The Gender of Nations - Wordsmith.org

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#113750 - 10/16/03 06:25 AM Re: The Gender of Nations
Alex Williams Pooh-Bah Registered: 01/05/01 Posts: 1814 Loc: Spam Factory	When speaking of France or Italy I would use the pronoun "it." cathleen has been used in ireland as a 'code word' for ireland. (when english laws made it a crime to express patriotism, love songs sung to 'cathleen' were patriot songs...) That's very interesting. Thank!
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#113751 - 10/16/03 07:07 AM Re: The Gender of Nations
sjmaxq Carpal Tunnel Registered: 07/20/03 Posts: 3230 Loc: Te Ika a Maui	>When speaking of France or Italy I would use the pronoun "it." I use "it" of most countries, including NZ. I use "she" of the UK, because of Britannia, and occasionally use "she" of China, but normally, I don't assign a specific sex, or gender for that matter, to countries. _________________________ noho ora mai http://maxqnzs.com/References.html
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#113752 - 10/16/03 07:11 AM Re: The Gender of Nations
of troy Carpal Tunnel Registered: 10/17/00 Posts: 5400 Loc: rego park	Re:Do you ever say "they" for the U.S.A.? These or the "Life in these United States" or "Life in the US" (said U-S). _________________________ my other obsession
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#113753 - 10/18/03 01:42 AM Re: The Gender of Nations
Capfka Pooh-Bah Registered: 06/28/02 Posts: 1624 Loc: Utter Placebo, Planet Reebok	I think Max has got it about right. If you are referring to a symbol of a country - Britannia, for instance, for Britain, and perhaps Liberty for France, you would use the feminine gender and appropriate apronouns. But otherwise ... nada. They're it, so to speak.
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