English Question

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Hi English teachers,
can I use medium to describe a wage? For example a medium wage worker.
Many thanks in advance.

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Type: Question • Score: 4 • Views: 718 • Replies: 15

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View best answer, chosen by Loh Jane

Sure.

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@Loh Jane,

Middle-income workers are called the "middle class".. Recently this range is described as a "trap"

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@dalehileman,

dalehileman wrote:

Middle-income workers are called the "middle class"

That may be an American usage; in Britain it means something a bit different.

1 Reply

@contrex,

In this instance, I yield to the British useage.

In American, class is almost exclusively applied to weath and income, and it seems there is no such thing as lower class.

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@roger,

roger wrote:

In American, class is almost exclusively applied to weath and income, and it seems there is no such thing as lower class.

Don't they have "blue collar" workers, Joe Sixpacks, and "trailer trash"?

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@contrex,

Yes indeedy. They are all parts of the great middle class.

I know this takes some getting used to, but there is some serious class inflation in play.

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@roger,

Hi roger,
you have not replied my question. Can I use medium to describe a wage?

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@Loh Jane,

As Blue said "Sure".

I would have said average instead of medium, but medium is just fine.

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@roger,

roger wrote:

Yes indeedy. They are all parts of the great middle class.

I know this takes some getting used to, but there is some serious class inflation in play.

So some guy who says "Yee-haw" a lot, and drives a garbage truck and goes to hawg roasts and lives in a trailer is "middle class" in the USA?

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Thanks roger too.

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@contrex,

'Fraid so.

Try to imagine a politician on the campaign trail admitting that he appeals to the low class voters.

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@roger,

roger wrote:

'Fraid so.

Try to imagine a politician on the campaign trail admitting that he appeals to the low class voters.

Now, that's one enormous difference between Britain and the US. Certainly in the North of England, where my wife is from, people are proud to say they are working class, and demand to know what politicians are going to do for them.

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@contrex,

Sure, but are they also proud to say they are part of the lower classes.

By the way, I have never heard anyone, ever say "Yee Haw!" without it being a parody of someone else's way of talking.

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@roger,

roger wrote:

Sure, but are they also proud to say they are part of the lower classes.

Of course not. Working class is not pejorative; lower class is.

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@contrex,

Exactly! That's why we have such an enormous middle class, and not much of anything else.

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