PandaStillLovesBunny Posted August 28, 2009 Posted August 28, 2009 ...or, Proper Names vs. Genus Types. I have a friend who constantly refers to her boyfriend as "the boyfriend" or "my boyfriend" or "the bf." I thought this odd, because I usually refer to MY significant others by their names, maybe prefacing their name with "my girlfriend, ..." I was just wondering if anyone thought that there were any significance to the way that someone referred to their boy/girlfriend. Do they think less of a person who just gets tagged with a category, like they're a number? Or does it mean that they think MORE highly of them, somehow? Thoughts?
Art_Critic Posted August 28, 2009 Posted August 28, 2009 My ex wife used to use the one " Mother Effing Cheap Prick ".. or to change things up she would also say " Mother Effing Arshole ".. I could never figure out if that had any significance or not
laRubiaBonita Posted August 28, 2009 Posted August 28, 2009 i think sometimes it comes from habit, like when introducing people... this is my boyfriend so and so.... this is my sister so and so or if you know a few people with the same name it might be easier to say my boyfriend rather than his name, so there is no confusion. my friend actually told me stop doing that when i talk about my sisters- she told me to just say their names, otherwise she would never learn them.
tanbark813 Posted August 28, 2009 Posted August 28, 2009 I use "my girlfriend" if I'm talking to someone who may not know her or know her well (stranger, coworker, acquaintance). I use her name if I'm talking to someone who does know her. I think I only use "my girlfriend, [her name]" if I'm introducing her. I don't think it really has anything to do with whether the person speaking thinks highly or lowly of the person to whom their referring. It's more about context.
Author PandaStillLovesBunny Posted August 29, 2009 Author Posted August 29, 2009 Yeah, I could see how context would matter. It's just that my friend has NEVER mentioned this dude's name; if I didn't know it through indirect means, I'd swear he didn't have one. Come to think of it, she never told me the name of the last one, either... It's always "my boyfriend and I," never "[name] and I." I don't know, I guess I just found it strange.
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