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Message |
Mark Brader
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2005 8:07 am
Post subject: Re: lacks usage |
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Mike Lyle:
| Quote: | Yes, "Robin", a diminutive of "Robert", seems to have lost its
masculinity half-way across the Atlantic. ...
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Richard Fontana:
| Quote: | There are some bona fide male AmE Robins, like Robin Williams. And the
fact that many of the female ones are actually "Robyns" tells you
something, though I'm not sure what.
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Well, in at least one case it's documented. Isaac and Gertrude Asimov
spelled their beautiful, blond, blue-eyed daughter*'s name Robyn because
Isaac didn't like the fact that Robin could also be a man's name.
*<http://sfgate.com/c/pictures/2004/07/25/pk_asimov_ho.jpg>.
The photo is probably about 20 years old.
--
Mark Brader | "I do have an idea ... based on the quite obvious fact
Toronto | that the number two is ridiculous and can't exist."
msb@vex.net | -- Ben Denison (Isaac Asimov, "The Gods Themselves")
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The Grammer Genious
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2005 8:08 am
Post subject: Re: lacks usage |
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Salvatore Volatile <me@privacy.net> wrote
| Quote: | Some of the Britic femininization of names simply doesn't work in AmE.
Take "Edwina", apparently and inexplicably one of the
most popular female names in the UK, which I suspect is pretty much
unknown in the US.
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Some U.S. air force people I knew at RAF Mildenhall wouldn't go into a
certain local pub because, they said, it was "full of Nigels and Mavises." |
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Maria Conlon
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2005 2:06 am
Post subject: Re: lacks usage |
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Skitt wrote:
| Quote: | Maria Conlon wrote:
John O'Flaherty wrote:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20051103/sc_space/angerisgoodforyou
Anger is Good For You - Yahoo! News
"People who respond to stressful situations with short-term anger or
indignation have a sense of control and optimism that lacks in those
who respond with fear."
This sounds odd - it would usually be 'is lacking' rather than
'lacks'.
Yes, and we must wonder why the writer, Robin Lloyd, would use
"lacks."
We must? I find the usage unremarkable.
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I was kidding about "must," but I did find the usage of "lacks" in the
quoted sentence unusual.
| Quote: | Is this usage of "lacks" common in BrE? Other Englishes? It may be
that the writer is not from the US.
Hmm.
|
Hmm?
--
Maria Conlon
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Maria Conlon
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2005 2:08 am
Post subject: Re: lacks usage |
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The Grammer Genious wrote:
| Quote: | Salvatore Volatile wrote
Some of the Britic femininization of names simply doesn't work in
AmE. Take "Edwina", apparently and inexplicably one of the
most popular female names in the UK, which I suspect is pretty much
unknown in the US.
Some U.S. air force people I knew at RAF Mildenhall wouldn't go into a
certain local pub because, they said, it was "full of Nigels and
Mavises."
|
Do you have any idea what they meant by that? That is, what "Nigel" and
"Mavis" represented, character-wise, to the US Air Force people?
--
Maria Conlon |
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The Grammer Genious
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2005 3:08 am
Post subject: Re: lacks usage |
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Maria Conlon <maria.c-b@sbcglobal.net> wrote
| Quote: | The Grammer Genious wrote:
Some U.S. air force people I knew at RAF Mildenhall wouldn't go into a
certain local pub because, they said, it was "full of Nigels and
Mavises."
Do you have any idea what they meant by that? That is, what "Nigel" and
"Mavis" represented, character-wise, to the US Air Force people?
|
I think they meant that the pub's ratio of too-loud, too-"English"-acting
English people to Americans from the air base was too high for them to feel
comfortable there. Nigel and Mavis were stereotype caricature names. But
that was about 15 years ago so such names may have changed to something else
by now. |
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Charles Riggs
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2005 7:52 am
Post subject: Re: lacks usage |
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On Sat, 05 Nov 2005 20:08:19 GMT, "The Grammer Genious"
<washcourthouse@yahoo.com> wrote:
| Quote: | Maria Conlon <maria.c-b@sbcglobal.net> wrote
The Grammer Genious wrote:
Some U.S. air force people I knew at RAF Mildenhall wouldn't go into a
certain local pub because, they said, it was "full of Nigels and
Mavises."
Do you have any idea what they meant by that? That is, what "Nigel" and
"Mavis" represented, character-wise, to the US Air Force people?
I think they meant that the pub's ratio of too-loud, too-"English"-acting
English people to Americans from the air base was too high for them to feel
comfortable there. Nigel and Mavis were stereotype caricature names. But
that was about 15 years ago so such names may have changed to something else
by now.
