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ESL Board>
leave
JasonWu
91 posts
Jul 20, 2008
9:25 AM
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I know there are many kinds of leave, such as sick leave, maternity leave, but there is one kind of leave that I am not sure how to call it in English.
When you have to ask for a leave (one or two days off, temporary) to take care of your personal matters, what do you call that kind of leave?
I found someone call it "casual leave," but is it common in English? I think it is Indian English.Thank you very much for your help.
Last Edited on 20-Jul-2008 10:49 AM
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TheMudge
The Real Mudge
2851 posts
Jul 20, 2008
10:01 AM
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Many companies provide for a short period of time off to attend to personal matters, but they do not usually call it "leave." If it's a day, it is usually called "a personal day"; a shorter period would be called "personal time." Many contracts allow for a certain number of personal days per year, a certain number of vacation days or weeks, and a certain number of sick days. The employee is usually not required to state the reason for taking a personal day or personal time. A longer period of time off for personal illness is called "sick leave." If it's a very long time as the result of major surgery or a very serious illness, it may be "disability leave" (requiring documentation from a physician as to the reason for the leave and how long it should last). Depending on company policy, employees may receive full or partial salary during sick leave and disability leave. Almost all companies offer maternity leave to pregnant women or women who have just given birth. Some nowadays even offer this benefit to a man whose wife has just given birth. In general, "leave" applies to long or indefinite periods of time away from work (either paid or unpaid leave). Shorter periods of time are referred to simply as "days off," "time off," "personal days," or "personal time."
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Rich Turner (The Curmudgeon Himself)
Last Edited on 20-Jul-2008 10:03 AM
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JasonWu
92 posts
Jul 20, 2008
10:46 AM
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Thank you very much, Mr. Turner.
Your explanation is so clear and useful!
It clears my doubts.
And I aslo found a lot of mistakes in our government publications.
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Pogo
509 posts
Jul 22, 2008
11:09 AM
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Jason, is your English derived from British English of the last 200+ years? If so, its terms may be different; all the folks answering questions here are from the United States and give American English answers. The English used in nearly all of Asia, Africa, and Europe (especially India) is based on (or is, if the speaker learned English as a second language) British English. Oxford (of the Oxford English Dictionary) gives a partial list of world Englishes: . This list does not Singapore or China, both of which have their own varieties of English, I've heard (although those who told me may have confused the formation of a creole with a dialect).
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JasonWu
97 posts
Jul 29, 2008
9:13 PM
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Thanks, Pogo, for pointing this out and the link (a great help).
Actually, I'm not sure the English that is being taught now in Taiwan is British English or American English. But I believe people here study American English more than British one. I think the reason is that we have more Americans here than Britons.
When I started to study English about 20 years ago, most of my teachers learned and tended to teach American English, even the teachers in the university where I studied in Taiwan. Whenever I run across the translation of Chinese terms, I will often consult our government publications, but I found many of the terms were literally translated, and the translations are just not idiomatic, some even incorrect and unidentified to native speakers. It’s unprofessional for our government to issue sloppy publications.
Last Edited on 29-Jul-2008 9:17 PM
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Bradd
503 posts
Jul 29, 2008
10:14 PM
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JasonWu--- This has nothing to do with the thread but I wanted to tell you I lived in Taiwan for two years in the mid-sixties. I loved every minute. From the food to the beauty of the island, it was a terrific experience for me living in your country. Although I was with the US Military Intelligence community then, I hope you won't hold that against me. I was fairly low-level. We worked mostly at Shu Lin Kuo up on the "hill" - a former Japanese airfield. Our job was to watch the Chinese (Red China, then) submarines leaving their ports, and when they did, to immediately notify the US Seventh Fleet who patrolled the Taiwan Straits to prevent incursions by the "Red" Chinese. It sounds more exciting than it actually was. On my leaves, I visited Sun Moon Lake and Kaoschung(SP?) and was treated wonderfully by any Taiwanese/Chinese I ever met - even though my Chinese was very bad. Wonderful memories of your wonderful island.
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JasonWu
98 posts
Jul 29, 2008
11:37 PM
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Bradd, I am surprised to learn that you have been to Taiwan! I have been to those local places you have mentioned. I am glad that you like Taiwan.
I know many foreigners and most of them like Taiwan very much for our food and hospitality. We now can see a lot people come to Taiwan to learn Chinese, especially on our campus, NCKU.
The 2008 Olympic Games is around the corner. I know many people would like to drop by Taiwan if they can. Direct China-Taiwan flights eventually began on July 4 after a 60-year stand-off between Mainland China and Taiwan.
Welcome to visit Taiwan again!
The link is the BBC coverage: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7488965.stm
Last Edited on 29-Jul-2008 11:39 PM
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