Reply
Thu 30 Oct, 2003 11:38 pm
(1) Does this slogan acceptable in both grammar and rhetoric?
Users First, Services Foremost
(2) Does this idiom --in a Pickwickian sense -- work today?
(3) In some cases, calling an American Yankee is normal, making atmosphere of conversation comfortable. But can we always call an American Yankee in whatever situation?
And, do you think/feel if calling a Chinese "China man"(or chinaman) is normal? Or is "China man"(chinaman) actually a disparaging term today?
(4) In other encouraging economic news from the Labor Department, new claims for unemployment benefits last week dropped by 5,000 to 386,000, a sign that layoffs are slowing. U.S. workers' wages and benefits went up by 1 percent in the third quarter, up slightly from a 0.9 percent increase in the previous quarter.
Does the "by" mean "in the amount of"?
TIA
Hi oristarA, I'll try (tho others may have better ideas)...
1. This is confusing, as both parts seem to have equal weight. Are the users first, or the services? Do you mean "Service to Our Users is Foremost"? That's not as snappy as a slogan can be, but it is more clear.
"Services" conjures an image of what the entity does; "service" denotes more "customer assistance"... you could provide service to the customers who purchase your services...
2. The "Yankee" sentence is idiomatically OK, but I'd polish the grammar a bit... "In some cases, calling an American a Yankee is normal, making (atmosphere of) conversation comfortable. But can we always call an American Yankee in (whatever) any situation?
[delete the green, add the blue]
And yes, I think "China man" or its variant "chinaman" is derogatory these days. If the sex of the person in question is important, and not clear from the context, I'd use "Chinese man/woman."
3. You are correct. In this case, "by" means exactly that.
Hi Wy,
Thanks for reply -- nice indeed.
Regarding the slogan, really I don't know how to make a proper one. What I wanted to express is:
Users are God, and we would like to serve our users with our best services.
How to make a short, snappy slogan according to the meaning?
Hmmm. This is advertising/marketing. "Your wish is our command." No -- that's been done.
The local bus company has an internal slogan that's snappy -- SSS (Safety, Service, Schedule). It means that safety is first, then service to the customers, then, if possible, meet the schedule. Like I said, it's internal and not really meant for marketing.
You might say, Service, Service, Service!
I'd like to know what slogan you've seen on the wall when you enter a business hall of your local Telecom company?
To Roger,
"Customers first", and then you'd say "Services foremost" -- that has been denied by Wy.