Why do we say "practice naturism"? Is this the normal English expression?
To me is sounds to direct and a an activity "an sich", but isn't "practicing naturism" just "doing whatever you do, but then without clothing"?
This means that "practicing naturism" actually does not mean much. It implies "living, breathing…while nude".
Why don't we also say "I practice living"?
Any ideas on this? Why do people use this expression? Is it used by many people here, or do refer to naturism in a different way, less focused on it being an "activity" an sich?
Practice has roughly three main meanings. 1. Doing something as a profession or hobby, 2. Rehearsing something, and 3. A ritual or behavior. Nudism rehearsals have got to be fun :).
Haha, thank you for your helpful comment 🙂
I practice taking photos of birds and nature…being naked I'm pretty good at!
By vocabulary "practice" means:
"perform (an activity) or exercise (a skill) repeatedly or regularly in order to improve or maintain one's proficiency."
I don't think that nudism is a proficiency, rather is a way of life!
That's only one of the definitions of 'practise'. Like most English words, 'practise' has other meanings too. The Oxford dictionary says that it also means 'to carry out a custom or method habitually or regularly'. From the examples given in the dictionary, you can 'practise discrimination' by not favouring someone because of race, religion etc. Another example is more relevant to us. If a person has sex without wearing a condom, he is said to 'practise unsafe sex'. Likewise, those of us who go about habitually without wearing clothes can be said to 'practise naturism'. 🙂
Yes, literally you are right. Although in my opinion, whichever meaning of the word "practice" we take or prefer, nudism still remains a way of life and not a mere practice.
Never heard of "practicing naturism". I've heard of being a naturist or nudist or participating in social nudism or nude recreation.
That sense of "practice" is also used for various professions. We say that doctors practice medicine, lawyers practice law, farmers practice animal husbandry, etc. It means that the person does all of the things necessary for that activity, without implying that he's doing them right this minute.
Looking at the first dictionary definition to come up in a Google search, we get:
the actual application or use of an idea, belief, or method as opposed to theories about such application or use.
So, if somebody practices naturism, it means he actually does it rather than just talks about it.
If you can be a practising naturist, I wonder if that means you can be a lapsed naturist, ex-naturist, reformed naturist, strict naturist, part-time naturist or a naturist fanatic – I'm two of those, I think.
'Practise' here has a different meaning from the practice of e.g. a musical instrument or a dance step. When you practise a dance step, you are engaging in an activity to perfect it. 'Practise' when applied to naturism has a different meaning. It means to observe a philosophy. It's the same verb that we use when we talk about a religious person 'practising' his or her religion. A Buddhist who abstains from eating meat is practising his religion even though he is not doing anything – not eating meat. When someone practises naturism, he's merely observing the naturist philosophy of going naked.
You are so right Lim. However the second from the last word of your statement should be 'being'.
Nice comparison to religion. I had not thought of that yet. Thanks for sharing! Haha, practicing something by not doing anything, haha.. nice summary! Its sounds funny no my non-Enlish ears.
(English is not my first language and I am raised as an atheist)
Das ist ja klar das Englisch nicht deine Muttersprache ist, denn "an sich" ist Deutsch, nicht Englisch! 🙂
Haha, yes, how would you say "an sich" in English? It is precisely the word I needed, so I used it..
Maybe the word "intrinsically" (intrinsic?) would fit??
I have not heard of 'an sich' before but is it the same as 'as such' in English?
I think the best phrase to use would be the latin "per se".
English, like all languages, has its peculiarities. I can understand Happy Bare's preference for the word 'being'. 'Go', like 'practise', may have an active connotation to some people but in English, both verbs have a stative meaning too. When you say, 'He will go to school', 'go' is an active verb. But like 'practise', 'go' also has its inactive meaning. When you say, 'Harry goes into the room naked', 'go' is active. But 'The philosophy of going naked', 'go' can assume an inactive meaning. It's the same meaning as when you say 'How long can you go without food?' Here, it means the same as 'How long can you be without food?' Hence, 'going' and 'being' can mean the same thing in English. There's a spelling difference – for Americans, 'practice' is both a noun and a verb but for the rest of the world, 'practice' is the noun and 'practise' the verb. It's the same with 'licence' and 'license' whereas in American English, 'licence' is both the noun and the verb.
You give very helpful examples. And yes, I tend to confuse American and British writing styles all the time. I need to learn to be more consistent in
that.
Oh no. It wasn't my intention to say you were inconsistent. You were not inconsistent at all. When I explained the difference between 'practise' and 'practice' in British English, I merely wanted people to know that I did not type the wrong key. It was not a comment of other people's spelling. Anyway, if the trend over the past two centuries is anything to go by, American English will ALWAYS succeed in having its own way in everything. There are so many aspects of American English that are now accepted by the whole world including Britain that it's sometimes surprising to note that some common English words and phrases which everyone uses today were at one time considered Americanisms which encountered much disapproval. For example, in 1926, a famous British lexicographer and grammarian, Henry Fowler, blasted the use of the word 'belittle' to mean 'disparage' (e.g. 'He belittled my efforts' ) as an 'undesirable alien' because it was at that time an Americanism. Today, hardly anyone in Britain knows that the usage was at one time frowned upon. It's probably the success of Hollywood that secures the dominance of American English all over the world.
Evelina is a trained linguist and she can speak MANY languages. When we were hiking in NEWT 2016, she could even discuss some aspects of written Chinese with me. As I recall it, she could speak more than half a dozen languages. That is very uncommon in my country. In my country, most people speak 3 languages. We tend to make errors which will sound strange to English ears. Many people in my country do not study English grammar and although they can speak the language quite fluently, they don't understand why some sentences they construct are considered non-standard. But with globalisation and the influx of immigrants into the UK and US, a lot of the more intricate grammatical rules which I used to learn as a kid are now whittled away. Many different shades of meaning are glossed over and mean the same thing now. But that's a natural progression of language, especially a language that is so universally accepted and used.
to be dressed , at first is an activity you do everyday. So you practice this as the first task of the day. To practice naturism is just the task of not doing that one. A negative task is a practice also. You practice meditation to avoid getting any thoughts. Just like this.
Indeed,I agree with you! Wonderful words..!
Practice makes perfect, so practice lots!!
I don't use that expression "practice naturism" for myself. I don't "practice" a special activity. Naked for me is the normal human condition. Clothing, modesty, prudery, is the "practice." To be clothed takes work, expense, effort, and discomfort. Its the practice. Normal is how I and you are without any practice. I simply go about as a normal human without any practice. I allow guests to practice prudery and clothism when they come over.
Wauw <3 I LOVE this comment soooo much!! it is also almost poetic! 😀
Means whatever you usually do clothed, you do it naked.
I sort of know what it means, but.. it is quite an empty phrase isn't it? It does not say what you are actually *doing*, just that you are not wearing clothing..
Would you say, (for example when going to work) that you are "practicing textile"?
I don't think of it as an activity rather a state of being.
Me too.. I would never refer to it as a "practice".
I don't, I just am simply naked, without clothing or disguise.