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Ask for help > Pls, explain !
Pls, explain !
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savvinka
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Pls, explain !
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I wonder if it �s acceptable to say �man � about a female in the English language? |
3 Oct 2012
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jrob
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No, it typically isn �t used for a female. "Man" is reserved for the male only. "Woman" is the female version. |
3 Oct 2012
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Sonyta04
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Well, I think it could be the word Ma �am which means MADAM (Lady). |
3 Oct 2012
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libertybelle
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Except that many American women don �t like being called a madam because they think it means the owner of a brothel!!!
You do use the word mankind, meaning everyone on Earth, though!
I do call everyone in my class, guys!
They think it �s funny!
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3 Oct 2012
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savvinka
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Thank you, guys. I just asked because one of my VEEEERY ADVANCED students that was in the USA last summer noticed he heard the Americans were calling women like that. I could hardly believe him, but you know, I didn �t visit NY last summer, I was in Israel! People speak Hebrew there. :) |
3 Oct 2012
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missgvsyou
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I think it depends on the age group. Kids and teens don �t mind being called "man" or "guys", but older people don �t like it. I think Ms. or Miss works well.
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3 Oct 2012
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douglas
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It is used in some slang:
"Hey Man, how �s it goin �?"
"Whatcha you doin � Man?"
"Chill out Man."
But not in formal English. To piggy back on Liberty: in the USA it is NOT a good idea to call a lady "Madam", but "Ma �am" is perfectly acceptable and often expected (especially in our southern states).
Douglas |
4 Oct 2012
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ldthemagicman
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Sear Savvinka,
In my part of the UK, in a formal situation you would not normally address a man as "Man", nor a woman as "Woman".
Indeed, in many situations it would be regarded as an insult. When it is used in a derogarory fashion to indicate so-called �superiority � over �inferiority � --- in the Army, for example: "Come here, man". The individual summoned has �no name �, �no personality �, �no rank � --- not �Jones �, not �the soldier with the bicycle �, not �Corporal � --- just �man �. Why? Because he is regarded as a �nobody �.
It is a somewhat extreme example, but this form of address still occurs in extremely strict hierarchical organisations, in �them � and �us � businesses, and in some social groups which have a snobbish, outdated, and ignorant view of the worth of people and the valuable contribution that they make to Society.
However, in my part of the UK, (Tyneside, near Newcastle), when speaking in Geordie dialect, in any situation, you can always address a man, OR a woman, as "Man". This denotes a slightly chiding, but very friendly attitude, (somehat like the Spanish "Hombre", I think).
"Come on, man, Mister Chairman, we need to take a vote to decide, quickly!"
"Come on, man, woman, hurry up. You �ve been an hour putting on your make-up!"
Of course, because of the Americanisation of the media in general, and the computer in particular, slang words such as �man �, and �guys � are appearing more and more in British English.
Be careful! In my part of England, a �guy � is traditionally a stuffed dummy that is put on top of a bonfire on Bonfire Night, the 5th of November, accompanied by a Fireworks Display. The �guy � is an effigy of Guy Fawkes, who, on this day in 1605, was arrested for his part in a failed plot to blow up the House of Lords in London.
So, on the evening of the 5th of November, do not be surprised to see local children carrying an effigy of Guy Fawkes, begging from door-to-door: "Penny for the Guy, please?"
Les
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4 Oct 2012
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