The way I read the dictionary entries available to me, blond is an adjective and blonde is a noun applied only to females.
If I'm reading it correctly, that means "She had blonde hair" would be a misapplication because it's used as an adjective. "She is a blonde" would be correct, I think.
Am I misreading?
Not according to Grammar Girl (but there's more to it): https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/blond-or-blonde
The word originally came into English from Old French, where it has masculine and feminine forms. As an English noun, it kept those two forms; thus, a blond is a fair-haired male, and a blonde is a fair-haired female.
When you're using the word as an adjective, "blond" is the more common spelling and can be used for men or women, especially in the United States; however, "blonde" can also be used to describe a woman with fair hair, as in "Go ask the blonde woman at table 2 if she wants pepper on her salad."
the AP stylebook currently says to maintain the distinction between the two gendered forms of the word if you use it, and The Chicago Manual of Style also seems to uphold the difference. It doesn't say so explicitly, but it uses the E-form for women in some example sentences.
Most of the time, inanimate objects are treated as male. For example, if you have a blond wooden dresser, "blond" is spelled without the E. A recent exception though is that Starbucks uses the feminine form for its blonde roast coffee. Maybe the marketing people believe we'll love it more if we think of it as a woman or as female.
1. Avoid using "blond" as a stand-alone noun for men or women if you can easily rewrite your sentence or you think it may offend your readers.
2. If you do use the words as nouns, maintain the gender difference and use "blonde" for a woman and "blond" for a man.
3. Inanimate objects usually get the masculine form of the word.
4. When you're using "blond" as an adjective, use the masculine spelling, without the E, especially if you're in the United States.
I have a pair of blonde leather pants,
According to Grammar Girl, that would be "blond" without the "e".
Madonna's tour was named 'Blond Ambition', as per the USA English style.
As a Brit with some knowledge of French, I prefer to make the adjective match the subject.
AJ
As a Brit with some knowledge of French, I prefer to make the adjective match the subject.
And with a language (English) without genders on our nouns, which adjective would you pick for "ambition". Besides, "Blond Ambition" is a play on words for "Blind Ambition", making it a humorous jab at those accusing her of blatant pandering to her base. Playing around with the spelling would only diminish what she was going for.
In a recent montage of pictures of young, eligible royals, one of the photos was captioned 'Blonde Ambition'.
AJ
And with a language (English) without genders on our nouns, which adjective would you pick for "ambition".
We don't have much in the way of grammatical gender anymore, but we used to. As an abstract concept, "ambition" would most probably be feminine, so should take the feminine adjective "blonde".
without genders on our nouns, which adjective would you pick for "ambition".
Grammar Girl says:
Most of the time, inanimate objects are treated as male.
For example, if you have a blond wooden dresser, "blond" is spelled without the E. A recent exception though is that Starbucks uses the feminine form for its blonde roast coffee. Maybe the marketing people believe we'll love it more if we think of it as a woman or as female.
ETA: However, ships are referred to as "she." So is it a "blonde ship" (taking on the she-gender for a ship) or "blond ship" where inanimate objects use the form of the adjective without the "e"?
However, ships are referred to as "she." So is it a "blonde ship" (taking on the she-gender for a ship) or "blond ship" where inanimate objects use the form of the adjective without the "e"?
That's why I don't venture into gender in English grammar. There's a reason why nouns and verbs are genderless. Without genders for every single word, it's meaningless trying to apply them on an ad hock basis. You simply can't force genders on a genderless language just 'cause you miss them.
You simply can't force genders on a genderless language
But the style guides do (I guess for consistency). Starbucks bucked (pun intended) the system.
What I was wondering is, if the inanimate object requires a male adverb (blond), is that true for a ship which is referred to as "she"? I don't expect an answer here. Just wondering.
But the style guides do (I guess for consistency). Starbucks bucked (pun intended) the system.
I don't think they bucked it so much as they went with their logo. Their logo is obstinsably female, so they used the female adjective.
I don't think they bucked it so much as they went with their logo. Their logo is obstinsably female, so they used the female adjective.
So shouldn't it be Stardoes? ;)
AJ
So shouldn't it be Stardoes?
