Tag: language

Okay so word origins are not always hiding in the modern meaning and usage of the word

Like the origin of the word “wife” is ugly and misogynistic, but that doesn’t mean the current word holds the same meaning.

Here’s why, take the word “comicbook” when you see that, what comes to mind?  Superheroes, right?  Not comedy?  Even though right there in the word is the word “comic” as in “stand up comic” and originally comic books were mostly collections of comedy strips.

Current usage does not always imply the origin.  Nice used to mean ignorant, but no longer does.

Seriously. lady comes from 

hlæfdige which means loafmaid or “one who kneads bread” and lord comes from

hlaford

which means loaf guardian.

LOAF GUARDIAN

Still contemplating the space in American Man and the lack of space in Englishman.

 We have Dutchmen and Frenchwomen and Scotsmen and Welshwomen and Irishmen?

We have Spaniard for a Spanish person, and Italian for an Italian person though Italian is the same as the language, and Germans are German and speak German, but you can’t just say “an English” but you can just say “a Scott” but you can’t just say “an Irish”.  Americans are Americans and the official language is English, because we were a colony, and Mexicans are Mexicans and speak Spanish because they were a colony.  Brazilians are Brazilian and speak Portuguese because they were a colony.  Actually what is someone from Portugal called?  They’re not a Portuguese (are they?) they’re a Portuguese person, right? It seems like you can’t use nationalities ending in -ese as a noun without coming off as hostile.  Romans were Roman but spoke Latin?  

An Egyptian is an Egyptian and the official language is Arabic. A Greek is a Greek and the language is Greek, they’re only Grecian if they’re ancient. An Ethiopian is an Ethiopian and Amharic is the official language, but there are numerous other languages official to the various ethnic groups.  It seems like nationalities ending in -an like Ethiopian, Egyptian, Indian, Iranian, Cambodian, American and Armenian and so on can be nouns used to refer to people, and are often used for countries where the name for the people isn’t the name of the official language.  Egypt and Iran are the only countries there than don’t end in -a?  Why are people from Egypt Egyptian, and Scots people Scottish, and from Scotland, and people from New Zealand are New Zealanders and not New Zealish?

Nationalities ending in -ish like English, Irish, and Scottish can’t be nouns unless you’re referring to the language, but Scott eccentrically can, and I guess historically the Angles (the Germanic group that are why England is England) are Angles and that can be a noun.

A Turk is Turkish like a Scot is Scottish and a Swede is Swedish.    Welsh can’t be a noun, unless you’re referring to the language, same for French, and Dutch, maybe -ch and -sh endings can’t be used as nouns for the people?  A Pakistani is a Pakistani, and an Iraqi is an Iraqi, -i endings can be nouns for the people and you can say a Pakistani man, or an Iraqi woman?  A New Zealander is a New Zealander and it’s odd to say a New Zealander man, but one usually says a Kiwi and would say a Kiwi man, or a man from New Zealand, a New Yorker is a New Yorker (I’m having trouble thinking of another country with an -er ending) and you wouldn’t say a New Yorker woman, you’d say a woman from New York.  Someone from the Philippines is a Filipino/Filipina/Filipinx.

HOW DOES THIS WORK?  Like why are suffixes the suffixes they are?  Are there even rules?

your-pets-favorite-auntie said: i think it’s bc trans and cis are technically abbreviations? every other example is a legit compound word, with 2 full words smashed together.

This makes sense.  Now I can finally feel peace.

Now, why are Englishmen Enlgishmen, but American men aren’t Americanmen?

If there’s a linguisty person in my followers, can you explain a thing for me

 I know there’s a reason that trans woman needs to be trans woman and cis woman needs to be cis woman so as not to imply trans women aren’t women (and same for trans men and cis men), but chairwoman can be chairwoman, and englishman can be englishman, and frenchmen can be frenchmen, and boatman can be boatman, and cowgirl can be cowgirl, and firewoman can be firewoman, horseman can be horseman and so on but I can’t articulate what that reason is and can someone please explain it? Does this form only apply to professions and nationalities?  Like it makes sense but I can’t explain the rule that makes it make sense.

Also how come its only Frenchman and Englishman, why isn’t it also a Swedishman or a Mexicanman?

It seems to me a pity that we worry more about correcting language than about correcting material conditions. The kyriarchy is alive and well, goodness knows, but it seems to me the euphemism treadmill is just another way to mask the prejudice and violence that exists rather than changing it. The endless cycle of acceptable terminology also often silences the voices of those least often listened to, which is the opposite of what any attempt at social justice should be aiming for.

That said, being respectful is important, but it’s also why I think jumping down people’s throats for using a term that stopped being fashionable is wrong, just politely correct them

Normally I’m very relaxed about language and am firmly in the “hey, it evolves, and dialects are separate entities not bad things” camp

However I have one pet peeve, and that is people who confuse ringleader with ringmaster.  It just makes me so irrationally angry.  I don’t even know why.  A ringleader is a “a person who initiates or leads an illicit or illegal activity.” a ringmaster is the leader of a circus.  GET IT FUCKING RIGHT.

A ringleader is not the guy in a top hat who leads a circus.

For fuck’s sake.