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The Noun
Morphological composition . Classes of nouns
The noun is a word expressing substance in the widest sense of the
word.
In the concept of substance we include not only names of living beings (boy,
girl, cat) and lifeless things (table, book, pen), but also names of abstract
notions, qualities, states, actions (kindness, strength, sleep, fear, conversation,
fight), abstracted from their bearers.
The noun has the following morphological characteristics:
Nouns that can be counted have two numbers: singular and plural (pen-pens,
tree-trees).
Nouns denoting living beings and some nouns denoting lifeless things
have two case forms: the common case and the possessive case.
It is doubtful whether the grammatical category of gender exists in
Modern English for it is hardly ever expressed by means of grammatical
forms. Gender can be expressed lexically by means of different words or
word-compounds (father-mother, man-woman).
The noun has certain syntactical characteristics. The main syntactical
functions of the noun in the sentence are those of the subject and object.
The student (subject) is reading.
The teacher helped the student (object).
Besides, a noun may also be used:
As a predicative: He is a student.
As an attribute: The student’s answer was quite correct.
As an adverbial modifier: The teacher stood at his desk.
The noun is associated with the following form-words: the article
(definite or indefinite): the house, a house; prepositions: in the house,
behind the house, about the house.
Another characteristic feature of the noun is its association with an
adjective which serves as its attribute. It was a clear, cold winter day. Little
Dorrit became a very good dressmaker.
According to their morphological composition we distinguish simple,
derivative and compound nouns.
Simple nouns are nouns which have neither prefixes nor suffixes. They
are indecomposable: chair, table, room, map, fish, work.
Derivative nouns are nouns which have derivative elements (prefixes
or suffixes or both): reader, sailor, blackness, childhood, misconduct,
inexperience.
Compound nouns are nouns built from two or more stems. The main
types of compound nouns are as follows: noun-stem + noun-stem: apple-tree,
snowball; adjective-stem + noun-stem; blackbird, bluebell; verb-stem +
noun-stem: pickpocket; gerund + noun-stem :dining-room, reading-hall.
Nouns are divided into: common nouns and proper nouns.
Common nouns are the names applied to any individual of a class of
living beings or things (a man, a book), materials (snow, iron) or abstract
notions (love, friendship).
Proper nouns are names given to individuals of a class to distinguish
them from other individuals of the same class (John, the Neva,
Moscow).Proper nouns may also include a group of individuals (the Russians,
the French, the Browns).
Common nouns are subdivided into: concrete noun and abstract
nouns.
Concrete nouns in their turn fall under the following divisions:
class-nouns indicating things belonging to a class, such as a man, a
girl, a book, a chair;
names of materials which do not express separate things but the whole
mass of matter: iron, snow, air.
Note. -Names of substances can be used as count nouns, singular and
plural, when they refer to a kind of the substance or to a portion of it.
This is a very good butter (a good kind of butter).
You have brought me one butter. I asked for two (butters). (packets of
butter)
Two teas and three coffees, please!
Abstract nouns are often the names of actions, states or qualities
formed from corresponding verbs and adjectives: conversation, reading, love,
kindness, strength.
To the class of abstract nouns belong also nouns which are not derived
from adjectives or verbs: time, summer, thunder, day, night, etc.
Note. –Abstract nouns may turn into concrete nouns when they
represent concrete objects: beauty – a beauty, youth –a youth.
To the group of class-nouns belong also collective nouns which denote
a number of things collected together so that they may be regarded as a single
object (family, crew, company, crowd). These nouns have both numbersSingular: a family, a crowd; plural: families, crowds.
When the subject of the sentence is a collective noun in the form of a
singular, the predicate verb may be either in the singular or in the plural. The
verb is singular if the collective denoted by the noun is taken as a whole unit.
The verb is plural if the persons (or things) which form the collective are
considered separately:
My family is small. The crew consists of two hundred sailors.
My family are early risers. The crew were all asleep.
Some collective nouns (names of multitude), such as cattle, people,
poultry, police, vermin occur only in the singular form but with a plural
verb:
These cattle are on their way to market.
These people are waiting for their passports.
But: Churchill wrote a “History of the English-speaking Peoples”. The
pygmies were a very friendly people.
Police (policemen) are controlling the crowd.
