Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site watmath.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!hardware
From: hardware@watmath.UUCP (MFCF Hardware Lab)
Newsgroups: net.singles
Subject: Re: RE2:gender terms
Message-ID: <12212@watmath.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 27-Mar-85 08:44:47 EST
Article-I.D.: watmath.12212
Posted: Wed Mar 27 08:44:47 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 28-Mar-85 01:20:35 EST
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 25

>Unlike some other books, dictionnaries do not pop out of the heavens containing
>THE absolute truth about the language they are defining.  They are written by
>people who have biases, and those biases are reflected in the definitions. Mostt
>dictionaries are written by men and as such, are quite sexist.  Languages are
>not static either, they evolve with society.  Dictionaries are merely
>representations of the state of languages and the underlying societies
>supporting them.  As such, they are always behind the evolution of those
>societies rather than ahead, just because it simply takes an enormous amount
>of effort to record all those changes - if it didn't, or if languages were not
>evolving, why would we be making such a fuss about the computerisation of the
>OED?  -  Need I go on?
>Sophie Quigley


Well, I would like to add a bit of trivia to this matter.  Sophie is wrong when
she states that they are ALWAYS behind the evolution... because, the OED is 
being COMPUTERIZED, and as such will only be a few nano-seconds behind.  the  
University of Waterloo is the place for the massive change-over.  As to being 
quite sexist,  that is the reason that the dictionaries give several meanings
to words, but since there are FEMALE staff on the reasearch teams as well, I
think that the dictionaries give a bit of a feminist view of a lot of words
(about half).  well, what the goose is discrimanated against, so is the gander.
You don't have it all bad.
				A middle of the road male.