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From: stevens@galileo.pss.fit.edu (Luke Stevens)
Subject: Re: "gay" (was: Re: Gay Teenagers)
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References: <794198935snz@storcomp.demon.co.uk> <9503071227281404@election.demon.co.uk> <794599902snz@storcomp.demon.co.uk> <D54vI0.3MM@zeno.fit.edu> <eassong-110395193304@bootstrapmac23.calumet.yorku.ca>
Date: Sun, 12 Mar 1995 15:29:17 GMT
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Gord Easson (eassong@yorku.ca) wrote:
> In article <D54vI0.3MM@zeno.fit.edu>, stevens@galileo.pss.fit.edu (Luke
> Stevens) wrote:
> > 
> > Call me a Latin-loving prescriptivist if you like <G>, but it seems natural
> > that adjectives be used as nouns through the use of substantives.  
[deleta]
>  
> Try to avoid changing your structure when you are comparing usages.  The
> three examples you presented of acceptable nominalization of adjectives had
> definite articles.  The counter examples had indefinite articles.   I agree
> that "I saw a happy." is not proprely constructed, but I have no problem
> with "Blessed are the happy.". Similarly, I would reject "I saw a poor.",
> just as switly as "I saw a happy.".  Bringing this back to the question of
> the nominalization of "gay", is "Blessed are the gay." an acceptable usage?
>  (No socio-religious meaning intended.)

Good point.  (Latin doesn't have articles, so I tend not to think about them.)

Noting that indefinite articles are dropped in English before plurals (e.g.
"Kill a man" becomes "Kill men"), consider the following (objections to
"black" instead of "African American" notwithstanding):

I helped black.       [wrong]         I helped poor.       [wrong]
I helped a black.     [s.]            I helped a poor.     [wrong]
I helped the black.   [s. or pl.]     I helped the poor.   [pl.]
I helped blacks.      [pl.]           I helped poors.      [wrong] 
I helped the blacks.  [pl.]           I helped the poors.  [wrong]

This just illustrates where English is and isn't consistent with substantives.
"Gay" in this context probably is in the same category as "black", but either
way "Blessed are the gay," would be a correct sentence.  At issue here is
whether something like "I helped a gay," is correct, or instead should be
replaced with something like "I helped a gay person."  

It makes sense from both a descriptivist standpoint and my (but not 
necessarily others') prescriptivist standpoint (I've only been following that
thread for a week or so but I think that I get the gist).  Both of my
dictionaries list it as a noun.  MW gives a date of 1953 for the noun use.

[No sociopolitotheoeconomical implications intended in the examples.]


------_/ ---------  Luke J. Stevens  ---  stevens@pss.fit.edu  ---------------
  ___/`=         "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool          __|__
~(,__.)           than to speak out and remove all doubt."                 |
 />  />                                      -- Abraham Lincoln            |