Vermin are harmful animals or insects.
The poultry are in the yard.
Reference to individual members of the group is made thus: a hundred
head of cattle, thirty people, fifty police or fifty policemen.
A few collective nouns occur only in the singular, but with a singular or
plural verb:
The clergy, gentry, youth of today is/are trying to adapt
itself/themselves to rapidly changing circumstances.
Offspring can refer to one human or animal and take a singular verb;
or to more than one, with a plural verb; it has no plural form.
Folk, meaning ‘people’ occurs mainly in the singular, though also in
the plural, but only with a plural verb: Some folk(s) are…
Collective nouns
Ingredients
Archipelago
Army
Assembly
Audience
Bale
Ball
islands
soldiers
people
people
cotton, wool, hay, straw
wool
Band
Batch
Battalion
Bevy
Brood
Bunch
Bundle
Cloud
Clump
Cluster
Company
Constellation
Coppice, copse
Corps
Covey
Crew
Deck
Flight
Flock
Grove
Heap
Herd
Horde
Kit
Litter
Mob
Pack
Pride
Shoal
Staff
Team
musicians, robbers
loaves
soldiers
larks, quail, roedeer
chicks, nestlings
flowers, grapes, bananas
rags, newspapers, sticks
flying insects
trees
stars, gems
actors, soldiers
stars
trees
soldiers, ballet dancers
patridges
sailors, oarsmen
cards
aircraft, stars, steps
sheep, birds, geese
trees
leaves
cows, elephants
savages, barbarians
tools
puppies, kittens, piglets, cubs
people, rioters
wolves, hounds, cards
lions
fish
teachers, servants
players, horses, oxen
Exercise 1. State the morphological composition of the following
nouns.
Sandstone, impossibility, widower, snow, exclamation, opinion,
misunderstanding, passer-by, inactivity snowball, kingdom, anti-cyclone,
mother-of-pearl, immobility, might, warmth, succession, ex-president, nurse,
misdeed, wisdom, blackbird, attention, policeman, merry-go-round, girlhood,
usefulness, fortune, friendship, statesman, brother-in-law, population,
smelling-salt, fellow-boarder.
Exercise 2. Define the class the nouns in the following sentences
belong to.
1. Raymond Parker was a foreman at the motor works, and was on the
management committee. 2. My money was wet but all right. 3. The
information that the superintendent gathered was entirely favourable. 4. The
police have made up their minds, or practically so. 5. Esther swallowed
porridge in silence, feeling quite cold and choked with misery, all because
Miss Usher had told her on the way down to breakfast that she would be
singing Nicola’s solos. 6. The wines and liqueurs and champagnes of New
Orleans were new and exhilarating to her. 7. I thought that amongst those
surroundings with their recollections of his boyhood Dirk Stroeve would
forget his unhappiness. 8. He saw a light in one window on the ground floor.
9. A pleasure to give a good wine to a young woman who looked so
well.10.Health is a priceless possession.
Exercise 3. State whether the nouns in bold type are proper or
common.
1. That is the best picture in the Louvre. It is exactly like a Manet. 2.
You can’t buy a Cadillac for the same price as a Ford. 3. By the time the
clock on the tower struck midnight the streets of the city were almost
deserted. 4. The group of ancient fortified buildings, collectively termed the
Tower, is of the greatest historical interest. It is situated not far from the City.
5. History has dealt with Hitler: history will deal with all would be Hitlers.6.
The “Albatross” dropped anchor at a small port to get a new supply of fresh
water. 7. The albatross is a large sea-bird. 8. The snow-covered summit was
glistening in the rays of the rising sun. 9. There was a town, down there, as
flat as a flannel-cake, and called Summit, of course.10. Who knows, you
might become the next Pavlova. – What’s that? – She was a great dancer.
Exercise 4. State whether the nouns in bold type are countable or
uncountable.
1. She was not a beauty, in the sense that several women in this room
were beauties: she had none of the remoteness that beauty needs. 2. Herbert
looked at the youths, remembered their fathers. 3. Youth, unfortunately, cures
itself. 4. He leaned across to throw on coal.5. His eyes glowed redly like twin
coals. 6. He noticed her sitting on a big stone. 7. He looked as if he had
turned to stone. 8. When John came in he smelt that she was drinking a very
good tea. 9. She always had tea brought in rather early. 10. He prefers martini
after dinner. 11. The sandwiches came and I ate three and drank a couple
more martinis. 12. Their own healths naturally concerned them most.
