Newsgroups: uk.politics,sci.lang,alt.usage.english
From: philip@storcomp.demon.co.uk (Phil Hunt)
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!das-news2.harvard.edu!news2.near.net!news.mathworks.com!udel!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!news.sprintlink.net!peernews.demon.co.uk!storcomp.demon.co.uk!philip
Subject: "gay" (was: Re: Gay Teenagers)
References: <794198935snz@storcomp.demon.co.uk> <9503071227281404@election.demon.co.uk>
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Date: Tue, 7 Mar 1995 18:11:42 +0000
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In article <9503071227281404@election.demon.co.uk>
           david@election.demon.co.uk "David Boothroyd" writes:
> >Wrong. One of the main attributes of English is that a word can
> >be used in several grammar classes. So it is very common for an adjective 
> >to be used as a noun, a noun as an adjective or verb, and a verb as a 
> >noun. So it's perfectly OK grammatically to use "gay" as a noun; as is
> >evident by the fact that most people, when they hear such usages, don't
> >think there is something off about the grammar.
> 
> It is not technically correct. Gay is an adjective and the fact that some
> people use it as a noun is irrelevant to this.

Whether people use a word as a noun is irrelevant to whether it is a noun?
Do you also think it's irrelevant that my dictionary says "gay" is a noun?
 
> Besides which and more importantly, gay men do not generally like people
> to use gay as a noun.

That's a more valid reason IMO for not using it as such.

I wonder why, though? Possibly for the same reason (whatever that is)
that people prefere being called "Jewish" to being called "a Jew".

-- 
Phil Hunt...philip@storcomp.demon.co.uk
"Illiterate? Write today for free help!" -- anon
