Friday, July 26, 2013

What a prepositional phrase can do...

Funny- in the UK, from the official birth announcement set out in front of Buckingham Palace- Apparently, mothers, at least royal ones "are safely delivered of (their child)".....
I'm sorry, but that just sounds like the baby does all the work,
as they free themselves from the womb.
Not!
Here in the US we say "So and So delivered a baby, etc." or more commonly " Gave birth to..."
The mother is a bit more actively involved and gets some of the credit!
 
I have no idea if this is a British thing or just a Royal thing..."the mother was safely delivered".
It is true that through history, men have downplayed women's roles in well- about everything including being the one to carry and give birth to a new person, even the next one chosen by God to sit on a throne.
Often you hear "She's carrying my child," or "gave birth to my son." singular, instead of plural.
It is one of those male/female things that can either sound really sweet or kind of feel depressing, if you think about it too much.


 

 
 

3 comments:

  1. Well I live in the UK and its not something I would say so maybe it is a royal thing, but there again I'm just a commoner.

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  2. Good to hear it is not the "common" way to announce a birth- maybe it does has to deal with the royal lineage?

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  3. I agree - I think the only people that would use this term would be the royal family!! ha ha

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