it's all in the wording

I saw a bizarre advert on Facebook yesterday which made me smile, but not for the right reasons.

It read

Healthy, aged 18-45, native English speakers (women on birth control) needed for Psychiatry Dept study.

The use of brackets struck me as particularly odd. The implication is that all "healthy, aged 18-45 English speakers" are specific instances of "women on birth control", as it is written in the way that one might say "Nokia 6820 (a mobile telephone)".

Furthermore, as a native English speaker, aged between 18-45 (note the correct use of grammar there), I might see what appear to be the main criteria and apply. The bit in brackets appears to be a bit of an afterthought, although something tells me that men - on the pill or otherwise - might not be what they are looking for.

Comments

Anonymous said…
The worrying thing is that that's on a parallel with crazy English-language signs in foreign countries, such as "Ladies may have a fit upstairs" in a Japanese clothes shop, or "Go away [on holiday" on a Spanish travel agent's door.
Fri Jul 06, 10:06:00 PM GMT
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