[WikiEN-l] European preference for film over movie

[james duffy]

It seems most Americans missed the point I was making and don't grasp the 
Irish and European use of sarcasm. So let me spell it out.

1. Most non-Americans do not use the word 'movie' and see it as a word 
largely unique to America and its exclusive use on wikipedia classic 
americocentrism.

2. Most English speakers on the use 'film'. Most Americans don't.

3. Most Americans use 'movie', not film.

The obvious solution is to apply the same approach as we do with British 
English and American English. Accept the form used by whoever writes the 
article. In some areas on wiki, there are definite rights and wrongs, over 
names, titles, references. But here there is no right and wrong, merely 
different terms for the same thing. Wiki may well have decided to use 
'movie' previously, but that was when wiki was overwhelmingly American in 
terms of contributors. The longer it goes on, the more non-Americans will 
join, and it hardly helps convince people that wiki isn't americocentric if 
they are told they must use the American-English word in preference to their 
own. It is already irritating to non-Americans when they  create entries to 
films in foreign languages that may not have had an American release, only 
to find a French language or German language films christened 'movie'. Using 
'movie' to describe a European film is as annoying to Europeans as calling 
someone from Belgium French is to a Belgian, or calling someone from Ireland 
'British' is to the Irish. Or indeed presuming a Canadian is from the United 
States is to a Canadian. It is an causing an offence that is unnecessary and 
can easily avoided.

As to the reference to 'movie' bring used to describe Hollywood 
blockbusters, that is done tongue in cheek by many Europeans to contrast big 
budget Hollywood blockbusters to arthouse films or film noir. And I was 
mentioning that in a tongue in cheek manner. It used to be said in Europe 
that 'Americans don't ''do'' irony'. Seeing the failure to grasp the fact 
that what I was saying was sarsasm, I guess that statement seems true after 
all. No offence was intended. Obviously we should put different concept of 
'sense of humour' and 'irony' on a list of American and European differences 
on a wiki list! Wikilove.
JT.


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