Ian Buruma: “Bill Clinton accused Bush pre of being soft on China, until Clinton became president himself; and the foreign policy advisers of Bush fils were equally hawkish on China, until it was their turn to manage the world. ”
The emphasis is mine. I don't at all mind the construction "Bush fils" and "Bush pere", for two reasons: 1) it uses non-English words (i.e. French); and 2) it neatly avoids the the false Junior/Senior construction, which, I might add, a reporter used tonight on CBC's The National.
But technically it doesn't avoid the construction, since according to dictionary.com, fils is “[u]sed to distinguish a son from his father when they have the same given name.” Techinically half-true, since they have different middle names. But using a non-English word when an English equivalent will do gives someone or something more authority, regardless if that authority is deserved.
