Re: One plus and one minus

Sorry -- that header wasn't menat to be there.

"Peter Groves" <whatever@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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<sjdevnull@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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On Feb 14, 7:24 am, "Peter Groves" <whate...@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"Claude Weil" <cw...@xxxxxxx> wrote in message

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English has three genders expressed by the singular personal subject
pronouns "he", "she", and "it", whereas French has only two: masculine
("il") and feminine ("elle").

However, unlike English, which has only "they" as a plural personal
subject pronoun for all genders, French has a masculine ("ils") and a
feminine ("elles") one.

--
cw...@xxxxxxx

You are onfusing grammatical gender with semantic gender reference.
English
does not have grammatical gender; it lost that feature about 1000 years
ago.

Is the use of "she" to refer to vehicles (in particular ships) a
holdover from the days of grammatical gender or semi-semantic usage
footed in anthropomorphism of the vessel?

***The latter, I would say, since Old English "scip" is neuter. The OED
says:
Ships are now personified as feminine, but usage has varied (see the
following quots.). The use of the masc. pron. in the 17th and 18th cent.
was prob. suggested by the application of man to a ship in Dutchman,
merchantman, man-of-war. In instances before c1650 his may mean 'its'.

1375, etc. [see SHE 2]. c1426 Poem on Agincourt in Hazl. E.P.P. (1866) II.
97 Euery shyp wayed his anker.., They hoysed theyr sayles sayled a lofte.
1588 KYD Househ. Phil. Wks. (1901) 278 In a shyppe the Rudder ought to be
no lesse then may suffise to direct hys course. 1611 SHAKES. Wint. T. III.
iii. 93 The Shippe boaring the Moone with her maine Mast. [1622 Recov.
Exchange in Arb. Eng. Garner IV. 595 'A sail!' 'a sail!': which, at last,
was discovered to be another Man of War of Turks. For he made towards us.
1627 CAPT. SMITH Sea Gram. xiii. 59 A saile, how beares she or stands
shee, to wind-ward or lee-ward, set him by the Compasse; he stands right
ahead, or on the weather-Bow, or lee-Bow.] 1635 HAKEWILL Apol. (ed. 3)
Argt., As a Ship which..cannot move beyond the length of his Cable. 1676
STREYNSHAM MASTER Diaries (1911) II. 93 Wee mett a great Dutch ship neare
Nassapore point. He wore a Flagg. 1784 New Spect. XIII. 2/1 The last [ship
was] drowned and swallowed up, within sight of his own shore.

Peter Groves



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