:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...ding-smart-arses/story-e6frg6nf-1225781989581

John Birmingham, on arse-kicking:
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/bl...t-makes-a-female-superhero-20100611-y1e7.html

etc etc. So I'm still going to defend it both "ass" and "arse" as common Australian usage

 

[sun_sea_sky]

Even people in my home town have started saying "ass" rather than "arse". Bunch of arseholes.

But how do they pronounce it?

 

[i_would]

If you press '1' on a UK lift you will have to walk down another level to reach the street.)

Try Hong Kong. They use both. Sometimes in the same building (no kidding).
Chinese speakers use the American system where the 1st floor is the ground floor; English speakers use the UK system where the 1st floor is where it belongs, well above ground level.
I have been in buildings (lifts tend to use UK system) where you press 5, and see 6 written in Chinese on the wall when you arrive at your floor. Now think about how the postman delivers the mail?!

But to come back to the original question: I'd use ass. Probably read too much US-original stuff. And I'd never heard "ass" in UK means a donkey. That's really interesting.

 

[sun_sea_sky]

Well I went with "ass" and posted: http://www.literotica.com/s/mark-is-cuckolded-by-amelias-boss

And now I am getting my arse kicked by the trolls. Some in all caps. Boy I must have done something wrong.

 

[damppanties]

lifts

I still can't get over saying "lifts." And here (in the United States) I get an incomprehensible stare and correct myself. "Elevators."

 

[sun_sea_sky]

"Lifts" is the correct pronunciation.

 

[colddiesel]

I've lived in Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra at one time or another, and I've encountered "arse" in common use in all those cities. See e.g.:

Germaine Greer, on Julia Gillard's arse:
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/greer-defends-fat-arse-pm-comment-20120828-24x5i.html

Tony Windsor, on Tony Abbott's arse:
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/polit...history-lesson-for-abbott-20120816-24bgi.html

Malcolm Turnbull, on anonymous parliamentary smart-arses:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...ding-smart-arses/story-e6frg6nf-1225781989581

John Birmingham, on arse-kicking:
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/bl...t-makes-a-female-superhero-20100611-y1e7.html

etc etc. So I'm still going to defend it both "ass" and "arse" as common Australian usage

I don't want to make a federal case out of it but I still think the situation is much messier than you suggest. Let's take your examples first:-

Germaine Greer whilst Australian born and brought up in the 40's and 50's has been an English University academic for almost 50 years.

Tony Windsor, Farmer and politician brought up in conservative country NSW

Malcolm Turnbull, Zillionaire and politician educated at Sydney Grammar and Oxford UK. scion of a substantially British family

John Birmingham , Born in England and brought up by English parents - at 48 the only young! example, the other three are aged between 58 and 70.

All these people would be classified as highly educated leaders of Oz society, but if you get yourself into the outer suburbs of our cities where television is the primary means of education you will I think find that American idiom is the prevailing norm of the mass of people. US sit-coms and cop shows are of far more importance in shaping language in Australia than the example of a few late middle aged high fliers. The American ass is slowly but surely giving the British Arse the boot! and especially with the younger generation.

 

[i_would]

Well I went with "ass" and posted: http://www.literotica.com/s/mark-is-cuckolded-by-amelias-boss

And now I am getting my arse kicked by the trolls. Some in all caps. Boy I must have done something wrong.

I've not been trolled at all, so far. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. At least your stories get some attention

Though this one is pretty bad indeed.

But the statistics are really interesting: 19 comments for just 50 views, and it doesn't even show up on your user page yet!

 

[sr71plt]

American readers will laugh at "arse." If that's fine with you, go ahead and use it. It may be provincial for them to do so, but they will do so anyway.

I'm American and coauthor with an Aussie, so we struggle with this question occasionally. We always come down to whether we want a reader to laugh at this point or have some other reaction to what they are reading. When we have a British world character speaking, we likely will let him say arse.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Well I went with "ass" and posted: http://www.literotica.com/s/mark-is-cuckolded-by-amelias-boss

And now I am getting my arse kicked by the trolls. Some in all caps. Boy I must have done something wrong.

