Ships as "she"
Posted by Word Wizard on January 10, 2003
In Reply to: Ships as "she" posted by Roman Korolenko on January 10, 2003
: : : : Hello!
: : : : I'm a young researcher interested in the topic of gender and language. I know that in English the pronoun "she" could be referred to ships and cars. The conceptual analysis of the she-category brought me an unusual idea about the she-reference.
: : : : The analysis showed that there are at least six cognitive metaphors in the conceptual system that make us believe ships are feminine:
: : : : 1. SHIP IS PREGANANT WOMAN
: : : : 2. SHIP IS ATTRACTIVE
WOMAN
: : : : 3. BAPTIZM OF SHIP IS BAPTIZM OF HUMAN BEING
: : : : 4. DECOMISSIONING
OF SHIP IS DEATH
: : : : 5. SHIP'S BODY IS HUMAN BODY
: : : : 6. SHIP'S
MOVEMENTS ARE BODY MOVEMENTS
: : : : The most prominent one is the first metaphor that can also be traced in cars. Ships, cars and women are "containers" that carry a load in themselves and finaly deliver it. Also ships and mothers secure the life of the load. The load is viewed as something precious.
: : : : These results of the analysis are so unusual that I want to put them on the agenda here looking forward to hearing your opinion.
: : : : Sincerely yours,
: : : : Roman Korolenko
: : : We tossed this one around a bit. See discussion at link below (www.phrases.org.uk bulletin_board 10 messages 142.html).
: : SHIPS AS 'SHE' - "Many people wonder why a ship is referred to as a 'she.' The explanation is that it was customary in early days to dedicate a ship to a goddess, under whose protection she sailed. The ship carried the diety's carved image on her bow not as a decoration, as later generations imagined, but as an aid to finding the way." From "How Did it Begin?" by R. Brasch (Pocket Books, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1969).
: The above mentioned explanation seems
doubtful to me. The practice of using "she" with reference to ships started in
16th century - at the age of Christianity in Europe. People no longer believed
in pagan gods or goddesses - they believed in God.
: A ship was protected by
God's blessing that was given during a ceremony of ship christening (see: Reilly,
John C. Christening, Launching and Commissioning. Washington, D.C., 1975.). The
ceremony has its roots in the Christian ritual of baptism when a child was given
a name and God's blessing. Sailors christened a ship because they thought God
would protect it at sea. The tradition of ship christening attributes human qualities
to a ship but not feminine. This cultural practice supports the cognitive metaphor:
LAUNCH OF SHIP IS BAPTIZM OF PERSON.
: As for the figure-head, Britannica says:
"During this period (16th century), the fashions in figureheads varied from carvings
of saints to national emblems, such as the lion and the unicorn, to a simple scroll
and a billethead, and finally to a carved representation of the person for whom
the vessel was named or of a female relative".
: As you see, figureheads were
not limited to a goddess, they varied and protection was given by God's blessing,
not by some deity.
:
I thought God was "some deity".