Sir, – Whether it has any bearing on pronouns, it’s worth noting the difference between a boat and a ship (Letters, October 12th). Often summarised as, “A ship can carry a boat, but a boat cannot carry a ship.” Ships, unlike boats, also require a captain. It would be interesting to know if male and female captains refer to their vessels in different ways. Or perhaps size doesn’t matter? – Yours, etc,
THEO SCHULTE,
Cambridge,
UK.