Hi all,
Could you help me with this? Britain has positioned herself/itself as a worldwide empire.
Thanks,
Laura
Could you help me with this? Britain has positioned herself/itself as a worldwide empire.
Thanks,
Laura
I beg to differ. Nations are frequently referred to as the motherland or fatherland.Britain is not a person, and is not used in an anthropomorphic context.
hereHowever, for de Gaulle this was the opportunity to extend the illusion under which France has laboured since 1815, that she is a great nation. ...
clickChinese people are much more well-behaved and organized than any people in other countries. China is demonstrating to the world that she is a great nation! ...
In former times, up to the 1960s or so, countries were always treated as if they were female.Hi all,
Could you help me with this? Britain has positioned herself/itself as a worldwide empire.
Thanks,
Laura
Well, truth is, countries aren't people, so "itself" will always be correct and a good safety net. It's just a cultural oddity that some people, especially in the past, would assign genders to countries and ships. Since Laura's text comes from 18th century, then you'd expect to see more of this. However, if she's writing by today's standards, I'm really not sure if assigning genders to countries is used all that much. At least, I can't remember the last time someone referred to Canada as "he/she." Perhaps that's why I personally wouldn't use it. =/I beg to differ. Nations are frequently referred to as the motherland or fatherland.
I don't care for this usage, but it's common. Anthropomorphism, especially in political speeches, is frequent.