gender of ships

English translation: gender neutral

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:gender of ships (academic context)
Selected answer:gender neutral
Entered by: Valeria Verona

20:25 Apr 2, 2014
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Law/Patents - Ships, Sailing, Maritime
English term or phrase: gender of ships
My doubt is this: is it normal practice in legal documents or papers to refer to ships in feminine (she, her)? Or is it better to use neutral gender pronouns?
I am editing a paper on the legislative framework of maritime law in my country. Thanks!
Valeria Verona
Chile
Local time: 14:00
gender neutral
Explanation:
yes, sailors use "she" but I think for official legal documents "it/they" is better

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Note added at 1 hr (2014-04-02 21:51:17 GMT)
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a bit of discussion on this took place here with opposing views.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Manual_of_Style/...

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Note added at 2 hrs (2014-04-02 23:08:12 GMT)
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in answer to Helena's last question concerning maiden voyage, a famous ship from yesteryear

http://www.britannica.com/titanic/article-302521

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Note added at 2 hrs (2014-04-02 23:11:32 GMT)
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though of course there are version with "her/she" as well!

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Note added at 4 days (2014-04-07 17:46:25 GMT) Post-grading
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Glad to have helped . It was an interesting discussion. I certainly think saILORS WILL CONTINILO

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Note added at 4 days (2014-04-07 17:50:23 GMT) Post-grading
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Argh , sorry didn't mean to enter but delete:-)

mariners (and I was one myself for 7 years) will continue to use feminine but the trend is for neutral imho especially as English gets more and more internationalised...
Selected response from:

Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 17:00
Grading comment
Evidently, the choice is a matter of preference since nothing is clearly "wrong". I tend to agree that for academic papers, the trend seems to be neutral gender. My client agreed. Thank you all for your valuable contributions.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +6gender neutral
Yvonne Gallagher
5 +4'She'
Helena Chavarria
Summary of reference entries provided
Notwithstanding my and others' comments above...
Tony M

Discussion entries: 18





  

Answers


7 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +4
'She'


Explanation:
Or that's how they're referred to in the UK.

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Note added at 17 mins (2014-04-02 20:43:02 GMT)
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A boat’s registration normally comes from either the nationality of
the owner, or the country of residency of the owner and once a boat
is registered she becomes a floating part of her flag state, and
therefore she has to comply with the national requirements
regarding training, safety equipment etc.

Top of page 2

http://www.rya.org.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/legal/Web Docu...

47. Several ports of discharge
176
(1) Where several ports of discharge are specified by the policy, the ship may proceed to all or any of them, but, in the absence of any usage or sufficient cause to the contrary, she must proceed to them, or such of them as she goes to, in the order designated by the policy. If she does not there is a deviation.
177
(2) Where the policy is to 'ports of discharge,' within a given area, which are not named, the ship must, in the absence of any usage or sufficient cause to the contrary, proceed to them, or such of them as she goes to, in their geographical order. If she does not there is a deviation.

http://www.jus.uio.no/lm/england.marine.insurance.act.1906/d...

Under the "dead ship doctrine," a ship loses its status as a vessel when its function is so changed that it has no further navigation function. Simply taking a vessel temporarily out of service, however, does not render it a dead ship. A vessel does not cease to be a vessel when she is not voyaging, but is at anchor, berthed, or at dockside.[Mullane v. Chambers, 333 F.3d 322 (1st Cir. Mass. 2003)]

http://definitions.uslegal.com/d/dead-ship-doctrine/

The warship continued on during the War of 1812 to total ten victories over enemy vessels (Historic Naval Ships). However, when examined in 1830 she was deemed unfit to sail and plans were made to have her scrapped. Due to overwhelming public outrage she was recommissioned by Congress and repaired.

http://www.studymode.com/essays/Historic-Sailing-Ships-87060...

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Note added at 44 mins (2014-04-02 21:10:06 GMT)
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ship names - For first reference always include USS, the ship's name and the hull number: USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75).

Exceptions: Do not use "USS" for ships before 1909; or if she is not yet in commission; or she has been decommissioned and you are referring to the ship in her present state.

There is no hyphen in the hull number. In All Hands text, the ship name is in italics. On second reference, use only the ship's name. Do not use "the" in front of a ship's name: "USS San Jose," not "the USS San Jose."

Ships may be referred to as "she" or "her."

Ships' nicknames are placed inside quotation marks on first reference only. USS LaSalle (AGF 3), the "Great White Ghost," sailed into San Diego.

