This is a comment on the English language and not on gender politics so please cut me some slack.

[toxy@mastodon.acc.sunet.se]

This is a comment on the English language and not on gender politics so please cut me some slack.
If the masculine word for a pilot was/is “aviator” and the feminine word “aviatrix” and “dominator” leads to “dominatrix” why have I never seen the same with “narrator” and “narratrix”?

[backfromthedud@mas.to]

@toxy I suspect it's because English is a bloody stupid language.

[toxy@mastodon.acc.sunet.se]

@BackFromTheDud What kind of proper language has the letter “C” pronounced three different ways in “Pacific Ocean”? Never mind “cough” , “ through”, ”tough” et al.

[charism8@mastodon.social]

@toxy @BackFromTheDud
Ah, but English is at least three languages in a trenchcoat

[toxy@mastodon.acc.sunet.se]

@charism8 @BackFromTheDud Ooh. That’s very good. I may steal that.

[charism8@mastodon.social]

@toxy @BackFromTheDud
I'm pretty sure I've stolen it from somewhere else, so pinch with pride!

[qurlyjoe@mstdn.social]

@charism8 @toxy @BackFromTheDud
Probably more like 6 or 7. Maybe more even.

[charism8@mastodon.social]

@qurlyjoe @toxy @BackFromTheDud
I also like:
"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary"