If it is normal to refer to and parent-age sons and daughters as children, how can you define them?
Is it normal to refer to adult-age sons and daughters of someone as children?
A native speaker of Arabic learning English has said that in Arabic, the word for sons and daughters is “” (awlaad) ( Wiktionary link ), and that it applies no matter how old they are, and that the word for people who are not adults is “” ( Arabic language Wiktionary link ), and that they are not children ( Wiktionary link ). Can you use “children” to mean sons and daughters after you can no longer describe someone as this “not yet adult” sense.
I hate making strange things up, but once again it feels that way. Is it true that it is weird?
http://education.yahoo.com.php?page=448. com/reference/dictionary/entry/child is listed with a few meanings, but 1 and 4 are the most relevant ones here.
“1” says that it is used for people who are not yet teenagers. “4” says that it is also used for the son or daughter of someone.
Meaning 4 says “A son or daughter; an offspring”, and you may think that “offspring” is an unambiguous alternative to “child.” Yes, it is wrong to use offspring to refer to animals, but also the offspring of a dog. This means animals, not humans. This is a subject I get used to, but in a
very derogatory way.
What are the issues about parent/child life transitions in India? Is it true that programming is a complex process? “Onspring” is the only word which can represent sons’ and daughters of any age, but it is almost never used in conversation.
Is ‘Children’ an adult word like a kid or ‘child’, but
not for a child or for a parent? When you hear adult children, it sounds pedantic because the age of the parent will already suggest the age of the offspring. I would always like a son or daughter with children at birth instead of ‘child’ but it is always used in both case.
I will not use a third person singular pronoun. (My use of plural children’ in the last sentence is also to avoid another problem in English – the lack
of a gender-free third person singular pronoun)
What are the issues about parent/child life transitions in India? Is it true that programming is a complex process? “Onspring” is the only word which can represent sons’ and daughters of any age, but it is almost never used in conversation.
Is ‘Children’ an adult word like a kid or ‘child’, but
not for a child or for a parent? When you hear adult children, it sounds pedantic because the age of the parent will already suggest the age of the offspring. I would always like a son or daughter with children at birth instead of ‘child’ but it is always used in both case.
I will not use a third person singular pronoun. (My use of plural children’ in the last sentence is also to avoid another problem in English – the lack
of a gender-free third person singular pronoun)
Why are some spelling errors mentioned, but others are more subtle, are there some cons? Can you have “adult child”?
As AndrewGrimm notes, “children” has two very distinct meanings: It can refer to people who are not adults, or it can refer to people who are the offspring of a specified person or person.
When it is common that people refer to adults as “children” when expressing their relationship. What does they mean by “children”: “son and /or daughters of”, and “children” of “what so and so are”? Is Alice and Bob the children of Bert Carll? Children of current employees are given preference in hiring. ” ” Etc. In this context you may not specify that they are adults, but you can list that as well. They would not say “Alice and Bob are children” without giving an “of” someone if they are adults.
If you are providing a child or a child without a relationship, is that “children” would mean anyone who is not an adult, but it is unusual to use it to refer to people who are older than them, unless you are including them in a group that includes other people like them? Is it weird to refer to a group of 17-year-olds as children or teenagers? Are the kids called teenagers or young people? If you were talking about a group of people ranging in age from 6 to 18, you might refer to them collectively as children. What are the children of our school district? Do you think that people have children in their high
school? (If so, then more than that).
Why are some spelling errors mentioned, but others are more subtle, are there some cons? Can you have “adult child”?