Exercise 5. Explain the usage of the verbs and the nouns.
1. Machinery new to the industry in Belarus was introduced for
preparing land. 2. That green foliage was not restful. 3. Unless cattle are in
good condition in calving, milk production will never reach a high level. 4. A
small crowd is lined up to see the guests arrive.5. Crowds of people were
pouring from a variety of quarters.6. My family is now in the country. 7. It
was 11 o’clock before the family were all in bed. 8. Then one by one the
worn out crew were helped on board. 9. The crew of the ship consists of
twenty seamen including the captain and his mate. 10. No one had seen him
since and the police were searching for him. 11. The band were changed, and
in the gallery already. 12. And Stilleveld, in company with the many other
places like it, had also been the birthplace of a new people.13. Hundreds of
people gathered on the banks of the river. 14. All the peoples throughout the
world are anxious for the safety of our lives. 15. Offspring of our cat were
playing on the lawn. 16. Some vermin are dangerous for people.17. My folk
are vegetarians. 18. The board are very kind to them.
Gender
In Modern English there is no grammatical gender. The noun does not
possess any special gender forms, neither does the accompanying adjective,
pronoun or article indicate any gender agreement with the head-noun: a little
boy, a little girl, a little room.
What is still traditionally called gender in English is a division of nouns
into three classes according to their lexical meaning: masculine (referred to as
he) - names of male beings; feminine (referred to as she) - names of female
beings; neuter (referred to as it) - names of lifeless things and abstract
notions:
Masculine : father, boy, brother.
Feminine : mother, girl, sister.
Neuter: table, lamp, kindness, friendship.
The only exceptions are the nouns child and baby which are sometimes
referred to as it:
The child has broken its toy. The baby fell and hurt its foot.
Thus we see that gender in English is expressed lexically by means of
different words: father, mother, book.
There is practically only one gender-forming suffix in English, the
suffix –ess expressing feminine gender. Its chief use to distinguish persons
(host-hostess, heir-heiress) and a few animals (lion-lioness, tiger-tigress).
There are nouns which may be applied to both males and females:
Human beings: teacher, doctor, friend, servant, parent, neighbour,
stranger, student, clerk, novelist, etc.
Animals: wolf, elephant, bear, sparrow, eagle.
When it is desirable to restrict those nouns to one sex, a word is added
denoting the sex and thus forming a compound:
Girl-friend, boy-friend; man-servant, maid-servant; girl-student;
woman-clerk;
He-wolf, she-wolf; male-elephant, female-elephant; cock-sparrow, hensparrow.
Sometimes proper nouns are used with the names of animals to show
the sex: jack-ass, jenny-ass; billy-goat, nanny-goat; tom-cat, pussy-cat.
A girl-friend of mine called the other day. A boy-messenger brought
me the letter this morning. Bill took his gun and aimed at the beast but shewolf leaped into the forest.
Words indicating professions which formerly were used with reference
only to male beings are now used as well when speaking of women owing to
the extension of the activities of women in all fields: doctor, engineer,
journalist, foreman, driver.
My daughter is a journalist. Ann is a pilot.
Gender of Nouns Denoting Animals
All nouns denoting animals may be considered neuter.
We found the horse in its stable. That dog always showed a cat-like
dread of wet feet, as it had been suckled and reared by a cat. The pigeon
flapped its wings. The sheep returned to its fold.
The lower the animal in the scale, the more exclusive is the noun
denoting it referred to in the neuter gender. Nouns denoting birds, fishes,
insects and reptiles are generally considered as neuter:
The butterfly opened its wings. The snake crept into its hole.
In spoken language there is a tendency to associate the names of
animals with the feminine and masculine gender:
When the noun indicates the sex of the animal it is generally spoken of
as he or she:
Masculine: lion, tiger, bull; also with proper names of animals: Rover,
Jack.
Feminine: lioness, tigress, cow; Jenny.
The tiger approached the camp: his dreadful roar made us shudder. Our
tom-cat is a beautiful creature; he has a silky black coat and a fluffy tail. The
bull lowered his head and made rumbling noises in his throat. Our dog is
called Jenny; she is of a very good breed.
