Talk:Out of the Dark, Into the Night

Lady Plato

The standard designation for ships in both the U.S. Navy and the Royal Navy (the U.K. Navy) is feminine, ie. ships are referred to as "she", regardless of their name. This is due to traditional reasons; the Olde English word scip was initially gendered as masculine, but later became feminine. Hence, the gender of ships changed. This changeover was complete before the 15th century, when the last written accounts of ships being referred to as masculine appear. Languages that have gendered nouns refer to ships as feminine (compare "mothership"), regardless of their designation. As example the USS Franklin -- named after Benjamin Franklin and nicked "Big Ben" -- is always referred to as a "she". So yes, the Plato is a "she". Selectah 03:44, 18 March 2008 (CST)

• Oh, by the by, ere someone comments on the gender of scip; it might not be apparent from the above, but the Olde English noun scip was neuter ("it"), not masculine ("he"). Nevertheless, before ships were finally effeminated, both "it" and "he" were encountered in writing, along "she". The fenimine tradition was firmly established by the 15th century, tho. Just to Clarify™. Selectah 09:12, 18 March 2008 (CST)

Please. We have no idea what the GTA calls their ships as personal pronouns are never used for that in FreeSpace. The Russians call their warships "he", by the way. Mustang19 16:19, 18 March 2008 (CST)

• You're welcome. We do have an idea what the GTA calls their ships. The entire FreeSpace universe is originally modeled in the english language. Agree or disagree? On the other hand, if the language would be german, all ships would be neuter ("das schiff"). In the english language, ships are "she". So it is Lady Plato, regardless. ;) Selectah 05:05, 19 March 2008 (CST)