tll@druxu.UUCP (01/29/84)
The use of "woman" as an adjective (as in "woman astronaut" and "women engineers") is interesting in that it is an example in English where the adjective changes form depending on the number of the noun it modifies. This, I think, is unfortunate, since one of the nice features of English is that adjectives do not change form. Does anyone know why we use "woman" as an adjective instead of "female"? Is there some nasty connotation associated with "female" of which I'm not aware? I have only once heard "man" used as an adjective ("man nurse") and I thought it sounded pretty stupid. This usage of "woman" did not originate with the recent feminist movement (whatever that really means). The "League of Women Voters" has been around for a long time, although no dictionary I've checked has picked up this usage. Anyway, I have the following questions: 1) Why do we use "woman" instead of "female"? Alternately, why do we use the word "male" instead of "man"? (Maybe because it's the right word?) 2) Does anyone know of any other adjectives in English that change form in any way (reflecting a change in number, case, gender, etc. of the modified noun)? 3) Does anyone have a dictionary that includes this usage of "woman"? Tom Laidig AT&T Information Systems Laboratories, Denver ...!ihnp4!druxu!tll
tpkq@charm.UUCP (01/30/84)
The use of the word "woman" as an adjective (or more accurately, an appositive), far from being a result of the modern feminist movement (the earliest example of this usage cited by the Oxford English Dictionary dates from 1300), is rather a reflection of exactly the kind of prejudice that the feminist movement is fighting against. The implication hiding behind a phrase like "woman doctor" is that doctors are men, and that, in the "extraordinary case" of a doctor who is also a woman, special note must be made of the fact. Since the fact that women are just as capable as men at being doctors, welders, astronauts, etc., has been thoroughly demonstrated, and since women are increasingly entering professions which have been traditionally male, it is apparent that, in this case, language is lagging far behind reality, and that this usage of the word "woman" is reactionary.
amigo2@ihuxq.UUCP (John Hobson) (02/01/84)
I am reminded of Dr. Samuel Johnson's comment upon hearing a woman preaching: "It is like a dog walking upon its hind legs. The wonder is not that it is done well, rather that it is done at all." John Hobson AT&T Bell Labs Naperville, IL (312) 979-7293 ihnp4!ihuxq!amigo2
grw@fortune.UUCP (Glenn Wichman) (02/06/84)
I know of one adjective in English which changes form based on the gender of the noun which it modifies -- "blond/blonde". We stole this from the French, however. -Glenn