When the sex of the animal is not indicated by the noun, nouns
denoting the larger and bolder animals are generally associated with the
masculine gender, nouns denoting the smaller and weaker with the feminine:
Masculine: elephant, horse, dog, eagle.
Feminine: cat, hare, parrot.
But: canary-he, fly-he.
The elephant lifted his mighty trunk. The eagle left his rocky nest. The
cat has upset her milk.
The air was so clear and pleasant, and the horse seemed to like the idea
of the ride so much himself, as he stood snorting and pawing at the garden
gate, that I had a great desire to go. (Dickens.)
Names of animals are associated with feminine gender when their
maternal instinct is referred to:
A bird betrays her nest when trying to conceal it. The cat tried to guard
her young. The swallow was teaching her young how to fly.
In fairy tales and fables the gender of nouns denoting animals depends
on the general characteristics ascribed to the animals:
‘Wait a minute, ‘said the monkey proudly, ‘I can climb. ’He ran
quickly up the tree and threw the rich ripe fruit to the ground. There was once
a fat old cricket, who thought a good deal of himself. He had such a big,
shining body, and a way of chirping so loud, that no one could ever forget
where he lived. Next day the Rabbit went to see his friend the Sable: she had
many daughters and forest people always came to see her.
‘One night there flew over the city a little Swallow. His friends had
gone away to Egypt six weeks before, but he stayed behind for he was in love
with the most beautiful Reed. He had met her early in the spring as he was
flying down the river after a big yellow moth, and had been so attracted by
her slender waist that he had stopped to talk to her.’ (O. Wilde.)
‘The parrot, Polynesia, was sitting in the window looking out at the rain
and singing a Sailor-song to herself. She stopped singing and started to
listen.’ (Hugh Lofting.)
‘September felt her heart go thump, thump against her chest, and she
made up her mind to take no more risks. She put her hand and took hold of
the bird. This he was quite used to, she liked feeling his heart go pit-a-pat, so
fast, in the hollow of her hand, and I think he liked the soft warmth of her
little hand.’ (W. S. Maugham.)
Gender of Nouns Denoting Inanimate Things and Abstract
Notions.
(Personification)
Sometimes inanimate things and abstract notions are personified and
the nouns denoting them are referred to as belonging to the masculine or
feminine gender. Here are some traditional associations:
The nouns moon and earth are referred to as feminine, sun as
masculine:
It is pleasant to watch the sun in his chariot of gold, and the moon in
her chariot if pearl. (Wilde.)
The moon glittered as she rolled through the deep vault of a cloudless
sky. The sun came out in all his glory.
At first the earth was large and shone in the heavens filling a great part
of them, but every moment she grew smaller and more distant. (Wells.)
People need to rise early to see the sun in all his splendour, for his
brightness seldom lasts the day through. (Irving.)
The earth awoke from her winter sleep.
The names of vessels (ship, boat, steamer, etc.) are feminine:
She is a good boat. We saw a ship in the distance; she was sailing west.
The ice-breaker, already widely known for her previous Polar exploits, has
been converted into a comfortable passenger boat.
As I saw the ship staggering among these roaring caverns, it seemed
miraculous that she retained her balance. (Irving.)
The names of other vehicles (carriage, coach, car, plane, hovercraft) are
also sometimes made feminine or masculine by men or women respectively.
(But ‘shuttle’-it.)
She is a fine car (a motorist-man–of his car). My car is my friend: he
saves my time (a motorist-women-of her car).
‘It’ may be used for person nouns if we mean not a person but the
social position, status, rank.
She is the managing direct or and looks it. ‘It’ is closely associated with
the absence of individuality and is often used scornfully.
The names of countries are usually referred to as feminine, especially
when the country is not considered as a mere territory:
As a fruit-growing country, the Crimea is especially distinguished for
her grapes; she can also grow peaches, pears, and plums to perfection. France
sent her representative to the conference.
But: Ireland is an island; on three sides it is washed by the Atlantic
Ocean.
When abstract notions are personified, the masculine gender is given to
nouns suggesting such ideas as strength, fierceness, etc.,while the feminine is
associated with the idea of gentleness, beauty, etc.:
Masculine: anger, death, fear, war, love.