In their case it is dollars as the meaning for bucks. As evidence, consider their pricing. I used to be able to get a meal for what they charge for a cup of coffee.
So shouldn't it be Stardoes? ;)
Stars does what? Pass out drunk? Flash poporatsi getting out of cars? Or explode in a flash, never being seen in lights again?
I don't think they bucked it so much as they went with their logo. Their logo is obstinsably female, so they used the female adjective.
Even then, they didn't go with 'legit usage', opting instead for 'pretentious fartsy'. 'D It gets the message across though.
You simply can't force genders on a genderless language
But the style guides do (I guess for consistency). Starbucks bucked (pun intended) the system.
Anybody have an AP Stylebook? Does it use "she" when referring to ships?
Anybody have an AP Stylebook? Does it use "she" when referring to ships?
From Chicago Manual of Style:
A. Use the feminine pronoun when referring to a female person or animal. Avoid using it to refer to a business, a ship, or any nonliving entity—especially in the presence of a female person.
So that solves that problem. it would be a "blond ship."
Or just paint all ships battleship gray.
From Chicago Manual of Style:
A. Use the feminine pronoun when referring to a female person or animal. Avoid using it to refer to a business, a ship, or any nonliving entity—especially in the presence of a female person.
We Brits would use 'she' for a vessel anyway - see Tedbiker's stories (and yes, that is a recommendation).
AJ
Or just paint all ships battleship gray.
I've know quite a few gray blonds in my time, including a few 4-star Admirals. (But no blondes, as of yet, due to the remaining institutional sexism.)
Does it use "she" when referring to ships?
Referring to ships as "she" is a navel tradition that predates the AP Stylebook by at least a centuries.
a navel tradition that predates the AP Stylebook
From http://www.traveller.com.au/everyone-asks-why-are-ships-called-she-gyr2t0
This romantic tradition is changing. Since 2002, Lloyd's List, which began reporting shipping news since 1734, has referred to all vessels as "it", and many news sources have adopted this new convention. Happily, most sailors have not.
This romantic tradition is changing.
I must down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.
Somehow, a tall ship and a star to steer it by just doesn't sound quite right.
Even when you're talking about all those freighters, car carriers, and container ships that keep our global economy going, somehow calling them 'it' doesn't seem appropriate at all.
Anybody have an AP Stylebook? Does it use "she" when referring to ships?
From Grammar Girl: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/are-ships-cars-nations-called-she
Still, today the AP Stylebook and The Chicago Manual of Style recommend using "it" instead of "she" when you're writing about ships.
Still, today the AP Stylebook and The Chicago Manual of Style recommend using "it" instead of "she" when you're writing about ships.
Do I detect the inexorable creep of political correctness? :(
AJ
Do I detect the inexorable creep of political correctness? :(
I don't think it has anything to do with being sexist. But maybe it does.
When I was researching the origin of a ship being called "she," I found a very funny sexist reason. I can't re-find it. But it had things like it's called she because it takes a man to guide it and with a little paint it looks as good as new. It was worded more clever than that and really was funny.
Do I detect the inexorable creep of political correctness? :(
A ship is, by definition, an inanimate object and has no gender. Calling a ship "she" is illogical. If I had to bet, I'd bet the committee that made the decision to call a ship "it" instead of "she" did not even consider political correctness, as fond of the old term as some people may be.
Calling a ship "she" is illogical.
You call a car "she" too, as in, "She sure is fast."
And in "Moby Dick," I think it's Ishmael who says, "Thar she blows!" and the "she" is Moby Dick. A she with a dick. Maybe the first transgender story ever.
Generally speaking, women were considered bad luck and weren't supposed to be on board a ship. The sailors being men had to have a female around so the ship became a she.
What was it they used to say in the Military?
If we wanted you to have a wife we would have issued you one.
of course my favorite comes from a lady friend who went into the Air force. Her female Drill instructor told her squad: "Ladies, there's twenty miles of dick on this base and you're not getting one damn inch of it. So forget about it and focus on your training."
If I had to bet, I'd bet the committee that made the decision to call a ship "it" instead of "she" did not even consider political correctness, as fond of the old term as some people may be.
And I would take that bet.
