I wonder if there are “feminine expressions” in English?
Jan 21st 2011 11:50
language
By the way, this is an essay in dairy form written by a female American. So it would be ideal to learn colloquial, free and easy way to speak though… I’m filled with apprehension that that book is written in some feminine way to express…. I mean, it’d make my tongue feminine a bit to follow the sentences.
Do you think there’re “feminine expressions” in English? If you look at a writing without knowing who wrote it, could you perceive the author’s sex? “Hmm, probably judging from the prose, the author must be a young girl!” and so on?
PS: Riding on the subway, I couldn’t suppress a chuckle. A beautiful lady sitting next to me casted a glance to me, “What a nuts.” I was so embarrassed that I wished the earth would swallow me up…. (^^)
http://www.suzanneschlosberg.com/curse_of_the_singles_table.html
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I just couldn't find any truly "feminine" expressions. The book is written in very neutral English; not masculine and not feminine.
The only "feminine" expression I found was "go pamper yourself".
Guys usually don't talk about "pampering".
"Pamper" is a very neutral word, but it's used often by women.
Go ahead and read the book, you will not learn any feminine expressions and when people look at you, they will NOT think that you are "un hombre femenino" (an effeminate man) :-)
Other than "I absolutely adore it," or something like that, I can't really imagine a writing style overly feminine.
Those expressions sound overly feminine, so don't say them! :-)
Lately, I read an essay: “The curse of the singles table” by Suzanne Schlosberg. or Lately, I read an essay called “The curse of the singles table” by Suzanne Schlosberg. or Lately, I read an essay, “The curse of the singles table” by Suzanne Schlosberg.
I can’t help bursting out laughing whenever I open the book.
For instance… I hesitate to quote from it without permission though…. or I don't know if I should quote from it without permission.... (this is more natural English)
By the way, this is an essay in diary form written by a female American.
So it would be ideal to learn a colloquial, free and easy way of speaking, though… I’m worried [afraid] that the book is written with feminine expressions….
I mean, it’d make my way of speaking a bit feminine if I used the same expressions.
If you look at some writing without knowing who wrote it, can you tell the author’s sex? [could you perceive = "can you tell" in this context and is more natural]
A beautiful lady sitting next to me casted a glance to me, “What a nuts.” I was so embarrassed that I wished the earth would swallow me up…. [the past tense of "cast a glance" is "cast a glance"]
Lately, I’ve been reading the essay “The Curse of the Singles Table,” by Suzanne Schlosberg.
I can’t help but burst out laughing whenever I open the book.
By the way, this is an essay in diary form written by an American woman.
So it would be ideal for learning a colloquial, free and easy way to speak, though… I’m filled with apprehension that that the book is written in some feminine way to express….
I mean, that following the sentences would make my tongue a bit feminine.
If you look at a passage without knowing who wrote it, could you perceive the author’s sex?
A beautiful lady sitting next to me cast a glance at me, “What a nut.” I was so embarrassed that I wished the earth would swallow me up….
In English, the differences between masculine and feminine language are very subtle, if they exist at all. People say that men and women write differently, but I can't think of an example that doesn't rely on gender stereotypes.
When I read manga in English, the lack of gender differences in English can be problematic. For example, if the heroine must disguise herself as a boy, there will be a scene where she drops her guard and reverts to feminine speech. 「あたし… じゃなくて、俺！」 Suddenly, someone looks at her with suspicion! Has she been found out?
But in English, both 「あたし」 and 「俺」 are "I," so the literal translation would be "I...no, I!" There's no difference. In order to show that she made a mistake, the translator has to do something creative.
I often wonder how Japanese translators of English-language books, TV shows, and films decide how the characters will speak in Japanese.
I'm sorry I wrote so much, but I find this topic very interesting!
@Kouta95 and besudesu
Thanks for comment. I agree with Kouta. I suppose it’s hard to express voice pitch onto Manga, though… well, if I were the translator…. I’d be going to try… “I,(in bass tone of voice)…… oh, I! (in shrill tone of voice). How it it? (^^)
Do you think there are “feminine expressions” in English?
To get kind of drunk - to get tipsy
Delicious - yummy
Fabulous and adorable are two words that only girls and gay men usually say.
Lately, I’ve been reading an essay a book entitled “The curse of the singles table” by Suzanne Schlosberg.
I can’t help to but burst out laughing whenever I open the book.
By the way, this is an essay a novel written in the form of a dairy written by a female an American woman.
So it the book would be ideal to for learning colloquial speach, free and easy way to speak though… I’m filled with apprehension that that this book is written in some feminine dialect way to express….
I mean, it’d make my tongue make me sound feminine a bit if I were adopt to follow these sentences.
Do you think there are “feminine expressions” in English?