Feminine: spring, peace, kindness, dawn.
‘As I heard the waves rushing along the sides of the ship, and roaring in
my very ear, it seemed as if death were raging round this floating prison
seeking for his prey.’ (Irving.)”So the hail came… . He was dressed in grey
and his breath was like ice.’ (Wilde.) ‘The autumn gave golden fruit to every
garden, but to the Giant’s garden she gave none.’ (Wilde.)’Remembrance
wakes with all her busy train.’ (Goldsmith.)
Ex.1. Insert the appropriate pronouns where possible:
1. The sun came up upon the left.
Out of the sea came (---)
And (---) shone bright, and on the right
Went down into the sea. (Coleridge.)
2. The lion came nearer: (---) dreadful roar made us shudder. 3. At
sunset we stopped waiting for the moon to rise. At ten (---) came up beautiful
and serene as ever. 4. About a quarter of a mile out lay a boat, with (---) sails
half down. 5. Poland sent (---) representatives to the conference. 6. The sun
revolves one revolution around (---) axis once every 25 days. 7. The camel is
inestimable for long desert journeys, for (---) has a strong power of
endurance. 8. I was first on the beach; the dog came to me at once, (---) tail
almost in (---) mouth from apology. 9. Like a skilful surgeon, the wasp
knows just what to do, knows in what part of the head to insert (---) sting, to
produce the desired effect.
Ways of Indicating Gender
There are various ways of indicating the belonging of the noun to the
feminine gender as opposition to the non-expression of the feminine gender
is understood as belonging to the masculine gender. They are: suffixes,
compound words of a certain structure, different words.
The suffixes –ess, -ine, -ix, -ina, ette mark the feminine gender:
Abbot-abbess, actor-actress, administrator-administratrix, authorauthoress, aviator-aviatrix, baron-baroness, conductor-conductress, countcountess, czar-czarina, deacon-deaconess, duke-duchess, earl-countess,
emperor-empress, executor-executrix, giant-giantess, god-goddess, heirheiress, hero-heroine, host-hostess, hunter-huntress, instructor-instructress,
manager-manageress, marquis-marquess, marchioness, mayor-mayoress,
mister-mistress, murderer-murderess, negro-negress, ogre-ogress, patronpatroness, peer-peeress, poet-poetess, priest-priestess, prince-princess,
prophet-prophetess,
proprietor-proprietress,
shepherd-shepherdess,
sorcerer- sorceress, steward-stewardess, sultan-sultana, tailor-tailoress,
traitor-traitress, testator-testatrix, tutor-tutoress, usher-usherette, waiterwaitress.
The suffix –er marks the masculine gender: widow-widower.
Gender is expressed in compound words with the second component –
man, -woman, -boy, -maid, -girl, -lord, -lady, -cock, -hen:
Barman-barmaid, cashboy-cashgirl, landlord-landlady, peacockpeahen, washerman-washerwoman. The masculine noun ‘bridegroom’ is
opposed to the feminine noun ‘bride’,fiancé to fiancée, rajah to ranee, beau
to belle, blond to blonde, masseur to masseuse.
A nurse was traditionally treated as feminine, to indicate a man doing
this kind of job ‘a male nurse’ should be used.’ Engineer’ was traditionally
meant as masculine, ‘a woman engineer’ is used for a lady. ‘Boyfriend’,
‘girlfriend’ have specific connotations.
There are different words for creatures of male and female sex: manwoman, lad-lass, brother-sister, bachelor-spinster, father-mother, husbandwife, son-daughter, nephew-niece, uncle-aunt, gentleman-lady, sir-madam,
boy-girl, friar, monk-nun, male-female, wizard, warlock, witch, king-queen,
fox-vixen.
As a rule the feminine noun differs from the corresponding masculine
counterpart not only in the expression of another sex, but has other overtones
and even meanings. Here are some of the meanings of the nouns in the
mentioned pairs:
Lord-supreme male ruler; God;
Lady-woman belonging to upper classes; woman who has good
manners and some claim to social position; (GB) used of and to wives or
daughters of some nobles;
Master-man who has others working for him and under him; male head
of the household; captain of a merchant ship; male teacher; male owner of a
dog, the Master-Jesus Christ;
Mistress-woman at the head of the household or family; woman in
authority who gives orders to servants, woman school teacher; woman having
regular sexual intercourse with one man to whom she is not married;
Governor-person who governs a province or a colony or (US) state,
headmaster;
Governess-woman who is employed to teach young children in a
private family;
Witch-woman said to use magic, esp. for evil purposes; fascinating and
bewitching woman;
Wizard-magician; person with amazing abilities.
