[TheForge] PC-ness Grammatical Pet Peeve Rant - Way OT

[Peter Fels And Phoebe Palmer]

Great quote Jeffrey;
This whole discussion smacks of English majors though... it makes 
me nervous...pf


Jeffrey Polaski wrote:
> I'm not sure who wrote this, but it applies:
> 
> "The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that
> English is as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words;
> on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways, beat
> them
> unconscious and rifled their pockets."
> 
> 
> 
> Jeff Polaski
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
> [mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Garrick Peterson
> Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2007 5:01 PM
> To: Sponsored by ABANA
> Subject: Re: [TheForge] PC-ness Grammatical Pet Peeve Rant - Way OT
> 
> To be equally pedantic:
> 
> Main Entry: 1sex
> Pronunciation: 'seks
> Function: noun
> Etymology: Middle English, from Latin sexus
> 1 : either of the two major forms of individuals that occur in many
> species and that are distinguished respectively as female or male
> especially on the basis of their reproductive organs and structures
> 2 : the sum of the structural, functional, and behavioral
> characteristics of organisms that are involved in reproduction marked
> by the union of gametes and that distinguish males and females
> 3 a : sexually motivated phenomena or behavior b : SEXUAL INTERCOURSE
> 4 : GENITALIA
> 
> Of interest is 4b.
> 
> Main Entry: 1gen*der
> Pronunciation: 'jen-d&r
> Function: noun
> Etymology: Middle English gendre, from Anglo-French genre, gendre,
> from Latin gener-, genus birth, race, kind, gender -- more at KIN
> 1 a : a subclass within a grammatical class (as noun, pronoun,
> adjective, or verb) of a language that is partly arbitrary but also
> partly based on distinguishable characteristics (as shape, social
> rank, manner of existence, or sex) and that determines agreement with
> and selection of other words or grammatical forms b : membership of a
> word or a grammatical form in such a subclass c : an inflectional form
> showing membership in such a subclass
> 2 a : SEX <the feminine gender> b : the behavioral, cultural, or
> psychological traits typically associated with one sex
> 
> Of interest - 2a
> 
> English, as a living language, is constantly evolving and changing.
> "Sex", regardless of it's origins, is now taken to mean intercourse,
> in addition to it's original definitions. "Gender", again regardless
> of it's origins, now also means sex.
> 
> ~G
> 
> ref: http://www.webster.com/dictionary/
> 
> 
> On 5/29/07, Dan Tull <dantull at numail.org> wrote:
>> It's getting so we just can't believe Bruce anymore.
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