[Lexicog] Derogatory (?) endings

[Fritz Goerling]

Wayne,

Well, not all words with -ess attached are the same.
How about "governess" or "mistress"? Are they also on the way out? :-)
(Of course, one would not say "Diane Feinstein was the governess of
California.")
How about a gender-inclusive word "gov?"

Thanks for your good explanation.

Fritz




  Fritz, it is not the words themselves which are particularly demeaning to
women but the idea that such words would even need to be used anymore. My
wife is director of one of the governing units of SIL. She is not a
feminist--at least not in the sense of being a follower of the feminist
movement, but she simply wanted to be known as a director, not directress,
or any other word that would indicate that she was a female doing the job.
When she was chairman of the executive committee, she wanted to be known as
chairman, which is the standard word for someone in that role. She requested
that she not be referred to as chairwoman. The idea that there needs to be
special forms of words when women fill jobs different from the default word
for that job is what is demeaning to many women today.

  At one time in the past, calling a woman by a category name with a
feminine ending might have been a sign of honor given to a woman. Today it
is no longer viewed as a matter of honor, but, rather, a means of stating
that this is a woman doing a job. Many (most?) women today simply want to do
their jobs and have the same title as a man would have for that same job.

        What if the man's job title is "fireman"?  ("Firefighters" has
already been coined)

  Semantic change within English due to changing roles of women in society.
Once again, language reflects culture. And perceptions of meaning determine
connotative meaning, at a minimum.

  In cultures where honor is still the primary component of honorifics,
speakers of a language need to continue to use those honorifics. When
cultures change, there will likely also be correlating language changes.

  Wayne Leman
    Patrick,

    Why does "poetess" or "scuptress" sound derogatory to your or to a
contemporary English speaker's
    ears? I asked other British and American English speakers who did not
think so. What is the
    connotation? Does "lady poet" sound better?
    You know German enough to confirm that it is impossible to refer to a
female poet/lady poet/poetess
    by the term Dichter (that is reserved for male poets). She is a
Dichterin with -in as the feminine suffix.
    And how about other word formations with - ess like "empress"? I cannot
see that this is
    demeaning.

    Fritz Goerling
      Patrick Hanks wrote:

      Your point about "mademoiselle" reminds me of Italian "professoressa",
      which sounds derogatory to my English ears (thinking of English
"poetess",
      "sculptress", etc.), a connotation which apparently does not exist for
      Italian native speakers.



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