To express some male or female animals different words are used.
There is often a quartet: the name of the male, the name of the female, the
name of the young and the common name.
Male
Common
Boar
Bull, steer
calf
Cock, rooster, capon
Dog
Drake
Gander
Ram
Stag, buck
Stallion, gelding
Female
Young
sow
cow
piglet
heifer, calf
hen
bitch
duck
goose
ewe
hind, doe
mare
chicken
puppy
duckling
gosling
lamb
buck, doe
foal, colt, filly
pig
cattle,
chicken
dog
duck
goose
sheep
deer
horse
Underlined words are used for a male that has been castrated.
Some more examples:
Common
Ass
Bear
Cat
Elephant
Fox
Goat
Hare
Leopard
Lion
Otter
Male
jack-ass
he-ass
he-bear
tom-cat
bull
dog-fox
billy-goat,
he-goat
buck
leopard
lion
dog-otter
Female
jenny-ass
she-ass
she-bear
tabby-cat, pussy-cat
cow
vixen, bitch fox
nanny-goat,
she-goat
doe
leopardess
lioness
bitch otter
Peacock
Pigeon
Rabbit
Rhinoceros
Robin
Seal
Sparrow
Swan
Walrus
Whale
Wolf
peacock
cock
buck
bull
cock
bull
cock
cock
bull
bull
dog-wolf
he-wolf
peahen
hen
doe
cow
hen
cow
hen
hen
cow
cow
bitch-wolf
she-wolf
Ex.2. Define the gender of the nouns.
Friend, ship, tiger, tigress, mother, teacher, club, president, cat, dog,
man-servant, commander-in-chief, maid-servant, book, cloud, actor, hostess,
tabby cat, he-wolf, duck, head, man, boy, actress, professor, librarian, animal,
mother-in-law, fly, mouse, canary, mare, sow, ewe, ranee, nun, sun, moon,
England, parrot, horse, moth, snake, hare, love, war, spring, winter.
Ex.3. Male nouns are given in the following list. Do they have
corresponding female nouns?
Author, count, giant, host, manager, negro, shepherd, traitor, baron,
duke, god, poet, master, prince, tailor, tutor, conductor, emperor, headmaster,
instructor,
Mayor, governor, steward, waiter, czar, friar, chairman, sultan, patron,
aviator, chairman, gentleman, heir, rajah, executor, patron, marquis, testator,
administrator, hunter, hero, usher.
Ex.4. The following nouns are exceptions and the corresponding female
nouns are different.
Bachelor, sir, husband, man-servant, son, bridegroom, father, king,
monk, uncle, brother, hero, lord, nephew, widower.
Ex.5. The nouns denote animals. Do they have corresponding female
nouns?
Bull, leopard, tom-cat, cock, lion, he-wolf, tiger, boar, gander, drake,
ram, rooster, stag, stallion, dog-otter, jack-ass, peacock, dog-fox, billy-goat.
Ex.6. Supply the missing words. Refer to this list as little as possible.
Actress, aunt, bachelor, bridegroom, cows, daughter, female, goddess, hens,
heroine, heiress, lionesses, mares, nephew, nieces, nuns, prince, queens, ram,
saleswoman, sister, sow, spinster, uncle, waitress, widower.
1. John’s brother is a bank clerk and his --- is a nurse. 2. My aunt is
very nice and my --- has a wonderful sense of humour. 3. My --- is a little
boy of four; my niece is a little girl of two. 4. My father’s brother and sister
have never married. He’s still a --- and she’s a --- .5. These days, few men
become monks and few women become --- .6. There is only one bull in the
field, but there are dozens of --- .7. The cock crows at dawn and wakes up all
the --- .8. The stallion is in a separate stable from the --- .9. We call the boar
Henry and we call the --- Jemima.10. The ewes look quiet enough, but I don’t
like the look of that --- .11. Tony is an actor and his wife is an --- .12. John
and Jane work in a restaurant; he is a waiter and she is a --- .13. In fairy tales
the handsome --- usually marries the beautiful princess. 14. We went to a
wildlife park and saw a lot of lions and --- .15. In mythology, Mars is the god
of war; Diana is the --- of hunting. 16. Katerina is the --- to her father’s
fortune. 17. Why does everyone expect the hero of the story to marry the ---?
