LINGUIST List 3.554

Tue 07 Jul 1992

Qs: Portugal, SSC, Sexist Language

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Directory

1. , Re: PORTUGAL
2. , A question about the SSC
3. , sexist langauge & the word *dog*

Excuse me but ...
does anyone out there have experience of working in higher education
in Portugal - if so please get in touch. I need to talk to you!!

I'm stumped by the presence of a dash in the definition
of the SSC, and I haven't met a linguist who can tell me
what it means. I'm sure there's someone out there who can
answer this question--

When Chomsky gives the Specified Subject Condition (p. 90,
Essays on Form and Interpretation) it looks like this:

No rule can involve X, Y in the structure

...X...[ . . . Z . . .-WYV. . .]...
 alpha

where Z is the specified subject of WYV in alpha.

What is that dash for? It's not mentioned. Newmeyer, in his
book on the history of modern linguistics, copies
the constraint exactly, but also doesn't mention the dash.
If it's simply there to seperate the constituents, why isn't
there a dash between the W, Y and V?

Thanks,
 Janet Hitzeman
 hitzemancs.rochester.edu

 I'm trying to collect some data speaking to the claim of a
Chevrolet dealer that a billboard they've erected is not sexist but
speaks of both men and women.

 In Salt Lake City is a billboard depicting a corvette. The
slogan reads, ''If your date's a dog, get a vet.''

 Now, aside from the associations of animals and
veterinarians, I can't think of an instance where 'dog' with the
meaning 'unattractive person' is used of a man, and if so, then
the meaning here is more properly rendered, 'unattractive
woman.'

 I recently heard two 'jokes' demeaning women in which
'dog' is used in this fashion.

 1) Q. What's the difference between a dog and a fox?
 A. A sixpack (of beer).

 2) Q. What's a dog with wings called?
 A. Linda McCartney.

 If it turns out that indeed 'dog', as unattractive person, is
exclusively used as an insult to women, I want to present this
car-dealership with a huge list of examples to defeat his claim of

gender-equity and show his billboard to be woman-demeaning
message I think it is.

 So, anybody who knows a joke, saying, etc, in which 'dog'
refers to an unattractive human, please send it to me.

 Thanks,

Rebecca S. Wheeler
Logan, Utah

REBWHLRcc.usu.edu