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A Ship; She, He or It?
Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 3:55 pm
by warspite1
I have to say I'm with the admiral on this.
I've been reading
The Imperial Japanese Navy in the Pacific War (Stille) recently and he routinely refers to ships as 'it'. It really,
really grates [:@].
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... s-her.html
RE: A Ship; She, He or It?
Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 3:58 pm
by Blond_Knight
Well ofcourse Britain and therefore the US refers to ships as 'she', but I believe the Russian tradition is 'he'.
RE: A Ship; She, He or It?
Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 4:03 pm
by Lobster
Traveller.com.au: 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.
Nobody really knows why they are referred to as she. There are only theories. As long as the other guy's she/it sinks first I don't care. [;)]
Oh look, I made a pun without intending to. [:D]
RE: A Ship; She, He or It?
Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 4:04 pm
by warspite1
ORIGINAL: Blond_Knight
Well ofcourse Britain and therefore the US refers to ships as 'she', but I believe the Russian tradition is 'he'.
warspite1
But the way things are going - and the obsession with being gender-neutral - means that the Russians will change their approach too no doubt. 'It' just doesn't sound right.... and when applied to certain vessels it's doubly wrong imo. But then I'm old.....
RE: A Ship; She, He or It?
Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 4:19 pm
by Lecivius
ORIGINAL: warspite1
But then I'm old.....
Welcome to the club [:D][8D][;)]
RE: A Ship; She, He or It?
Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 4:21 pm
by warspite1
ORIGINAL: Lecivius
ORIGINAL: warspite1
But then I'm old.....
Welcome to the club [:D][8D][;)]
warspite1
Is there a club? Ohhh I think I joined a club once... but if I did, I've forgotten the name of it....
RE: A Ship; She, He or It?
Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 5:01 pm
by Lobster
ORIGINAL: warspite1
ORIGINAL: Lecivius
ORIGINAL: warspite1
But then I'm old.....
Welcome to the club [:D][8D][;)]
warspite1
Is there a club? Ohhh I think I joined a club once... but if I did, I've forgotten the name of it....
That's ok. No one remembers where or when it met. [&:]
RE: A Ship; She, He or It?
Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 5:23 pm
by Zorch
ORIGINAL: Lobster
ORIGINAL: warspite1
ORIGINAL: Lecivius
Welcome to the club [:D][8D][;)]
warspite1
Is there a club? Ohhh I think I joined a club once... but if I did, I've forgotten the name of it....
That's ok. No one remembers where or when it met. [&:]
As usual, no one invited me. But then, I wouldn't want to belong to a club that would have someone like me as a member.
RE: A Ship; She, He or It?
Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 6:41 pm
by GaryChildress
I remember a Saturday Night Live skit long ago where a couple actors dressed in Navy uniforms are standing by a railing commenting on ships. "She was a fine ship." and all that stuff, they would say to each other. Then, at the end, one turns to the other and asks how his new born baby is doing and the guy replies something like, "it's doing fine but starting to teethe."
RE: A Ship; She, He or It?
Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 8:31 pm
by Cataphract88
Zorch, you beat me to that punchline.
RE: A Ship; She, He or It?
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 1:57 am
by MrsWargamer
I prefer ships to be 'she'.
So I guess that gives you the woman's vote here
RE: A Ship; She, He or It?
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 3:28 am
by RoryAndersonCDT
US Navy History & Heritage Command's FAQ has this to say:
In languages that use gender for common nouns, boats, ships, and other vehicles almost invariably use a feminine form. Likewise, early seafarers spoke of their ships in the feminine gender for the close dependence they had on their ships for life and sustenance.
RE: A Ship; She, He or It?
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 8:43 am
by wodin
She I'd say.
RE: A Ship; She, He or It?
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 9:22 am
by RFalvo69
In Italian it is basically arbitrary. Aircraft carriers, Battleships and Frigates are a “she”. Submarines, Cruisers and destroyers are a “He”. Don’t ask me why: I don’t know.
RE: A Ship; She, He or It?
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 10:45 am
by Lobster
Just because. [8D]
RE: A Ship; She, He or It?
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 11:02 am
by Piteas
In Spanish, all the warships are "He" less the frigates and patrols... they´re "she".
Don´t ask me why [&:]
RE: A Ship; She, He or It?
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 11:52 am
by Crossroads
In Finnish there’s only two third-person pronouns, one gender-neutral for humans, another for everything else. So my vote for ’it’. [:)]
RE: A Ship; She, He or It?
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 12:13 pm
by 76mm
ORIGINAL: warspite1
...the obsession with being gender-neutral - means that the Russians will change their approach too no doubt.
"Not bloody likely..."
RE: A Ship; She, He or It?
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 12:36 pm
by Kuokkanen
In Finnish language, it has been it. Also our language don't have he/she, only 1 word for both genders without divider.
Coincidentally, words city & town are also grouped under 1 word, kaupunki, and in change of millennia was an outrage when news said that EU has declared Finland only having 7 kaupunki. News didn't say in what language it was said, and if it was in English, whether the word used was city or town.
RE: A Ship; She, He or It?
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 2:10 pm
by warspite1
ORIGINAL: Kuokkanen
In Finnish language, it has been it. Also our language don't have he/she, only 1 word for both genders without divider.
Coincidentally, words city & town are also grouped under 1 word, kaupunki, and in change of millennia was an outrage when news said that EU has declared Finland only having 7 kaupunki. News didn't say in what language it was said, and if it was in English, whether the word used was city or town.
warspite1
So in Finnish, if you say "he went to the shops", you say "it went to the shops??