Which, of course, would violate Grice's maxims of manner. Using the less specific term, presuming that one had, in point of fact, entered into a traditional marriage, invites the inference that one is not married. So this bit of advice essentially demands that we equivocate--an interesting consequence of a dictum that justifies itself in terms of an ethical position. Karl Hagen Department of English Mount St. Mary's College >>> [log in to unmask] 08/30/04 9:22 AM >>> More and more, I'm hearing people say "my partner." It has been explained to me that it's better to not state a gender or claim a legal status that's unavailable to homosexual couples, in order to avoid heterosexism. Just repeating what I've been told . . . . Beth Young Dr. Beth Rapp Young Director, University Writing Center Associate Professor, English University of Central Florida From Promise to Prominence: Celebrating 40 Years. Email: [log in to unmask] http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~byoung P.O. Box 161347 University of Central Florida Orlando 32816-1347 Office: 407-823-2853 Fax: 407-823-3007 >>> [log in to unmask] 8/30/2004 12:00:56 PM >>> Oddly, given the very limited understanding of the English genitive among those objecting, "the wife" might logically be preferred were it not for its social usage. I didn't hear a reasonable alternative. This was one of those prohibitions that didn't offer any. Herb I am really curious about what the preference would be: Jane, the woman to whom I am married? Probably not "the wife"! Edith Wollin -----Original Message----- From: PAUL E. DONIGER [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2004 7:08 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Rule of Thumb Herb, I wonder how the same people would react to your wife if she referred to you as "my husband!" Paul "Stahlke, Herbert F.W." <[log in to unmask]> wrote: I must also admit that I've gotten into similar trouble for critiquing some of the canons of gender-neutral language, the worst case being when I responded to criticism for referring to my wife as "my wife". Herb Subject: Re: Rule of Thumb I AM SOOOOO SORRY TO HEAR YOUR STORY!!! My deepest sympathies to you and all who still think. And to think that academia was a bastion of critical thinking. Rebecca On Thursday, August 26, 2004, at 12:21 PM, Kathleen M. Ward wrote: > Rebecca, > > It's not that I don't agree with you. I do. However, if I did any > of this stuff, I'd be fired. Being offended is enough for people to > lodge protests; it's the fact that the protest has been lodged > (rather than the validity of the protest) that counts. Remember what > happened to the guy (was it in D. C.?) w! ho used the word "niggardly." > > After the Picnic Day fallout, I am a little sensitive on the subject. > I've also been called on the carpet by an associate dean for telling > a student that she "had to be willing to do the work" in class. > > It's a new, and not better, world. > KMW > > > >> On Thursday, August 26, 2004, at 11:32 AM, Kathleen M. Ward wrote: >> >>> When I used the term in passing in >>> class, people objected. They may be wrong, but they are offended. >>> And telling them that they are wrong does not make them less >>> offended. >>> >> >> Are you saying that ignorance should now be able to dictate just under >> 400 years of actual usage? This political correctness has got to >> stop. >> Tell your students that they are there to GET an education, not to >> reinforce wild-eyed misconceptions. And to lighten up a little. >> >> Rebecca Watson >> >> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web >> interface at: >> http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html >> and select "Join or leave the list" >> >> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ > > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web > interface at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html > and select "Join or leave the list" > > Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ "If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction" (_Twelfth Night_ 3.4.127-128). To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/