You posted to Loving Wives. That's usually enough. Worrying about whether people would be annoyed by "arse" in that context - you might as well jump into a pit of scorpions and worry about twisting your ankle on the landing.

 

[Bramblethorn]

All these people would be classified as highly educated leaders of Oz society, but if you get yourself into the outer suburbs of our cities where television is the primary means of education you will I think find that American idiom is the prevailing norm of the mass of people. US sit-coms and cop shows are of far more importance in shaping language in Australia than the example of a few late middle aged high fliers. The American ass is slowly but surely giving the British Arse the boot! and especially with the younger generation.

I picked those people because they're famous (and how did I forget Keating's "arse-end of the world"?) but googling "arse australia" will pick up plenty of younger, less-famous examples. Of course, that's still skewed towards the sort of people who write stuff on the internet.

As to what the rest of Australians use... I still hear "arse" quite often, but I think without calling in a professional linguist we're just relating our personal perceptions, and if there's one thing I know about sociology it's that most people's personal experience is far less representative than they assume it to be. So who knows?

 

[colddiesel]

American readers will laugh at "arse." If that's fine with you, go ahead and use it. It may be provincial for them to do so, but they will do so anyway.

That seems perfectly natural. British idiom will jar or stand out to the American listener/reader whereas the converse is less true. The non-American English speaking world is exposed to hours of Hollywood and American produced TV every day, but Americans receive proportionately only a tiny fraction of 'foreign' product in return, indeed, many non American productions have been remade(and re-scripted) for American audiences.

And for Bramblethorn. My knowledge of sociology is zero but I tend to the view that the vibrant changing component of English is on the streets, on our mobiles (Cellphones-- there's another) and the internet, and my experience is that the American influence on English is the stronger.

However, when I travel to India which has been quite a bit lately, their English still seems to be almost more English than the English. I'm ignoring accent of course. And 350 million of 'em speak it every day.

 

[damppanties]

"Lifts" is the correct pronunciation.

Was talking more about word usage than pronunciation between "lifts" and "elevators".

 

[sun_sea_sky]

Was talking more about word usage than pronunciation between "lifts" and "elevators".

Just being playful, DP.

Worrying about whether people would be annoyed by "arse" in that context - you might as well jump into a pit of scorpions and worry about twisting your ankle on the landing.

I got one thoughtful review "not enough conflict". The rest mainly foamed at the mouth.

 

[sr71plt]

I couldn't get anyone to foam at the mouth over my recent one. I think it's because I used too many two-syllable words.

 

[sun_sea_sky]

Just got this feedback:

I didn't give you a score. It wasn't worth it.

For a moment there I thought he was going to punish me with a 1*. But this is so much worse.

 

[TxRad]

Just got this feedback:



For a moment there I thought he was going to punish me with a 1*. But this is so much worse.

How do you know he didn't lie?

 

[sun_sea_sky]

How do you know he didn't lie?

We all lie, right?

I write a story about two Literotica authors falling in love. Well, lust anyway. It gets 3,300 views and 3 comments. Then I write about someone's evil boss corrupting her and getting her pregnant. After, like, a single day it gets 23,840 views and 30 comments (mostly negative).

Look, I'm not even sure how to write a Loving Wives story. How does it go? "Er, we went to bed, we made love. And then we did that again a week later." How boring is that?

 

[DC29]

There are two opinion on the LW category - one is that it is tongue in cheek and the other that it is lteral.

Also the subject of the story you posted is one that the trolls make sure it never gets a decent score as they just click to the end and then slam it.

 

[TxRad]

We all lie, right?

I write a story about two Literotica authors falling in love. Well, lust anyway. It gets 3,300 views and 3 comments. Then I write about someone's evil boss corrupting her and getting her pregnant. After, like, a single day it gets 23,840 views and 30 comments (mostly negative).

Look, I'm not even sure how to write a Loving Wives story. How does it go? "Er, we went to bed, we made love. And then we did that again a week later." How boring is that?

You punched the pregnant button in LW's. That's like the NASA Launch Button.