Mansplaining language
Is it my imagination but is there a growing movement to eviscerate and disembowel the English language?
I appreciate that language has to evolve and have no problems with that.
After all, rather than describe something as a little contraption with four or more propellers that flies by remote control, it is indeed easier to call it a drone. Fifty years ago, a drone would have been my French teacher, but times must move on.
I have noticed a trend in advertising lately to come up with what they presumably consider very catchy, extremely clever use of words. They come up with lines such as “discover me happy” or “bring great together” which mean absolutely nothing apart from leaving us thinking what the fuck was that? If I buy a car that “owns the road” does it entitle me to order everyone else off that road? No it fucking doesn’t. In actual fact I haven’t clue what it does mean. I don’t know what any of them mean and I just underline my resolve never to purchase from those idiots.
I was watching a thing the other night. It was one of those tedious chat shows that Herself likes. In the course of the conversation one of the speakers used the word “mansplaining”. She placed no emphasis on the word but it pierced my ears like a rusty needle. What the fuck is “mansplaining”?
I looked it up on the Interwebs – “to comment on or explain something to a woman in a condescending, overconfident, and often inaccurate or oversimplified manner.” Now this is, by context, an abomination of a word dreamed up by some hairy legged, dungaree wearing feminist as an apparent insult to men. The word “patronising” or even “condescending” would be perfectly adequate here but obviously the inventor of the word had either an IQ in single figures or was totally illiterate and thought she would dream up a clever catchy word that all her feminista pals could use. I would also point out that it is extremely sexist, which is something I thought the feminista brigade were dead against?
On the subject of feminism, Darren pointed me at a video yesterday [thanks Darren].
Well worth a few minutes
to eviscerate and disembowel the English language?
What you rail agin,is infact the very reason that a rather minor Germanic dialect didn’t die out around 1100, as it should have done by all the laws of linguistics, but went on to ‘borg’ the known world. It’s the reason why you don’t need to check the given gender of any noun nor inflect endings on adjectives…and heaven forbid ‘grammatical cases’ before putting pen to paper or talk like one of the cast of “‘Allo Allo”. In the world of linguistics, that which stays still is dead.
That said, ‘mansplaining’ is an abomination….so it will probably enter the OED any day now.
Anything that has been around for nearly a thousand years is fine by me. There does seem to be an avalanche of makey-uppy words hitting the language lately though. [I’m adding “makey-uppy” to that list]. The funniest new collection is from the gender mob.
The one thing that gives me cause to rejoice is that that horrible word “awesome” [and its even worse derivatives] seems to have disappeared into obscurity again.
seem to be an avalanche of makey-uppy words hitting the language lately though.
Yes, the internet particularly is accelerating the natural order. However, IMNSHO, new words are also dying back out almost as rapidly as they were born. MP4 will be replaced by MP5 (or whatever), CD will go the way of EP, VHS, C60 and 78s. When did you last hear of anyone ‘beboing’ or ‘Myspacing’ (crappy examples I know)? It never ceases to amuse my adult kids when their dear Papa (ie me!) uses some term from his adolescence; that I consider a ‘normal’ word but that would have them running for a dictionary if they knew what one was and could read without moving their lips.
“…some hairy legged, dungaree wearing feminist…”
Is there any other sort?
Today the terms feminist and misandrist mean pretty much the same and are completely interchangeable.
Indeed I object to being called a rapist just because of my gender. Even more so as I was found not guilty on all charges.
Hi Grandad,
Thanks for sharing the video. Yes, there are still women out here (I am a single, white, American female) who do not subscribe to the feminist message, just as the young woman in the video you shared.
I am a professional woman with a Master’s Degree and I earn a decent salary. I have three brothers, whom I love. And many of my good friends are male. I don’t subscribe to the male-bashing that the modern day feminists have resorted to. As mentioned I am single; not because I oppose men or marriage, but because I haven’t met the right man, yet. Maybe someday (who knows, maybe I’ll visit Ireland someday and meet a great Irishman)?
So fellas, please take heart that there are still some women out here who appreciate men (and shave their legs everyday!).
Welcome N-FF!
My policy is to treat all people the same, regardless of race colour religion, gender or whatever. Maybe I sometimes make small adjustments for age, where I sometimes might moderate my thoughts a tad. However, when any of the above try to treat me differently or try to assign themselves some “special status” then the gloves are off.
Most Irish men are decent enough but I would suggest “great” would narrow the field somewhat! Apart from myself of course…
Yes, but you are already taken by Herself…I’m no homewrecker!
Bloody hell! Don’t I know it. She has the eyes of a hawk and is either a mind reader or she has someone following me.
Thanks for the definition of ‘mansplaining’. I’ve come across it a few times recently, but because it’s invariably included in some feminazi diatribe, I never bothered to look it up.
Then I have to wonder what the term would be for a woman explaining something to a man in a condescending, overconfident, etc and so-on, manner? I bet dollars to donuts (whatever the hell that means) that there is no such term and there never will be. It would even things up too much?
Nothing like a war with new terms that won’t last a year at best.