Steve Hayes
2013-12-15 04:59:13 UTC
I recently read "The old man and the sea" by Ernest Hemingway, first published
in 1952.
One thing that stuck out like a sore thumb was his description of a fisherman
gutting a dolphin and throwing the entrails and gills into the sea.
I thought everyone knew that dolphins are mammals and don't have gills, they
have lungs. Certainly Hemingway, who had a reputation as a great fisherman,
ought to have known that. The edition I read was a school edition, and had
notes to explain various things, but there was no explanation of that at all.
Then someone pointed out that the meaning of "dolphin" was different in AmE,
and applied to a different marine animal that was a fish and did have gills.
But I recalled reading a book, "The day of the dolphin", first published in
1967, that is set in Florida in the USA, which overlooks the same sea that
Hemingway wrote about, and the dolphins in the book are definitely the marine
mammals that I assumed that everyone (except perhaps Hemingway) was familiar
with.
Ok, "The day of the dolphin" was written by a Frenchamn, and the original
title was "Un animal doué de raison", but it was marketed in English-speaking
countries with the title mentioning dolphins and everyone seemed to know what
it meant.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/94499.The_Day_of_the_Dolphin?ac=1
So it seems that, if Hemingway wasn't ignorant, the meaning of "dolphin"
changed completely in 15 short years, between 1952 and 1967.
I know that for many people the meaning of the word "man" has changed over the
last 40 years from "a member of the species homo sapiens sapiens" to a more
restricted version, applying only to an adult male of that species,
But that was 40 years, not 15 years, and it is at least the same species.
in 1952.
One thing that stuck out like a sore thumb was his description of a fisherman
gutting a dolphin and throwing the entrails and gills into the sea.
I thought everyone knew that dolphins are mammals and don't have gills, they
have lungs. Certainly Hemingway, who had a reputation as a great fisherman,
ought to have known that. The edition I read was a school edition, and had
notes to explain various things, but there was no explanation of that at all.
Then someone pointed out that the meaning of "dolphin" was different in AmE,
and applied to a different marine animal that was a fish and did have gills.
But I recalled reading a book, "The day of the dolphin", first published in
1967, that is set in Florida in the USA, which overlooks the same sea that
Hemingway wrote about, and the dolphins in the book are definitely the marine
mammals that I assumed that everyone (except perhaps Hemingway) was familiar
with.
Ok, "The day of the dolphin" was written by a Frenchamn, and the original
title was "Un animal doué de raison", but it was marketed in English-speaking
countries with the title mentioning dolphins and everyone seemed to know what
it meant.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/94499.The_Day_of_the_Dolphin?ac=1
So it seems that, if Hemingway wasn't ignorant, the meaning of "dolphin"
changed completely in 15 short years, between 1952 and 1967.
I know that for many people the meaning of the word "man" has changed over the
last 40 years from "a member of the species homo sapiens sapiens" to a more
restricted version, applying only to an adult male of that species,
But that was 40 years, not 15 years, and it is at least the same species.
--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk