"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

[gillo]

"Baby" without an article is used a great deal by doctors, nurses and midwives to refer to the specific baby - or, rather, foetus - of the woman they are dealing with at the moment. It is effectively used as the name of the infant, so "Baby" would be more appropriate transcription than "baby". "Doctor" in the context works similarly, referring to the specific doctor in charge, almost as a proper name. It's something specific to that sort of situation rather than period or class - "mother" is sometimes used similarly (as in "Has mother complained of any pain, nurse?")

No idea why; it's just the way they work.

"The wife" is definitely more informal usage, suitable for more colloquial settings, and often used slightly ironically these days. Only a very newly-wed man would draw attention to the fact by saying "my wife" proudly!

[dieastra.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It was quite an interesting conversation and I got lots of replies over in the community. It seems indeed only be used in the health sector though, and some also said they still hear it nowadays in some areas.

I certainly learnt a lot.

I stumbled first about "the wife" in an action figure forum where someone said that she should rather not find out how much money he spends on his figures. Maybe it was said in jest but if not it makes me rather sad, that he can't share what apparently is important for him. Naturally, everyone there assumed I was a boy as well ;)