LL-L "Semantics" 2008.05.15 (02) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L  - 15 May 2008 - Volume 02
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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
 Subject: Semantics

Dear Lowlanders,

I find the phenomenon of semantic shift quite fascinating and feel that more
attention ought to be paid to it in etymological research.

I wonder if you agree with me about the following current shift development
in English and if you can provide more information. In particular, I am
interested to know whether or not this shift has spread from US English to
other dialects in the meantime, which would not be surprising given the
power of the US media.

It seems that the countable noun "man" (as distinct from uncountable and
article-less "man" = "mankind") is retreating.

Its use as "adult male human" seems to be retreating to scientific and other
"serious" areas, styles and registers. In casual speech, "guy" seems to be
the usual word of choice (not counting what seem to be generational fashion
words, currently "dude").

In polite speech (in which "guy" would be considered too casual), quite
typically heard in the news, is "gentleman". What fascinates me about this
use is that, while it belongs to an elevated mode of speech, this word has
lost its original connotation of "distinguished" and "well-mannered"
(originally "belonging to gentility"). Because of this, people that, like
me, remember its special use, tend to find it rather strange that
"gentleman" is now being used to refer to men that are anything but gentle
or genteel, in the news for instance referring to murderers and other sorts
of convicted criminals. I believe this is a case in which people have ceased
to etymologically analyze a word, where it has simply become a series of
sounds and letters.

On the other hand, "lady" seems to have pretty much fallen by the wayside in
the US, at least in the northern states. I get strange looks when I use it
occasionally.  Apparently, the word to use is "woman," even though this
usage would have been considered impolite in the past. So we are dealing
with asymmetry here: "woman" = yes, "man" = limited, "lady" = no,
"gentleman" = yes.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

•

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