• @Grimy
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    7 hours ago

    They are synonyms. Please don’t make things up.

    Edit: to all the knee-jerk downvoting. This is literally a quote from an article the user himself supplied as proof that there is a difference.

    Unhoused is probably the most popular alternative to the word “homeless.” It’s undoubtedly the one I see most often recommended by advocates. But it doesn’t have a meaningful difference in connotation from the more common term, “homeless.”

    It’s literally just a pc synonym of homeless.

    • snooggums
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      8 hours ago

      They are not. I work with data collections on students and have had to explain the difference to people who don’t understand that a kid who is kicked out of their home and is staying with friends is homeless even if they are not out on the street for federal reporting.

      Homelessness defined in law: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/11302#

      A more thorough explanation that contrasts the terms: https://invisiblepeople.tv/homeless-houseless-unhoused-or-unsheltered-which-term-is-right/

      • @Grimy
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        57 hours ago

        And what’s the definition of unhoused according to law? You aren’t wrong in what you just said but its missing the point, unhoused literally means the same thing. The goverment only uses the term homeless if I’m not mistaken.

        Unhoused is probably the most popular alternative to the word “homeless.” It’s undoubtedly the one I see most often recommended by advocates. But it doesn’t have a meaningful difference in connotation from the more common term, “homeless.”

        That’s a quote from the link you just gave.

        • snooggums
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          -16 hours ago

          And what’s the definition of unhoused according to law?

          Amazingly enough, most words aren’t defined in law!

          • @Grimy
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            3 hours ago

            Do you think Cornell defining homeless but not unhoused might be a hint that they are synonyms?

            Not to mention you brought up the legal definition of homeless without offering anything to compare it to and help your point. That is the sole reason I brought it up.

            You gave me a definition of homelessness, which doesn’t counter what I said in the least and then gave me a article that sides with me (and then ignored it completely when I pointed it out) so I’m a bit puzzled.

            But I guess sarcasm is easier then admitting you are wrong.

            • snooggums
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              -12 hours ago

              Do you think Cornell defining homeless but not unhoused might be a hint that they are synonyms?

              That is quoted US statute, made available in an easy to access format through Cornell, not Cornell defining anything.

              You gave me a definition of homelessness, which doesn’t counter what I said in the least

              I gave you an article that discusses the terminology and how it is used for context that differing terminology is no inherently all different names for the same thing. It doesn’t define anything, it just makes it clear that there can be differing terminology that means different things and that the whole thing is a complicated topic. That is why I linked the article, not to prove definitions that don’t exist because the terminology varies in usage and consideration of importance.

              But I guess sarcasm is easier then admitting you are wrong.

              Any statement of how words are used will be wrong somewhere, except for things like the quoted law that is true in the context of written law in that country/region/whatever. There is always local or regional differences in usage.

              So I am right about how we use it in our context to explain the concept of homelessness in the legal context even if some other people think it is a synonym, but thing other terminology has an important distinction. That is what I said, and if you can’t understand there isn’t a black and white defined terminology for all the variation then you aren’t getting my point.

              • @Grimy
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                12 hours ago

                Backtrack all you want but you made a blanket statement saying they weren’t synonyms for the entirety of the country when it only seems to apply to your personal context.

                You then gave me a link to a meaningless definition and an article that clearly stated I was right, and then topped it off with rude sarcasm when I pointed it out.

                The terminology seemed very black and white when you thought you were right, bro.

                • snooggums
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                  01 hour ago

                  I was trying to be clear I wasn’t talking about Canada, which the article was about, and that my example was from the US,. Not saying it was literally true throughtout the the entire US.

                  Apparently I needed a full essay to avoid you reading meaning into things. Congrats, you win the internet.

                  • @Grimy
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                    1 hour ago

                    So it was a simple misunderstanding but you just decided to defend it to the death and be a dick about it instead of explaining what you meant. I don’t think I could roll my eyes harder if I tried.

                    Your comments didn’t leave room for interpretation. You willy nilly gave out your own definitions and then literally googled “unhoused vs homeless” and threw the first article at me without even reading it. I’m surprised you can even see me from such a high horse. Please.

    • WesDym
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      08 hours ago

      @Grimy Believe it or not, different dialects may have different meanings for the same words.

      • @Grimy
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        3 hours ago

        Yes, but academically and more broadly in society, homeless means unhoused (by broadly in society, I mean in the common language like how third world is a synonyms for developing country even though academically it means something else.)

        Important to note that he said in the US, not his hometown dialect or something. It’s a blanket statement that is completely wrong no matter how you look at it.

        • WesDym
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          17 hours ago

          @Grimy Canadian English is a dialect. So is US English. And both have sub-dialects, as well as registers. These are real differences that really do affect how specific words are used and understood.

          • @Grimy
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            3 hours ago

            In US English, unhoused means homeless. I’m saying that it is used and understood as a synonym (you can’t argue this point either way without rhetoric) and that it is also officially considered a synonym (you can argue this point by opening a thesaurus).

            I understand your point, it’s just wrong in both cases. Instead of explaining it, back it up or am I to believe you just because you can quote the wiki on rhetoric? I guess rhetoric only applies to the other person.

            • WesDym
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              158 minutes ago

              @Grimy Get over yourself.

              And goodbye. There’s plenty of hopelessly tiresome people online already, and no one needs more.

              And grow the fuck up already.

              • @Grimy
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                23 minutes ago

                There’s plenty of hopelessly tiresome people online already.

                Ya, I’m guessing everyone that disagrees with you. You think quoting the rhetoric wiki when it has no place isn’t tiresome? Review your own behavior instead of acting offended when you get rebuked.

                You literally commented three times under me before I had a chance to respond, told me to “grow the fuck up” and I’m the bad guy here? Is “grow the fuck up” and telling me “get over yourself” a form of rhetoric in your opinion?

        • WesDym
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          -17 hours ago

          @Grimy You are relying on a rhetorical device called an essentialism: an assertion of fact without evidence, a claim asserted as established fact without supporting argument or proof. Put another way:

          Things aren’t true just because you say they are, no matter how sure you are.

          Essentialism isn’t merely poor forensics. It’s very literally gotten millions of people killed.

          We always want to make every effort to use good forensics in arguments.

          I don’t believe you actually KNOW the facts.