Ducklet Cat
Member
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2005
- Member Type
- Interested in Language
- Native Language
- Arabic
- Home Country
- Kuwait
- Current Location
- Kuwait
Hi,
I would say there is little gender discrimination in English language (compared to other langauges), because most of the time it it neutral.
But I ran into few examples, and I'll appreciate any other examples and ideas about this matter.
1. Chairman. Now, more people use chair , chairperson. But still, chairman is used.
Are there any similar words in English, especially in official titles?
What comes to my mind is Landlord and landlady. Any other examples?
2. Read this:
"The Patient should be ready for another dose of Panadol, if he wants to feel better".
- I know sometimes they use he/she to get rid of that.
- I once read something that uses "she" in a general paragraph. I guess the writer was a Feminist That was nice.
- Another way to get rid of it is to use they, but is that grammatically correct?
"The Patient should be ready for another dose of Panadol, if they want to feel better".
- By my general understanding, that is such cases, most people (including some women!) would use "he" to mean both.
3. Why don't all words have feminine equivalents? authoress, poetess ... ect
Any other ideas will be appreciated.
Thanks
I would say there is little gender discrimination in English language (compared to other langauges), because most of the time it it neutral.
But I ran into few examples, and I'll appreciate any other examples and ideas about this matter.
1. Chairman. Now, more people use chair , chairperson. But still, chairman is used.
Are there any similar words in English, especially in official titles?
What comes to my mind is Landlord and landlady. Any other examples?
2. Read this:
"The Patient should be ready for another dose of Panadol, if he wants to feel better".
- I know sometimes they use he/she to get rid of that.
- I once read something that uses "she" in a general paragraph. I guess the writer was a Feminist That was nice.
- Another way to get rid of it is to use they, but is that grammatically correct?
"The Patient should be ready for another dose of Panadol, if they want to feel better".
- By my general understanding, that is such cases, most people (including some women!) would use "he" to mean both.
3. Why don't all words have feminine equivalents? authoress, poetess ... ect
Any other ideas will be appreciated.
Thanks