18. A widow can often manage much better on her own than a --- .19. A --won the award for most sales this month; a salesman came second. 20. When
you look at fish, it’s often difficult to distinguish between male and --- .21.
Very few people know the names of the kings and --- of England. 22. I took a
photo of the bride and --- at the wedding. 23. The Smiths have a son called
Robert and a --- called Jill. 24. My uncle and --- are over here from Canada.
25. I enjoy being an uncle. I have two --- and three nephews.
Language and Gender
Sometimes people object to words for occupations and professions that
are marked to indicate sex differences since they think that men and women
are not treated in the same way.
Speech and writing that make unnecessary distinctions based on sex are
called sexist language. The word ‘Mr’ does not show whether or not a man is
married whereas ‘Mrs’ is used for a married woman and ‘Miss’ for a single
woman making the distinction of a woman’s social position. The term ‘Ms’
was suggested as a compromise.
‘He’, ‘him,’ ‘his’ can refer to a male or a female or to someone whose
sex is unknown.
The child has lost his toy.
The student paid his subscription fee.
To avoid the use of the masculine marker for someone who may be a
female, an article or another determiner can be used instead.
The child has lost the toy.
Sometimes either ‘he/she’ or ‘his/her’ is used.
Every student has to pay his/her subscription fee.
There are three possible ways to indicate gender of the noun of a dual
gender.
1. When a relative arrives, he will be let in and his arrival will be
welcome by everyone.
2. When a relative arrives, he or she will be let in and his or her arrival
will be welcome by everyone.
3. When a relative arrives, they will be let in and their arrival will be
welcome by everyone.
The use of ‘he’ in the first sentence is considered sexist; the use of ‘he
and she,’ is a bit awkward, especially in speech; in the third case ‘they’ is
used with a singular meaning which is incorrect, but still quite common,
especially in informal English.
The language reflects the situation in society. Societal change and
language change go hand in hand. This explains the possibility of one
sentence and the impossibility of the other one:
I pronounce you man and wife (not: man and woman, husband and
wife, woman and husband), the pronouncement gives a picture of woman as
man’s possession.
Mary is a divorcee (not: John is a divorce).
Mrs. John Smith (not: Mr. Mary Smith).
She is John’s widow (not: He is Mary’s widower).
‘Man’ was originally fully generic (Man breakfasts his young; One
man, one vote) but over years it stopped being felt as such and this masculine
bias can sound odd to a speaker of English.
‘Lady’ is used out of exaggerated politeness since a woman of high
station and breeding was traditionally meant. Some people dislike to use
‘lady’ because of its connection with class distinctions. To some people
‘lady’ is synonymous with good manners. ‘Female’ is used in an official,
scientific or clinical contexts for a person, plant, animal that bears young.
Traditional social roles were formerly expressed by compound nouns
with –man or –woman as the second component of the noun. A neutral form
for both sexes is preferred by most people now as they object to terms that
show the sex of the person who is doing the work.
Traditional male
neutral
Chairman
Barman
Businessman
Fireman
Headmaster
Postman
worker
Salesman
Spokesman
Steward
Bachelor
Fiancé
To man
Man-hours
----Foreman
Manpower
Mankind
Man and wife
Traditional female
Non-sexist
chairwoman
barmaid
businesswoman
----headmistress
postwoman
chair (person)
bartender
businessperson
fire fighter
head (teacher)
postie/postal
saleswoman
spokeswoman
stewardess/air hostess
spinster
fiancée
--------cleaning lady
-----------------
salesperson
spokesperson
flight attendant
unmarried/single
partner
to staff
working hours
cleaner
supervisor
human resources
human race
man and woman
Male vs. Female Language
A woman has a figure, a man has a physique;
A father roars in rage, a mother shrieks in pique;
And female bosses supervise, male bosses boss.