If you look at a writing passage without knowing who wrote it, could you perceive the author’s sex gender?
A beautiful lady sitting next to me casted a glance to at me, “What a nuts.” I was so embarrassed that I wished the earth would swallow me up….
The short answer is:NO. English does not work like Japanese. There is no feminine dialect or feminine way to say something. There are no particles or word endings that indicate the speaker is female.
A random article on CNN: "On Wednesday, Hu met with President Obama behind closed doors at the White House for several hours as top officials from both countries worked to address issues tied to the global economic crisis, international security, the environment and human rights." Can you tell if the writer is female or male? I can't. I doubt anyone could. Well here's who wrote it: CNN's Alan Silverleib, Ben Rooney, Tom Cohen and Aaron Smith contributed to this report. All are guys!
I disagree with the examples given by others. I have plenty of male friends that use "adorable" or "delicious" and it's perfectly fine. None of my friends use "yummy". There are greater chance of a child using that word than an adult. How's that for a twist? (^O^)/ So there is no gender way of speaking, but there is an age difference in speech. Look into "baby talk". Many consider "baby talk" to be quite irritating. I know I can't stand it... (^_^;)
OTOH, Alex, you say "careful with stereotypes".
I agree, up to a point:
stereotype: all women and gay guys say/are ...
fact: most women and gay guys say "adorable".
I would never use "adorable" in public, because people would likely think that I am either gay or effeminate (un hombre femenino/afeminado). It's not a stereotype. It's a fact, isn't it? :)
Here's an example for you: often, people with low education say the word "ain't" (please notice that I didn't say [all uneducated people say ain't] - that would be a stereotype). I gave you, however, an observed fact.
Would you say "ain't" at an important meeting in your company?
Probably not, because you don't want the company director to think that you are uneducated.
It's got nothing to do with stereotypes, but with observed facts.
:)))
As far as using "ain't" that's just not paying attention to grammar rules.But this conversation is moving away from the question he posed in his diary... So I hold my ground. I still vote "no", haha! I'm a very stubborn person! :D
I agree with you. I'm just pointing out the fact that usually those words are used only by women and gay men. I'm not from Chicago, though. Maybe guys in Chicago are more progressive and secure in their masculinity to be able to use words like that and not feel effeminate. If so, I really think that's great!
It's a fact.
Example: a coworker brings her toddler to work.
Men usually say "Hey, is that your baby? How old is he? What's his name? Hey, cute baby!"
Women typically said "Ooohh aahhh, darling look at this! Cindy brought her adooooorable baby to the office. Ooooh aahhh, you are sooooo cute. Cindy, your baby is sooo adoooorable" (girly expressions)
That's a fact. I've seen it.
Just as I wrote to get a bit drunk -----> to get tipsy (I have never heard a guy say he is feeling tipsy)
Lately, I’ve been reading a book called “The Curse of the Singles Table” by Suzanne Schlosberg.
I can’t help but burst out laughing whenever I open the book.
By the way, this is a book written in diary form written by an American woman.
So it would be ideal to learn from a colloquial, free and easy way of speech ... however, I’m filled with apprehension that this book is written in a feminine style way to express….
I mean, it’d make me sound my tongue a bit feminine a bit if I followed the sentences.
Do you think there are “feminine expressions” in English? (we don't ever contract 'there are'!)
If you look at a writing without knowing who wrote it, could you tell the author’s sex?
A beautiful lady sitting next to me casted me a glance, “What a retard.” I was so embarrassed that I wished the earth would swallow me up…. ('retard' is slang I'd probably use in this situation - in this case, it's a synonym of 'dork')
Something you probably shouldn't do so as to avoid being 'girly' is avoid a lot of new slang: try not to use 'like' in the middle of sentences when it's not necessary! Apart from that, I can't think of anything off the top of my head...
Ex: I.. well, I’m the kind of girl, like…. who hate to be said “workaholic”.
え～、私ってさ～ 「仕事命」みたいに言われるのって好きじゃないし～
Do you think these two sentences are alike? (^^)
Using "like" in the middle of the sentence sounds very girly.
Examples: I, like, went with my friend to this, like, cool movie. Like, the place was, like, crowded. We couldn't even, like, find a seat. Very girly! :)
It is a fact, not a stereotype.
A stereotype would be generalizing and saying "all girls overuse the word 'like' ".
You will find males who say 'like' as well - they just don't generally overuse it like in rsalc1's examples. Common usages include, "He's like 21" (as in, he's around the age of 21); "It was like 28 degrees" (around 28 degrees) and other approximative usages such as that. You'll hear girls, and possibly guys who hand around a lot of girls, say things like "I was, like, no way!" (in this case, it's paraphrasing speech) as well.
I hope I've demystified the usage a bit for you. ;)