5.0727 Final Words on Misandrist (2/68)
Elaine Brennan & Allen Renear (EDITORS@BROWNVM.BITNET)
Fri, 28 Feb 1992 00:23:38 EST
Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 5, No. 0727. Friday, 28 Feb 1992.
(1) Date: Fri, 21 Feb 92 09:16:41 CST (35 lines)
From: Oliver Phillips <PHILLIPS@UKANVM>
Subject: Again misandrist
(2) Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1992 04:07 EET (33 lines)
From: MANYMAN@FINUHA.BITNET
Subject: Re: 5.0696 Man-hater vs. Misandrist
(1) --------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 21 Feb 92 09:16:41 CST
From: Oliver Phillips <PHILLIPS@UKANVM>
Subject: Again misandrist
To return to a topic I may be worrying to death, let me comment
again on these two responses on the "misandrist? question:
Anne Erlebach
> Does it occur to anybody that English has a perfectly good term
> for a man-hater: i.e., "man-hater"? This discussion is but
> another example of academics' need to complicate things. When
> in doubt, simplify, and stick with your English roots.
Dennis Baron
> . . . must male-haters be clothed in the etymologically
> opaque fabric of the word players?
If "misandrist" is a formation comparable to "misanthrope," and
if Timon of Athens says "I am a misanthrope, and hate mankind,"
then was Shakespeare (or whatever contemporary of his wrote this
play) "one of the "academics" writing in the "etymologically
opaque fabric of the word players"?
The great glory of English has been its unparalleled openness to
borrowings from other languages. Shakespeare, whether he wrote
the lines in question, certainly provides a magnificent example
of a vocabulary enriched this way.
Oliver Phillips
Classics, U. of Kansas
PHILLIPS@UKANVM.BITNETē
(2) --------------------------------------------------------------38----
Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1992 04:07 EET
From: MANYMAN@FINUHA.BITNET
Subject: Re: 5.0696 Man-hater vs. Misandrist
Although I'm a non-native (mis)user of English, I see the point
made by Dennis Baron and Anne Erlebach: Even well-educated persons
may fail to know the meaning (or even pronunciation) of the word
_misogynist_, let alone _misandrist_. (As one of those who have
acquired their English in the wrong way, so to speak, I find it
next to impossible to grasp the meanings of, say, English phrasal
verbs: That _John can take off many politicians_ may mean
'John can imitate many politicians' is unbelievable at the first
blush, but of course the polysemy (many-meaningness) becomes
understandable when you have a closer look at the uses.)
Yes. _Man-hater_ is certainly the appropriate word to use in
most situations, whereas _misandrist_ would probably require
a very specific context. I leave that to Brigitte Werneburg.
Anne Erlebach writes:
> [...] This discussion is but another exam-
>ple of academics' need to complicate things. [...]
I'm afraid the target is misplaced. What Brigitte Werneburg
was looking for was a term comparable to _misogynist_, with
the meaning 'man-hater'. Given the stated task, _misandrist_
is precisely the right answer. _Man-hater_ would have been
the right answer to a question like "Could somebody out there
suggest a term comparable to _woman-hater_, signifying one
who hates men?" But do we need a discussion group for problems
of that ilk?
Martti Nyman (Department of General Linguistics,
University of Helsinki, Finland)