Ship names are not in all caps. Use USS Seattle, not USS SEATTLE.

http://www.navy.mil/tools/view_styleguide_all.asp

You might the following article interesting!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1388373/Lloyds-List-s...

Helena Chavarria
Spain
Local time: 18:00
Does not meet criteria
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
Notes to answerer
Asker: I know it is usual but I am not sure if it is usual in academic papers. That is my specific doubt.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Tony M: Although historically it has been used, I do not believe this is current / ongoing practice. / And I'd be the first to support them in that; however, here we are not talking about seafaring language, but about formal, academic writing.
40 mins
  -> Seafarers are loath to lose one of the few traditions that remain in Britain.

agree  David Hollywood: fully agree
7 hrs
  -> I suppose it depends on the lawyers' backgrounds. Thank you, David :)

agree  acetran
8 hrs
  -> Thank you, harshsi :)

agree  B D Finch: I think that the alternation between "she" and "it" in your references indicates not some sort of correctness to be analysed, but uncertainty and the fact that the language is fluid and possibly changing. I support the "she" camp - see Discussion entry.
12 hrs
  -> As I have written in my response to David's agreement above, I really think it depends on the personal preference of the lawyer, academic, etc. Thank you very much :)

agree  Bashiqa: Having participated in discussion and read pros and cons.
12 hrs
  -> Thank you, Bashiqa :)
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11 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +6
gender neutral


Explanation:
yes, sailors use "she" but I think for official legal documents "it/they" is better

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2014-04-02 21:51:17 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

a bit of discussion on this took place here with opposing views.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Manual_of_Style/...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2014-04-02 23:08:12 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

in answer to Helena's last question concerning maiden voyage, a famous ship from yesteryear

http://www.britannica.com/titanic/article-302521

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2014-04-02 23:11:32 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

though of course there are version with "her/she" as well!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 days (2014-04-07 17:46:25 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Glad to have helped . It was an interesting discussion. I certainly think saILORS WILL CONTINILO

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 days (2014-04-07 17:50:23 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Argh , sorry didn't mean to enter but delete:-)

mariners (and I was one myself for 7 years) will continue to use feminine but the trend is for neutral imho especially as English gets more and more internationalised...

Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 17:00
Meets criteria
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Evidently, the choice is a matter of preference since nothing is clearly "wrong". I tend to agree that for academic papers, the trend seems to be neutral gender. My client agreed. Thank you all for your valuable contributions.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tony M: Yes, I agree; informally and traditionally, 'she' was the 'insider jargon' — but would never be used for formal, legal documents. / Yes, me too! I once worked alongside an old mariner who had sailed on tall ships, and he was the same. / No, yachting!
35 mins
  -> Thanks Tony, when I worked on ships they were always "she" but I think for formal documents neutral is best.//didn't know you shipped out//more posh then:-)

agree  Daniel Weston: Agree that gender neutral is better for formal
1 hr
  -> Thanks Daniel:-)

agree  Charles Davis: On the whole I think "it" is probably more suitable for academic writing. What we really need here is a survey of what academic maritime lawyers use, but I haven't time to do one!
2 hrs
  -> Thanks Charles; sometimes the most simple-looking questions give rise to most interesting debates:-). Fem no wrong at all but think the trend is toward neutral.

agree  BrigitteHilgner: In 2002 Lloyd's List changed the gender of ships to neutral. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1388373/Lloyds-List-s...
9 hrs
  -> Thanks Brigitte:-) Yes, Charles and Helena have aready mentioned Lloyds List

agree  Arabic & More
20 hrs
  -> many thanks Amel:-)

agree  Natalia Volkova
3 days 3 hrs
  -> Many thanks Natalia:-)
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Reference comments


1 hr peer agreement (net): +1
Reference: Notwithstanding my and others' comments above...

Reference information:
This European document does indeed use 'she' throughout — which must to some extent be taken as a specific reflection of EN usage, since it is not the case in other common European languages:

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/enveco/taxation/ship_emissio...

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Note added at 1 heure (2014-04-02 21:57:32 GMT)
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http://www.freidok.uni-freiburg.de/volltexte/1412/pdf/Diss_F...

In this very interesting 355-page (!) thesis, we can read lots of no doubt well-researched theorizing about it — but I didn't have the stamina to read right through it to see if there were any conclusions ;-)

Tony M
France
Meets criteria
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 28

Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)
agree  Yvonne Gallagher: interesting indeed, also no time to read it now...but then English is changing faster than ever these days so the conclusions, if any, may be out dated:-)
20 mins
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