There's currently quite a powerful movement to degenderise our terminology, banning such terms as chairman, postman, waitress, barmaid etc.
It would be a surprise to me if the initiative to stop vessels being called 'she' wasn't part of it.
FWIW, I haven't assigned any specific gender to my car, although I have given it a nickname. My pool of friends includes people who have given their cars male names and people who have given their cars female names.
AJ
It would be a surprise to me if the initiative to stop vessels being called 'she' wasn't part of it.
To me it's ridiculous calling the Nimitz-class carriers 'she' when all of them are named after men!
USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) (also known by crewmembers as "the Big Stick" or within the US Navy simply as TR) is the fourth Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. Her radio call sign is Rough Rider, the nickname of President Theodore Roosevelt's volunteer cavalry unit during the Spanish–American War. She was launched in 1984, and saw her first action during Operation Desert Storm in 1991
HM.
To me it's ridiculous calling the Nimitz-class carriers 'she' when all of them are named after men!
Yes, but that would be my inclination.
I'm not sure calling them 'it' is that big an improvement.
Like the US, here in the UK we now strictly alternate between male and female names for our storms.
Don't Europeans refer to the Jungfrau as female?
AJ
Don't Europeans refer to the Jungfrau as female?
I assume you are talking about the mountain.
In German mountains can have all genders.
m: der Brocken, der Ochsenkopf, der Arber, der Mont Blanc, der Feldberg, der Wendelstein, der Großglockner, der Watzmann, ...
f: die Jungfrau, die Zugspitze, die Rotwand, ...
n: das Matterhorn, ...
Because most mountain names are compound names like someberg(mountain), somestein(stone), somespitze(peak), somehorn they have the same gender as the noun: der Berg, der Kopf, der Stein, die Spitze, die Frau, die Wand, das Horn.
In French most mountains are male, a quick search showed two exceptions la Jungfrau and la Zugspitze, but die Rotwand is le Rotwand in French.
BTW, how is it in the UK (Snowdon, Ben Nevis)? Is it he, she or it? Are there differences between English and Welsh/Gaelic?
HM.
BTW, how is it in the UK (Snowdon, Ben Nevis)? Is it he, she or it? Are there differences between English and Welsh/Gaelic?
That's outside my area of expertise, but I've never heard erstwhile mountain-climbing colleagues use 'he' or 'she'. I suspect they're neuter - 'it'.
AJ
I'm not sure calling them 'it' is that big an improvement.
If I use the name, 'it' would make clear it's the ship, not the person. While using 'she' for the USS John F. Kennedy wouldn't be ambivalent, how about 'Queen Elizabeth'?
HM.
If I use the name, 'it' would make clear it's the ship, not the person. While using 'she' for the USS John F. Kennedy wouldn't be ambivalent, how about 'Queen Elizabeth'?
That's because you would use 'the' in name. Thus, you would say, the Kennedy, the Queen Mary, etc.
Where it gets fun is when the captain of the ship leaves the ship. Then the officer of the deck would say, "John F Kennedy, departing" or "Queen Mary, departing". An Admiral in charge of, say, the Sixth Fleet, he'd say "Sixth Fleet, departing".
There's a joke where they were announcing Douglas MacArthur getting off a ship after he'd been appointed Commander in Chief of all U.S. Forces in the South Pacific. Because that was too long to say, they abbreviated it ... once. "CinCUS" didn't go over well. (Sink us)
To me it's ridiculous calling the Nimitz-class carriers 'she' when all of them are named after men!
The traditional British naming ceremony, in which some toff breaks a bottle of bubbly on the prow, is usually accompanied by a benediction ending with something like 'and all who sail in her'.
AJ
There's currently quite a powerful movement to degenderise our terminology, banning such terms as chairman, postman, waitress, barmaid etc.
That 'movement' has less to do with being politically correct than it does with more women taking over those positions, forcing the name change when referring to them. Once upon a time, all mail carriers were men, nowadays, it just ain't so. That ain't politics, it's modern reality. Get used to it.
But even in that 'golden age', I have a few postmistresses in my family history (both on my mother's and ex-wife's side), so the usage of "postmen" was always wishful thinking among the 'men only, women and Irish need not apply' crowd.