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Too-English is intolerable, but the equally intolerable "too-loud" is
something I'd apply to Americans, not to the English. Like the Irish,
English people are generally soft-spoken.
--
Charles Riggs |
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Skitt
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 1:40 am
Post subject: Re: lacks usage |
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Maria Conlon wrote:
| Quote: | Skitt wrote:
Maria Conlon wrote:
John O'Flaherty wrote:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20051103/sc_space/angerisgoodforyou
Anger is Good For You - Yahoo! News
"People who respond to stressful situations with short-term anger
or indignation have a sense of control and optimism that lacks in
those who respond with fear."
This sounds odd - it would usually be 'is lacking' rather than
'lacks'.
Yes, and we must wonder why the writer, Robin Lloyd, would use
"lacks."
We must? I find the usage unremarkable.
I was kidding about "must," but I did find the usage of "lacks" in the
quoted sentence unusual.
Is this usage of "lacks" common in BrE? Other Englishes? It may be
that the writer is not from the US.
Hmm.
Hmm?
|
Yeah, it's that "unremarkable" thing I mentioned. I am in the the US, you
know.
--
Skitt (in Hayward, California)
www.geocities.com/opus731/ |
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Blue Hornet
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 8:12 am
Post subject: Re: lacks usage |
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Blue Hornet wrote:
| Quote: | Mike Lyle wrote:
Maria Conlon wrote:
[...]
Also note the name "Robin." That would most likely be a woman's
name
these days in the US, but I think it's more a man's name in the UK.
NTIM, of course, unless we wish to refer to Robin as "him" or
"her."
(Do we?)
Yes, "Robin", a diminutive of "Robert", seems to have lost its
masculinity half-way across the Atlantic. I suppose because of
association with a songbird? The BrIs feminine form is "Robina" --
the name of Oliver Cromwell's sister -- though Ox. Christian Names
says it and Roberta are mainly Scottish.
--
Mike.
Reading this thread I was reminded of a "baby name generator" website I
had seen once, which tracks popularity of given names (presumably in
the US) from the late 19th Century up to present. You may be
interested in checking out just how popular your own name is and was.
Incidentally, Robin peaked in the 50s and 60s, respectively, as BOTH a
boy's (182nd most popular) and girl's name (34th most popular).
|
Oh yeah, duh, the website:
http://babynamewizard.com/namevoyager/lnv0105.html
Requires Java |
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Blue Hornet
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 8:12 am
Post subject: Re: lacks usage |
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Mike Lyle wrote:
| Quote: | Maria Conlon wrote:
[...]
Also note the name "Robin." That would most likely be a woman's
name
these days in the US, but I think it's more a man's name in the UK.
NTIM, of course, unless we wish to refer to Robin as "him" or
"her."
(Do we?)
Yes, "Robin", a diminutive of "Robert", seems to have lost its
masculinity half-way across the Atlantic. I suppose because of
association with a songbird? The BrIs feminine form is "Robina" --
the name of Oliver Cromwell's sister -- though Ox. Christian Names
says it and Roberta are mainly Scottish.
--
Mike.
|
Reading this thread I was reminded of a "baby name generator" website I
had seen once, which tracks popularity of given names (presumably in
the US) from the late 19th Century up to present. You may be
interested in checking out just how popular your own name is and was.
Incidentally, Robin peaked in the 50s and 60s, respectively, as BOTH a
boy's (182nd most popular) and girl's name (34th most popular). |
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Maria Conlon
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 8:12 am
Post subject: Re: lacks usage |
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Skitt wrote:
| Quote: | Maria Conlon wrote:
Skitt wrote:
Maria Conlon wrote:
John O'Flaherty wrote:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20051103/sc_space/angerisgoodforyou
Anger is Good For You - Yahoo! News
"People who respond to stressful situations with short-term anger
or indignation have a sense of control and optimism that lacks in
those who respond with fear."
This sounds odd - it would usually be 'is lacking' rather than
'lacks'.
Yes, and we must wonder why the writer, Robin Lloyd, would use
"lacks."
We must? I find the usage unremarkable.
I was kidding about "must," but I did find the usage of "lacks" in
the quoted sentence unusual.
Is this usage of "lacks" common in BrE? Other Englishes? It may be
that the writer is not from the US.
Hmm.
Hmm?
Yeah, it's that "unremarkable" thing I mentioned. I am in the the
US, you know.
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For some reason, I didn't think of that as prompting the "Hmm," but yes,
I know. And I know that you are from Latvia.
(Well, I know to the extent that it is possible to know, this being
Usenet.)
--
Maria Conlon |
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