[Ads-l] unisex "Sir"

Dave Wilton dave at WILTON.NET
Wed Nov 11 17:35:14 UTC 2015


Problematic on so many levels. Is the alternative to call them "mistresses." And would it be an MRS degree?

Is there a problem with calling a man a trickster or a huckster?

I'm all for inclusive language, but at some point you just have to let it go. Etymology is not destiny.



-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Dan Goncharoff
Sent: Wednesday, November 11, 2015 11:22 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: unisex "Sir"

At Yale, they are starting to question whether the administrative heads of the residential colleges should continue to be called "Masters". Perhaps this progresses by degrees, to degrees?



DanG

On Tue, Nov 10, 2015 at 10:19 PM, W Brewer <brewerwa at gmail.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       W Brewer <brewerwa at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: unisex "Sir"
>
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> Strange how we still pass out Master's degrees to the ladies. 
> Something should be done about that.
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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