Lads gulp, maids sip;
Jack plunge, Jills dip;
Guys bark, dames snap;
Boys punch, girls slap;
Gobs swab, Waves mop;
Braves buy, squaws shop.
A gentleman perspires, a lady merely glows;
A husband is suspicious; a wife, however, knows.
From “Odds and Ends”
American English
Ex.7. Change the wording to make it neutral.
Now! Eagle Airlines offers even more to the businessman who needs
comfort.
Let us fly you to your destination in first-class comfort, looked after by
the best-trained air hostesses in the world. Any businessman knows that he
must arrive fresh and ready for work no matter how long the journey. With
Eagle Diplomat-Class you can do just that. And, what’s more, your wife can
travel with you on all intercontinental flights for only 25% of the normal
fare! Yоur secretary can book you on any flights 24 hours a day on 0557465769. All she has to do is lift the phone.
Ex.8. These words include some that many people consider sexist. Put
the words into appropriate pairs with their neutral alternatives:
Cabin attendant
Man-hours
Unmanned
Air hostess
Unstaffed
spinster
human beings
single woman
mankind
person-hours
Ex.9. Make this letter neutral.
The Manager
Frinstowe Engineering Ltd
7/11/10
Dear Sir,
I am a spinster aged 29 and am seeking employment. I saw your
advertisement for part-time workers in the Globe last week. However,
your24-hour answering service seemed to be unmanned when I tried it. Could
you please send me application forms by post? Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
Sally Hewings (Miss)
Words relating to gender
Male, female – used for gender classification in biology
Male and female bees
Masculine, feminine – having qualities felt to be typically male or female
Masculine pride, feminine charm
Manly, womanly – having positive qualities felt to be typically male or
female
Manly strength, womanly grace
Virile – manly (usually used in a sexual context)
Handsome and virile men
Effeminate – resembling a woman (used of men, negative)
His effeminate walk
Mannish – resembling a man (used of women, negative)
Her mannish haircut
A tomboy – a young girl who behaves and dresses like a boy
She’s a real tomboy.
A sissy – a boy who behaves like a girl, or a weak and cowardly person
)informal, negative)
He’s such a sissy!
Butch – used of men and women, aggressively masculine in looks and
behaviour (informal)
Butch stars of cowboy films
Ex.10. A modern editor would probably alter these sentences. How
would this be done?
1. Three firemen helped put out a fire at a disused warehouse last
night.2. A spokesman for the Department of Education provided us with a
statement. 3. Cleaning lady wanted for house in Priory Street. 4. The
switchboard is continuously manned even during holiday periods. 5. All our
air hostesses are fluent in at least three languages. 6. Miss Jones is in charge
of the Manpower Department of the company. 7. Policemen today spend
more time in cars than on the beat. 8. Brenda’s husband is a male nurse. 9. It
took a great many man-hours to clean up the stadium after the concert.10.
This was a great step for mankind. 11. The man in the street has little time for
such issues. 12. They manhandled the hostage into the van.
Ex.11. Circle the best of the underlined words to complete each
sentence.
1. That suit makes her look rather mannish/manly. 2. Go on, jump.
Don’t be such a tomboy/sissy! 3. Younger men are said to be more
male/virile than older ones. 4. She always dresses in a very
feminine/effeminate way. You never see her in trousers. 5. The
masculine/male cat is less aggressive than his sister.
Ex.12. Answer these questions.
1. Does your language ever use male words generically? 2. If so, have
there been attempts to change them to avoid sexual stereotyping? 3. Do you
think that using sex-biased words does affect people’s attitudes to men and
women’s roles in society? 4. How do you feel about imposing language
changes of the different kinds? 5. Do you think it is better if terms of address
indicate marital status or not? Why?
Literature:
1. M.Ganshina and N.Vasilevskaya. English Grammar.Moscow Foreign
Language Publishing House, 1958., p.471
2. А.Новый. Словарь трудностей английского языка .ТТО
«Катриона»,С-П,1996
3.
Л.А.Куликовская.
Консультации
по
английской
грамматике,»Москва»,»Наука»,1999.
4. Морфология, Сборник упражнений по практической грамматике
английского языка, составитель В.О.Французова, Минск,ООО
«Лексис»,2003