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Uh, really???

AuthorMessage
Bosun
Nov 17, 2012
376
Does "she" have to be EVERYTHING? Ships, worlds, islands, objects.... what next?

I got irritated a little bit when Bonnie Anne said "Valencia thinks highly of herself doesn't she?" . And they all said it for my skiff. I'm just confused. Was this meant to be?
Admiral
Jul 07, 2013
1124
Ships are called females because it is a tradition used mainly in English countries. It has also been assumed that all ships were once devoted to goddesses and afterwards to important mortal women, when faith in goddesses diminished. It's actually a name of respect and a devotion to women or a specific woman.

Dante Ramsey
Lieutenant
Oct 01, 2010
103
"She" is already a common term in the real world used to describe a ship, land or weapon. It doesn't really bother me, but I barely notice "she" being used frequently.
Pirate Overlord
Mar 10, 2009
6204
CheeryCherry1234 on Oct 26, 2013 wrote:
Does "she" have to be EVERYTHING? Ships, worlds, islands, objects.... what next?

I got irritated a little bit when Bonnie Anne said "Valencia thinks highly of herself doesn't she?" . And they all said it for my skiff. I'm just confused. Was this meant to be?
Ooh, that's a good one for our family historians, Anne Radcliffe & DS Devereaux. *Wriggles in chair and waits to hear the good stuff.*
Admiral
Oct 27, 2009
1439
They said "she" rather than "it" on purpose. It has to do with language history. A lot of languages assign a gender to words, even items that have no life. English used to also, but a lot of that has been dropped over time. If you study a language like German, you need to learn the gender of nouns as you learn the noun itself. Even in English, there are a few remnants. Traditionally in English, ships have been referred to as female. Then you have the word "motherland", for a country. Not all countries have the same gender selected though. Germany refers to fatherland. In Russia, ships are referred to as "he". Whenever we go to Polaris, or get a Polaran crew member, I would expect and hope they would call the ships "he" (maybe not the penguins, not sure how the French refer to ships).
Personification is when an object or concept is spoken of as if it is a person with feelings and thoughts. It is a kind of metaphor that Bonnie Annie was using, comparing Valencia, the country to an overly proud woman.
I think you raised an interesting question, because I expect many might not know this stuff yet. Blind Mew sure does though and has written a fun story with many layers.
Captain
Jan 17, 2012
672
It is quite common to refer to ships as "she" and countries as the "motherland" and therefore "she".
Pirate Overlord
Mar 10, 2009
6204
Calamity Finch on Oct 26, 2013 wrote:
They said "she" rather than "it" on purpose. It has to do with language history. A lot of languages assign a gender to words, even items that have no life. English used to also, but a lot of that has been dropped over time. If you study a language like German, you need to learn the gender of nouns as you learn the noun itself. Even in English, there are a few remnants. Traditionally in English, ships have been referred to as female. Then you have the word "motherland", for a country. Not all countries have the same gender selected though. Germany refers to fatherland. In Russia, ships are referred to as "he". Whenever we go to Polaris, or get a Polaran crew member, I would expect and hope they would call the ships "he" (maybe not the penguins, not sure how the French refer to ships).
Personification is when an object or concept is spoken of as if it is a person with feelings and thoughts. It is a kind of metaphor that Bonnie Annie was using, comparing Valencia, the country to an overly proud woman.
I think you raised an interesting question, because I expect many might not know this stuff yet. Blind Mew sure does though and has written a fun story with many layers.
Very well said. Thank you.
Pirate Overlord
Mar 10, 2009
6204
Calamity Finch on Oct 26, 2013 wrote:
They said "she" rather than "it" on purpose. It has to do with language history. A lot of languages assign a gender to words, even items that have no life. English used to also, but a lot of that has been dropped over time. If you study a language like German, you need to learn the gender of nouns as you learn the noun itself. Even in English, there are a few remnants. Traditionally in English, ships have been referred to as female. Then you have the word "motherland", for a country. Not all countries have the same gender selected though. Germany refers to fatherland. In Russia, ships are referred to as "he". Whenever we go to Polaris, or get a Polaran crew member, I would expect and hope they would call the ships "he" (maybe not the penguins, not sure how the French refer to ships).
Personification is when an object or concept is spoken of as if it is a person with feelings and thoughts. It is a kind of metaphor that Bonnie Annie was using, comparing Valencia, the country to an overly proud woman.
I think you raised an interesting question, because I expect many might not know this stuff yet. Blind Mew sure does though and has written a fun story with many layers.
I knew there was someone else in the "Most knowledgable" list that I had in my brain. I just couldn't think of you. My apologies, when it comes to names I have a brain like a steel sieve. You sure stepped up and filled the need. Well done and very appreciated.