Sunday, April 18, 2010

busboy

question to class: a female who cleans tables at restaurants is a busboy? Although a quick search in the internet brought up some results that shows some people recognize the term busgirl. The main question is, if a non-native english speaker who was at a beginning level of confidence, telling her job to a native english speaker, would the term busgirl cause too much confusion in this situation? Or would it be best if the female worker stuck with the term busboy to describe her job?
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5 comments:

  1. TaylorApril 18, 2010 at 9:04 PM

    Perhaps she could just say, "I bus tables at a restaurant."

    ReplyDelete
  2. kariApril 18, 2010 at 11:55 PM

    I agree with Clint, Kris, because I question whether a non-native speaker would even know the term busboy. I have even met native speakers that do not know the word. (I have had a busgirl job.) Perhaps one could say, "I am a busgirl. I clean tables and wash dishes at a restaurant." In this way, there is comprehension and a chance to learn a new word.

    However, if it is the non-native speaker talking, I do not see how it would be a problem if she used the term busgirl or even busboy if she knew it.

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  3. Liliana HinojosaApril 20, 2010 at 1:53 PM

    I'm not a native speaker but I like best "busgirl" for a girl...

    ReplyDelete
  4. ESL Students @ UTAApril 21, 2010 at 4:09 PM

    I do like the "I bus/clean tables at a restaurant." approach - probably the clean tables approach. There is the explanation of "bus" which does not have an immediately apparent derivative from "bus" the vehicle. Also, it skirts the other issue of gender in traditional jobs: busboy - busgirl. Busperson sounds way artificial ... like someone's trying too hard at being PC, and the meaning begins to wobble. Could a "busperson" be a bus driver? Not such a stretch, really. Yeah. I bus tables at a restaurant. I pick up the dishes, clean and reset the table, and take the used items to the kithchen to be washed.

    ReplyDelete
  5. BobbiApril 22, 2010 at 8:35 AM

    She could be more generic and reply "I work in a restaurant." When someone asks what she does at the restaurant, she could use Clint's response of "I bus tables" and if additional clarification is needed, Sharon's "I clean tables" should end any confusion.

    ReplyDelete

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