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In what other languages are ships masculine? I can never get my head around calling them anything other than "She".. even ss Norway, Le France an 'He', has been renamed 'Blue Lady'.. hardly a masculine name.. so just curious.
Pam
Ernst, please explain!
Rich
A ship is called a "she" because there is always a great deal of bustle around her; there is usually a gang of men about, she has a waist and stays; it takes a lot of paint to keep her good looking;it is not the initial expense that breaks you, it is the upkeep; she can be all decked out; it takes an experienced man to handle her correctly; and without a man at the helm, she is absolutely un- controllable. She shows her topsides, hides her bottom and, when coming into port, always heads for the buoys.
On a more '' technical'' side, aren't all transportation vehicles ''she''. i-e: car, busses, train locomotives AND cars ??? Specially aircrafts....you never hear of a pilot reffering to his plane as a ''it'' or a ''he-him'.
CheersCG
But in some specific cases, ships may be referred as "she" as well. UNE (french feminine for a or an) frégate (a frigate), une barge, une corvette, une goélette (a schooner)...
For example: La (feminine for the) Frégate Horizon est arrivée ce matin, ELLE (she) restera jusqu'à demain soir.(In english: the frigate Horizon arrived this morning, she will stay untill tomorrow evening).
But if you say :Le navire de guerre Horizon est arrivé ce matin, IL (he) restera jusqu'à demain soir.(In english: the warship Horizon arrived this morning, she will stay untill tomorrow evening).
So even if ships are most of the time masculine, they can be sometimes feminine and the same vessel can be either he or she, depending on the context.
quote:Originally posted by Linerrich:I have read that in German, ships are masculine; however it seems that in general, the neuter pronoun is used: "Das Schiff." Also, I understand that the NAMES of ships are feminine: "die".Ernst, please explain! Rich
'Das Schiff' (=the ship) is neutral but as soon as names are involved it is female e.g. 'Die Crystal Serenity' (=the 'Crystal Serenity') - there are only few exceptions: Nowadays it is 'Der Finnjet' (male) and strictly speaking many older German vessels were male (Der Imperator) - but one usually says 'Die Imperator'. (or also 'Die Andrea Doria')
Hapag Lloyd tires to be very precise and often uses 'Das ms Europa' which I think is disgusting.
[ 02-04-2006: Message edited by: Ernst ]
Fore me a ship is female SHE.
Greetings Ben.
quote:Originally posted by NAL:Pam.......I think ships are masculine in Italian as well. Atleast all the "Italia" [Italian Line] ships hadmasculine names: Andrea Doria, CristoforoColombo, Michelangelo, Raffaello, Leonardo daVinci, etc.
I speak Italian and have a number of Italian ocean liner books. They use the masculine "il" for most ships: il REX, il NORMANDIE, il CRISTOFORO COLOMBO, etc. But they also use the femine article "la" for many other, feminine-sounding names: la QUEEN MARY, la QUEEN ELIZABETH.
Other names can be either, seemingly without rhyme or reason: "la VICTORIA", but "il SATURNIA," so a feminine name ending gives no clue.
Perhaps one of our native Italian-speaking members can answer this better.
quote:Originally posted by bmajor:WHY IS A SHIP CALLED SHE ? A ship is called a "she" because there is always a great deal of bustle around her; there is usually a gang of men about, she has a waist and stays; it takes a lot of paint to keep her good looking;it is not the initial expense that breaks you, it is the upkeep; she can be all decked out; it takes an experienced man to handle her correctly; and without a man at the helm, she is absolutely un- controllable. She shows her topsides, hides her bottom and, when coming into port, always heads for the buoys.
Was it because locomotive engineers, in the old days, were always men? Or was the locomotive and train a considered a "he?"
Beats me.
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