A Jumbo Genital
not sure why some other replies are giving such hard and fast nos. if you wished to refer to the penis as a concept, but wanted to sound especially formal, you might refer it as “the male genital.” it would also be used in the singular any time it’s used as an adjective (genital area, genital warts, genital mutilation, etc.)
with the original example it gets a little trickier. sure, as one’s genitalia are usually referred to as a group, the singular form may seem unusual. however, we have to analyze why male genitals are treated as plural. most human males possess what could be considered four unique external sexual organs: the penis, testes, scrotum, and epididymis. as the word “genitals” is often defined as “an animal’s external sexual organs,” it follows that the accepted singular form “genital” would refer to a single external sexual organ. therefore, each instance of one of those external sexual organs could be referred to as a genital.
the issue, then, with the original message, would be its vagueness. in the first paragraph, I referred to “the male genital,” while demonstrating the conceptual form. by using “the,” I implied I was referring to the primary male sexual organ, which would be commonly understood as being the penis. however, the original example used “a”, which leaves room for interpretation. under Ms. Gasparova’s original interpretation of the acronym, it’s possible Mr. Goulandris wished to exuberate on the enormity of his epididymis, or perhaps forewarn that the renamed file included details on a particularly unwieldy testicle.
regardless, while assuming the acronym AJG to refer to “a jumbo genital” is perhaps absurd, the usage of the singular “genital” is notSingular genital is particularly absurd to use, as in its not something one would use regularly, or hear regularly at all, as the genitals are usually referred to as that not the genital, or a genital. While not technically an incorrect use of language or is certainly something not one would recommend using at all, especially seeing as the kind commenter is not a native it may cause confusion in plural and singular and also concepts.
You wouldn't usually refer to external organs in the singular either, and if it is, you tend to use the name for it rather than , genital.
I feel it's my obligation to point out as I said above, while not technically incorrect, it's highly irregular and wouldn't be heard often if at all
Comments
Post a Comment