Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has conceded defeat in the vote over two constitutional amendments that would have broadened the definition of family and removed language about a woman’s role at home.
They’re writing for a global audience, and most people in the world simply wouldn’t know what they’re talking about if they referred to the taoiseach as taoiseach. It’s no different from referring to the Spanish President of the Government (the actual title of the office) as the Spanish prime minister, yes, that’s not technically the correct term but using language most people will immediately understand and understand correctly is generally considered to be more important.
I understand their justification and I assume both the author and their editors are aware of the real term. However, before I noticed that this was from the AP, I assumed this story was from a less-prestigious source because referring to Varadkar as a PM felt like a mistake akin to if someone referred to Rishi Sunak as a ‘President’ (as the Spanish use it) or ‘Chancellor’ (as the Germans use it). I wouldn’t have even commented upon it if this was the Daily Mail or such but I’d have assumed the Associated Press would respect their audience enough to understand the word with context and perhaps a short disclaimer.
I think you’re overestimating the familiarity most people, even generally politically literate people, outside of Ireland and the UK have with Ireland and Irish politics.
Completely agree. It’s also a word that you cannot infer the importance of the post or their responsibilities. With things like Chancellor, Supreme Overlord, Premier, etc.
They’re writing for a global audience, and most people in the world simply wouldn’t know what they’re talking about if they referred to the taoiseach as taoiseach. It’s no different from referring to the Spanish President of the Government (the actual title of the office) as the Spanish prime minister, yes, that’s not technically the correct term but using language most people will immediately understand and understand correctly is generally considered to be more important.
I understand their justification and I assume both the author and their editors are aware of the real term. However, before I noticed that this was from the AP, I assumed this story was from a less-prestigious source because referring to Varadkar as a PM felt like a mistake akin to if someone referred to Rishi Sunak as a ‘President’ (as the Spanish use it) or ‘Chancellor’ (as the Germans use it). I wouldn’t have even commented upon it if this was the Daily Mail or such but I’d have assumed the Associated Press would respect their audience enough to understand the word with context and perhaps a short disclaimer.
I think you’re overestimating the familiarity most people, even generally politically literate people, outside of Ireland and the UK have with Ireland and Irish politics.
Completely agree. It’s also a word that you cannot infer the importance of the post or their responsibilities. With things like Chancellor, Supreme Overlord, Premier, etc.
I’m not expecting people to know. I’m expecting the AP to educate their readers.