"Doctor" and "baby" without noun markers

[dieastra]

I just posted this entry in the community linguaphiles but I thought I put it into here as well, as I know you all love a good discussion once in a while and maybe we all learn something new by it! If you want to check the replies in the comm, the entry is here: http://linguaphiles.livejournal.com/5988669.html

Hi, I'm from Germany and I am wondering about something that I repeatedly encounter recently in the British TV series "Call the midwife" (which is set in London in the 1950s if that is important).

I am pharaphrasing here, but there are often sentences spoken by the nurses and sisters which go like "I'll call doctor and he'll check whether baby is okay."

For me this sounds odd, as I would say "I call THE doctor so he can make sure YOUR baby is okay." Why are there no noun markers with those two specific words? Are there other words like that? You would not do this with "girl" or "boy" would you?

And on a side note, I also find it a bit odd that in the English language men for example apparently refer to their wife as just "the wife" and not proudly "my wife" as it is in Germany. It seems a bit impersonal. Do they also say "the boy" instead of "my boy"?

I am always trying to improve my English so I am musing about these things and why there is this difference. Many thanks for your help!

Comments

[colej55.livejournal.com]

You are so right about religion being a matter of how you were raised and I, too, don't get changing religion on the spur of the moment for the sake of a marriage. Religion should be about very deep beliefs cultivated over time. However, one is never too old for a relationship with God and it is the most important decision anyone can ever make. And, again you are right. Every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect no matter their beliefs. That's what is so wrong with our world! The Golden Rule applies to everyone - Do toward others what you would want done toward you. Period. Knowing God should mean treating everyone with his love.

I never got to meet Su, but I specifically stayed in England for several weeks to meet some of my friends who I made music videos with. It was great fun to put faces with voices and IMs. There were so many people I wanted to meet and, oddly, I spent a whole day with Paya because of the group I got into by accident. I made wonderful friends from Ireland that day that I have stayed in touch with.

I had never seen SGAMadison's journal before. Her action figure photos are really good. I love the one shot from behind Shep in which he's looking out into a focused, angry looking cloud. That is so creative!

I'm really going to do this. I'm going to get the camera and the guys out and start experimenting. I am!

As for your English, it is very, very good and has gotten even better over time. I have seen a big difference in it in your stories as you have progressed. German and English are inflected languages and are hard to learn, but there are similarities (like brillant/brilliant) since many of the root words are the same.

BTW, I'm working my way through John's videos. It took forever for me to figure out how to play them, but it's going well now. I wish RDA would do something like that every now and then, but he's so private. I'm fine with his wanting privacy, but I miss seeing him and I can't afford the conventions.

Again, great discussion!

[dieastra.livejournal.com]

Over my time, I have found so many people who enjoy taking pictures with their figures, and everyone has their own style which you really can recognize. Here is one from Tumblr with Spiderman pictures, which are really different and unique and funny. I love to know I am not the only crazy one in the world ;)

The reason you see an increasement in my English in my stories is that at first I wrote them in German and then translated them to English. I did have an American beta but still, if you try to translate a sentence as it is, it always will sound weird, no matter how hard she tried, and of course she didn't want to rewrite the whole thing, as it then would have not been my own story anymore. We discussed a few things, some I agreed on, others I refused to accept.

Later, I wrote my stories in English first (and sometimes translate them to German if necessary). That way the language flows so much better, you can hear their real voices etc.

I'm happy you love all the John videos! It's true, he shares so much, sometimes it is scary the things we know about him, but even he sometimes says to a question "that's private" and it gets accepted so he does not share everything. But also at the studio visits where we watched him recording the new CD, that was such an intimate experience, as you really saw all the emotions.