That 'movement' has less to do with being politically correct than it does with more women taking over those positions, forcing the name change
Actors, nowadays, are both men and women. You can still use actress for a woman, but it's not used much anymore.
Etymologists have pointed out that the suffix of 'man' is traditionally gender neutral. So 'chairman' and 'postman' aren't gender specific and can refer to women as well as men. But in these days of many people having nothing to worry about but finding things to worry about, every use of 'man' is to be worried about.
If they have their way, in future a certain iconic South African must be referred to as Neloffspring Persondela ;)
AJ
If they have their way, in future a certain iconic South African must be referred to as Neloffspring Persondela ;)
Phoenix has a mountain that was called Squaw Peak. That was offensive so they renamed it to Piestewa Peak after the first American Indian woman to die in combat while serving in the U.S. military. I think it was the Iraq War. I can never remember the name (I had to look it up).
Phoenix has a mountain that was called Squaw Peak.
They should have renamed it Squawk Pea after what happened when the princess felt the lump under her mattress.
On a serious note, pertaining to HM's question, do you know whether Piestewa Peak is referred to as 'he', 'she' or 'it'?
AJ
do you know whether Piestewa Peak is referred to as 'he', 'she' or 'it'?
It would have to be "it." You don't call mountains "she."
Etymologists have pointed out that the suffix of 'man' is traditionally gender neutral.
If you want "man" to be gender-neutral again, you have to go back to using "wer" for male men.
That's the same "wer" as in "werewolf", incidentally. "Werewolf" is specifically masculine. Female lycanthropes should be wifewolves.
Female lycanthropes should be wifewolves.
Including the youngsters and those as yet unwed? Really?
If you want "man" to be gender-neutral again, you have to go back to using "wer" for male men.
There are instances where 'man' is still gender-neutral eg 'mankind' and the Christmas benediction 'goodwill to all men'.
I think the PC lobby are going to have a very hard time ferreting them all out and replacing them with 'acceptable' alternatives.
AJ
Etymologists have pointed out that the suffix of 'man' is traditionally gender neutral.
Alas, that 'understanding' was born in the days the only people worth considering were men, so 'including' women was deemed a high honor for mere women. Once again, I doubt the switch was triggered by some secret government 'PC committee', but by a groundswell of complaints from women feeling marginalized by the terms (try looking up 'institutional racism/sexism').
Alas, that 'understanding' was born in the days the only people worth considering were men, so 'including' women was deemed a high honor for mere women. Once again, I doubt the switch was triggered by some secret government 'PC committee', but by a groundswell of complaints from women feeling marginalized by the terms (try looking up 'institutional racism/sexism').
If you go far enough back, mann just meant "human". It didn't carry connotations of male or female; it wasn't the term for a male human that oh so graciously deigned to sometimes allow females in. There were separate words for both female and male humans.
A specifically male mann was a wer (cognate to Latin vir, as in "virile"), while a specifically female mann was a wif (from which PDE "wife" is derived, though then it just meant "woman" and didn't necessarily denote "married").
FWIW, I haven't assigned any specific gender to my car
I have a pickup truck, an Electric Blue Ford F150. If I gave it a name, it would probably be "Babe", as a reference to Paul Bunyan's blue ox.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Paul-Bunyan
Since an ox is a steer (a castrated male bovine) that has been trained to be used as a draft animal, my truck Babe would definitely be male despite the feminine sounding name.
And I would take that bet.
You're seeing ghosts where none exist. Your position that there are trends and mine that the committee making the change did not consider PC - those two positions are not mutually exclusive.
Your position that there are trends and mine that the committee making the change did not consider PC - those two positions are not mutually exclusive.
A google search revealed many authorities decided to make that change, none of which are involved in the sailing of ships (the closest was Lloyds of London, which insures ships). I've managed to track down some of the reasons given for the change and sentiments like: 'because it treats objects as women and therefore implies women are objects', 'because everyone's doing it' and 'because we have to keep up with the times'.
I will continue to defy political correctness and use 'she', although in my case it's likely to be space-going ships rather than ocean-going ;)
AJ
I will continue to defy political correctness and use 'she'...
The lack of a future might be the reason many people turn into genuine rebels at old age.
