ag5@pucc-k (Henry Mensch) (01/07/85)
<<>>
Have you ever noticed that, whenever a couple gets
married, the Master of Ceremonies (whether minister, Justice of
the Peace, or motorcycle mechanic) always says something stupid
like "I now pronounce you 'man and wife'."
It seems to me that a more intelligent thing to say
would be "I now pronounce you 'husband and wife'" or something
of that ilk.
My question is: does anybody have a *reason* why they
do it like they do? <i.e., has the woman changed significantly
now that she's a wife? ;-}>
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Henry C. Mensch | User Confuser | Purdue University User Services
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"If you can't be good, be careful.
If you can't be careful, give me a call..."berry@zinfandel.UUCP (Berry Kercheval) (01/09/85)
In article <788@pucc-k> ag5@pucc-k (Henry Mensch) writes: > [...] whenever a couple gets >married, the Master of Ceremonies [...] >always says something stupid like "I now pronounce you 'man and wife'." > It seems to me that a more intelligent thing to say >would be "I now pronounce you 'husband and wife'" [...] Well, my wife and I were pronounced husband and wife, so there! -- "Take this //JOB and run it!" Berry Kercheval Zehntel Inc. (ihnp4!zehntel!zinfandel!berry) (415)932-6900
edhall@randvax.UUCP (Ed Hall) (01/10/85)
> Have you ever noticed that, whenever a couple gets > married, the Master of Ceremonies (whether minister, Justice of > the Peace, or motorcycle mechanic) always says something stupid > like "I now pronounce you 'man and wife'." > > It seems to me that a more intelligent thing to say > would be "I now pronounce you 'husband and wife'" or something > of that ilk. I've heard ``husband and wife'' used on several occasions. I actually find it more offensive than ``man and wife'', as the term ``husband'' could equally be used to describe the owner of cattle. The ``man and wife'' version essentially means ``man and woman''--which is pretty prosaic; I suspect that the intended meaning is ``man and his woman''. We shouldn't be surprised that the traditional marriage ceremony doesn't portray spouses as equals. Anyone know of some more modern alternatives? (Maybe I should ask this of net.social.) How about the history of the ``traditional Christian marriage ceremony''? -Ed Hall decvax!randvax!edhall
stumpf@homxa.UUCP (P.STUMPF) (01/11/85)
> Have you ever noticed that, whenever a couple gets >married, the Master of Ceremonies (whether minister, Justice of >the Peace, or motorcycle mechanic) always says something stupid >like "I now pronounce you 'man and wife'." Isn't that why they went to get married? (:-). But seriously, in over a dozen weddings I've attended the MC has always said something like "I now pronounce you husband and wife." At the rehearsal, before one of these weddings, this question was raised, and the MC insisted that the phrase "man and wife" was never used. I have heard it on TV shows, and in the movies, but what do you expect, there? -- Pete Stumpf ..!ihnp4!homxa!stumpf US MAIL AT&T-Labs Room WB 1L-331/Crawford Corners Road/Holmdel,NJ 07733 Phone 201-870-7368