Domestic Partner Benefits

Domestic Partner Benefits According to Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, a family is "the basic unit in society having as its nucleus two or more adults living together and cooperating in the care and rearing of their own or adopted children." Despite this definition, a lesbian or gay couple or two heterosexuals living together with or without children is not the image conjured up when most people think of a family. Who gets to decide what it takes to make up a family? When two or more people love and take care and accept responsibility for each other and their children if they have them this would seem to be the definition of a family. Insisting that it takes a piece of paper to determine that two individuals are legally considered to be a family seems to be unfair and biased. Not to offer the same benefits based on whether a couple has a marriage license or not is unfair.Cathy Freeman talks to survivors of domestic viole...AsMary Beth Hamilton (2002) states "Plan sponsors usually define domestic partners asunmarried adult couples who live together, are in an exclusive relationship for anextended period of time, and take mutual responsibility for each other's welfare and/orliving expenses" (para 7). There are perks to companies offering domestic partnerbenefits. When a company offers domestic partner benefits, they are allowing thepartner of an unmarried employee to be eligible for all benefits available to the spouse ofa married employee. These benefits can include: medical, dental, disability and lifeinsurance, family and bereavement leave, education and tuition reimbursement, creditunion memberships, relocation and travel expenses, and inclusion of partners in companyevents. However, one benefit that is still not...

Take Care with Connotation

Take Care with Connotation Take Care with Connotation Take Care with Connotation By Mark Nichol The English language is notable for the abundance of synonyms for many words, which enriches prose by offering opportunities for elegant variation, the use of synonyms to avoid repetitive use of one word. Another benefit is that the writer can select a particular synonym to express connotation, the implication of a sense or value for a word. For example, eager and anxious are often used interchangeably to indicate someone’s anticipation of an impending event. However, eager implies that the person looks forward to the occurrence, while the connotation of anxious is that they dread it. (Unfortunately, this distinction is weakening in modern English usage.) The careful writer takes note not only of a word’s meaning but also its connotation, because failure to do so can obscure the writer’s intent. Various synonyms for thin used to describe a person, for example, have a wide variety of connotations. A slender person is one with a pleasing economy of form, and svelte adds a sense of fashionable presentation. A skinny person, meanwhile, is excessively thin, and gaunt emphasizes an unhealthful state. Wiry, meanwhile, connotes a tough, lean build acquired through hard work, while lithe suggests a graceful quality. By the same token, it’s one thing to say someone is confident, but cocksure is a negative appraisal. A stubborn person, meanwhile, could be described by a proponent as resolute and by a foe as obstinate. Novice is (or is intended to be) a neutral term, but many synonyms for the word, such as greenhorn, newbie, rookie, and tenderfoot, are uncomplimentary or at least often used to poke fun. (Apprentice, neophyte, recruit, and tyro are gentler terms.) Synonyms can differ in formality, as in the difference between car and automobile, but the difference is often one of value instead (or in addition). Keep in mind, too, that a single word can have more than one connotation. For example, a person descried as earthy might be simple and practical, or might be unsophisticated or coarse. (Earthy is also a synonym for crude.) Use of precise terms in fiction and nonfiction alike is encouraged, but be sure the sense you intend is the one conveyed: Consult dictionaries and usage guides, and when you employ a thesaurus or a synonym finder to find a more interesting or more precise alternative to pedestrian prose, make sure you select the appropriate word based on your meaning. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:16 Substitutes for â€Å"Because† or â€Å"Because Of†Telling a Good Poem from a Bad OneTypes of Ignorance