The lack of a future might be the reason many people turn into genuine rebels at old age.
You're probably right. Life experience is something that can't be obtained overnight by snowflake millenials (most of whom can't change a lightbulb, according to a recent survey.)
AJ
Do I detect the inexorable creep of political correctness?
Only when referring to how "happy" the ship is midstream (i.e. "The gay ship Eisenhower!"). 'D
Anybody have an AP Stylebook? Does it use "she" when referring to ships?
As far as I know, that's strictly a military convention, so they'd simply defer to the military's usage to ensure Newspaper articles always used the proper references.
According to Grammar Girl, that would be "blond" without the "e".
I can't help how they were sold. I also can't fit in them anymore since I bought them 23 years ago :(
This is common and will be more common in the future as writers of English try to write about people from cultures with languages which have gender.
How many times do you see a writer say Latino woman?
Latino is male, always.
Latina is female.
How many times do you see a writer say Latino woman?
Latino is male, always.
Latina is female.
That's easy. Now how is it with a group consisting of Latinos and Latinas? Which gender takes preference?
(Just my guess: male)
HM.
a group consisting of Latinos and Latinas? Which gender takes preference?
My wife and I were in a Mexican restaurant once. The owner came to the table and used the term Señors to address the two of us. I said, "Huh? We're not both men," and he said when it's mixed, you use the masculine form in Spanish.
But when they refer to ONE person as a Latino woman which literally translates to Hispanic male woman?
But when they refer to ONE person as a Latino woman which literally translates to Hispanic male woman?
Methinks you're overthinking it. As women take over more leading roles and political/military positions, we're gradually sliding into genderless nouns, even among gendered languages. You can fight it all you want, but it's no longer a world of men leading the way, and women sitting behind knitting socks until they return.
In the Hispanic cultures I expect it will not happen in my lifetime, though there is some progress being made, in Mexico the states where rape was previously legal passed laws against it in 2012, before that it was only illegal in half of them.
That's easy. Now how is it with a group consisting of Latinos and Latinas? Which gender takes preference?
(Just my guess: male)
Traditionally, yeah. I've occasionally seen Spanish-speakers write Latinås or Latin@s in that circumstance, though.
I've occasionally seen Spanish-speakers write Latinås or Latin@s in that circumstance, though.
The first is quite ingenious, the pronunciation of the Danish letter 'å' is about halfway between the 'a' and 'o' in latinas/latinos.
HM.
I have a number of printed English dictionaries from the early 1930s to the early 2000s in British English, American English, and International English and none of them list either Latino or Latina as words.
However, the on-line Oxford Living Dictionary lists Latino as being a US English only word for a man or boy of Latin American origin or descent with a note to also see Latina. It lists the word as being of Hispanic usage.
The Merriam-Webster lists Latino as being a native of inhabitant of Latin America and first used as such in 1946. It also lists a second meaning added later as a person of Latin American origin living in the USA.
Thus, under both those usages Latino can not be used to refer to anyone from or descended from persons not from Latin America.
typo edit
Thus, under both those usages Latino can not be used to refer to anyone from or descended from persons not from Latin America.
I believe that's true. To be Latino, you have to come from the specified Latino countries in Latin America. And I don't even think you need to be Spanish.
Now hispanic means you have Spanish origins.
But I don't think Latina is used for females since Latino is short for "latinoamericano."
Thus, under both those usages Latino can not be used to refer to anyone from or descended from persons not from Latin America.
What? You mean Julius Csesar wasn't Latino? Damn, there go all my hot midnight fantasies!'D
Too bad he wasn't romantic. Unless liking boys was romance? He liked some girls too he just didn't buy sex so he wasn't buy-sexual.
But he spoke Latin. :)
So did every priest in the Catholic Church for hundreds of years after the fall of the Roman Empire, regardless of where they were born or lived.
You mean Julius Csesar wasn't Latino? Damn, there go all my hot midnight fantasies!'D
If you really want hot Roman orgies, the emperor to look to is/was Caligula.
Politically Correct, such an enormously useful invention of the great Russian inventor Vladimir Lenin.
I just heard it's also true for brunette and brunet, although I never saw it spelled the second way.