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Old June 03, 2013, 07:15 PM
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AngelicaDeAlquezar AngelicaDeAlquezar is offline
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Thank you man!

It's been different persons (both native English speakers and non-native English speakers) in different places and in different situations that have called me "man" lately... and puzzled me.

·Thank you man!
·See you later man.
·Don't worry man.
·Call you later man.

I understand that the word can be used like "buddy" or "pal", but I had only seen it used between men until now. Is this normal to extend it to women?
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Old June 03, 2013, 07:43 PM
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JPablo JPablo is offline
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Oh, boy, oh boy... I think this is a difficult one to discern for us foreigners... don't worry, man, ejem..., madam...
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Old June 24, 2013, 06:43 AM
mekdroid mekdroid is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JPablo View Post
Oh, boy, oh boy... I think this is a difficult one to discern for us foreigners... don't worry, man, ejem..., madam...
He,he!

That is why we have the endings that indicate sex in Spanish! The problem is that we apply them to everything, including a good many things that would best be left neutral. Some non-native speakers I know basically use the endings at random, on the assumption that they will be right about half of the time :-)
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Old June 24, 2013, 03:53 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mekdroid View Post
He,he!

That is why we have the endings that indicate sex in Spanish! The problem is that we apply them to everything, including a good many things that would best be left neutral. Some non-native speakers I know basically use the endings at random, on the assumption that they will be right about half of the time :-)
In one or two cases of words which were neuter in Latin they're right 100% of the time. (The most obvious one being the sea. La mar may be quaint outside Ecuador, but it's not strictly wrong).
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Old July 19, 2013, 03:59 PM
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I have to disagree with some who think that saying "man" to a female is necessarily an insult when using American English. It is perfectly fine among the younger generation for guys and girls to call each other "man." You just have to be careful to whom you are speaking.

No estoy de acuerdo de que decir "hombre" a una mujer es un insulto, cuando se usa el Inglés Americano. Es perfectamente bueno para usarlo entre los jovenes. Pues, necesita usted tener cuidado con quien usted lo diga.
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Old July 19, 2013, 05:46 PM
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AngelicaDeAlquezar AngelicaDeAlquezar is offline
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Thank you for your reply. As we've said, there's a similar phenomenon going on here among younger people as well.

And great paragraph; I will just make a couple of comments:
Quote:
Originally Posted by elmonorojo View Post
No estoy de acuerdo de (Another preposition is needed) que decir "hombre" a una mujer es un insulto, (no comma here) cuando se usa el Inglés Americano (No capital letters). Es perfectamente bueno para usarlo entre los jóvenes. Pues (You need a linking word that introduces a contrast; "pues" would introduce a cause used in this context), (no comma here) necesita (usted) tener cuidado con quien usted lo diga.
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Old July 20, 2013, 05:59 AM
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Muchísimas gracias por ayudarme Angelica.

En la última frase, puedo usar las palabras "sin embargo" en vez de "pues"?
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Old June 03, 2013, 07:47 PM
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I've heard the same gender mix-up when a sales clerk says "Thanks, guys" to a man and his wife. Is it like the Spanish use of señores to address a group of women which may include only one man?
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Old June 03, 2013, 07:47 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar View Post
It's been different persons (both native English speakers and non-native English speakers) in different places and in different situations that have called me "man" lately... and puzzled me.

·Thank you man!
·See you later man.
·Don't worry man.
·Call you later man.

I understand that the word can be used like "buddy" or "pal", but I had only seen it used between men until now. Is this normal to extend it to women?
He oido mujeres hispanas decir al uno al otro por ejemplo, Si hombre.

But any way. Oh man what a good looking chick! It's an expression I have used a lot. Oh man, my whole body hurts/aches.


Oh MAN!
Oh man?
Oh man, what is that thing over there!?

Man, you have some really nice teeth/breasts! Speaking to a woman.

The word ‘man’ was originally gender neutral, meaning more or less the same as the modern day word “person”. It wasn’t until about a few 100 years ago that the word “man” started to refer to a male and it wasn’t until the late 20th century that it was almost exclusively used to refer to males. Woman

Last edited by Villa; June 03, 2013 at 07:54 PM.
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Old June 03, 2013, 07:54 PM
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Don't take it personal, Malila, because the expression is as impersonal as they come. "Thanks, man" is used without any regard to the gender of the listener.

I would seldom use the phrase when addressing a female. Instead, I would just omit the filler on the end. "Thanks, ma'am" sounds a bit too formal in my neck of the woods, but it is very much heard in the South (Southern United States).
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