gender-neutral pronouns as epic fails

Wilson Gray hwgray at GMAIL.COM
Wed Aug 4 04:44:40 UTC 2010


Well, yes. I grant your point.

So, how about taking the Turkish route [rut dammit!] (yes, I realize
that it's way too late, but WTF? I have less than a quarter-century
left; may as well go down fighting)? There are no M or F 3PPr's.
There's only one - for N:

I came on to Mary / John, and shined me on. But it didn't bother me.
Can kiss my wrist!

This peculiarity probably accounts for the fact that Turkey is the
most liberal of Middle-Eastern Islamic countries, WRT the flash of
female flesh. Why, all the way back in the '50's, the Turkish
burley-cue babe, Nejla (i.e. Necla) Ates, was internationally famous,
as big as (no pun) Evelyn "Treasure Chest" (bust insured with Lloyd's
of London for $1,000,000) West.

-Wilson

On Tue, Aug 3, 2010 at 7:45 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: gender-neutral pronouns as epic fails
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> But don't you see, Wilson, Don't you *see*?  Traditional Japanese sexism
> springs straight from the fact that they have no pronoun distinguishing
> women from inanimate objects!  It makes you treat them the same, whether yo=
> u
> want to or not!
>
> O tempura! O morays!
>
> JL
>
> On Tue, Aug 3, 2010 at 12:27 AM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
>> Subject:      Re: gender-neutral pronouns as epic fails
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> ------
>>
>> On Mon, Aug 2, 2010 at 2:57 AM, Dan Goodman <dsgood at iphouse.com> wrote:
>> > "That person."
>>
>> A calque on the Japanese?
>>
>> For those totally unfamiliar with that language, in general, it has no
>> means of disinguishing among _he she it_. As a consequence, the
>> culture of Japan is a shining beacon to the world WRT equality of the
>> sexes, clearly demonstrating the innate truth of the Whorf/Sapir
>> hypothesis.
>>
>> -Wilson
>> =96=96=96
>> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"=96=96a strange complaint t=
> o
>> come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
>> =96Mark Twain
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>
>
>
> --=20
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



--
-Wilson
–––
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"––a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
–Mark Twain

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