OK – I admit they WON the Grand Final for 2012 though!
I am prone to wondering who I am since resigning from full-time employment. I find myself talking about my old job and saying “we” did this or that. There is no such thing as “we ” anymore. A lot people I worked with have retired or moved onto other jobs. My memories of the workplace are carved in stone for me – not hindered by time or place. It got me thinking about how powerful the word “we” is and how many sub groups we can belong to – and we don’t always have to sign a membership form!
Firstly the meaning of the word: We (pronoun – Ist person plural) – Compact Oxford English Dictionary
- Used by a speaker to refer to himself or herself and one or more other people considered together.People in general
- Used in formal situations for or by a royal person, or by a writer to , to refer to himself or herself.
- You (used in a superior way)
ORIGIN Old English
We can be used to describe an inclusive group that share the same characteristics,
- employment titles such as engineers, nurses, I.T. professionals
- union groups – retailers association
- introverts and extroverts
- members of a board or committee such a Rotary International
- members of political parties
- members of government or opposition
- constituents in an Electorate area
- members of a family – mother, daughter, aunt, father, son
- members of a street such King George Street residents
- members of a country or race – English, Polish, American, Libyan
- informal groups such as a circle of friends
- members of a religious group
- members of an industry group – financiers, cleaners
- interest groups – bird watchers,
- a group with similar physical features – fat, skinny, beautiful
- hair colour – blonde jokes
- health status – diabetic, mentally ill
- status on the internet such as blogger
- supporters of football/cricket clubs
Can you think of any subgroups I forgot? I am sure there are lots 🙂
cheers
Lorraine
