Don_Kiddick Posted February 21, 2008 Posted February 21, 2008 I don't mean like molesting the fridge or something... But, in Spanish they have gender word titles & endings signifying if an inanmate object is male or female. For example La Casa = The House (female) but why??? El Libro = The book (male) but Why?? I think we should adopt this in the English language so here's some with good justifications too. FREEZER BAGS: They are male, because they hold everything in, but you can see right through them. PHOTOCOPIERS: These are female, because once turned off; it takes a while to warm them up again. They are an effective reproductive device if the right buttons are pushed, but can also wreak havoc if you push the wrong buttons. TYRES: Tyres are male, because they go bald easily and are often over inflated HOT AIR BALLOONS: Also a male object, because to get them to go anywhere, you have to light a fire under their butt. SPONGES: These are female, because they are soft, squeezable and retain water. TRAINS: Definitely male, because they always use the same old lines for picking up people. EGG TIMERS: Egg timers are female because, over time, all the weight shifts to the bottom. HAMMERS: Male, because in the last 5000 years, they've hardly changed at all, and are occasionally handy to have around. THE REMOTE CONTROL: Female. You probably thought it would be male, but it gives a man pleasure, he'd be lost without it, and while he doesn't always know which buttons to push, he just keeps trying. what say you? Anymore examples going?
lyndix Posted February 21, 2008 Posted February 21, 2008 Brilliant!! I especially like the remote control and the egg timer!!
nuttygirl Posted February 21, 2008 Posted February 21, 2008 In Spanish, they aren't sexualising nouns, but genderising them. The names 'male' and 'female' don't actually haven't anything to do with sex or male/female traits, but it's just a way of 'grouping' types of words that behave the same together. You might as well call them 'A' words and 'B' words.
Jabberwocky Posted February 21, 2008 Posted February 21, 2008 My other half is pretty inanimate and shes female. (So she tells me)
Don_Kiddick Posted February 21, 2008 Author Posted February 21, 2008 In Spanish, they aren't sexualising nouns, but genderising them. The names 'male' and 'female' don't actually haven't anything to do with sex or male/female traits, but it's just a way of 'grouping' types of words that behave the same together. You might as well call them 'A' words and 'B' words. But of course, silly old me
Ally68 Posted February 21, 2008 Posted February 21, 2008 Computer, male or female? A language instructor was explaining to her class that in French, nouns, unlike their English counterparts, are grammatically designated as masculine or feminine. "House," in French, is feminine = "la maison." "Pencil," in French, is masculine = "le crayon." One puzzled student asked, "What gender is 'computer'?" The teacher did not know, and the word wasn't in her French dictionary. So for fun she split the class into two groups, appropriately enough by gender, and asked them to decide whether "computer" should be a masculine or feminine noun. Both groups were required to give four reasons for their recommendation. The men's group decided that computers should definitely be of the feminine gender ("la computer"), because: No one but their creator understands their internal logic; The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else; Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long-term memory for possible later retrieval; and As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it. The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be masculine ("le computer"), because: In order to get their attention, you have to turn them on; They have a lot of data but they are still clueless; They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you'd waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.
Jabberwocky Posted February 21, 2008 Posted February 21, 2008 I have sex with inanimate objects. I claim my £5
Waltheof Posted February 21, 2008 Posted February 21, 2008 I don't mean like molesting the fridge or something... But, in Spanish they have gender word titles & endings signifying if an inanmate object is male or female. For example La Casa = The House (female) but why??? El Libro = The book (male) but Why?? I think we should adopt this in the English language so here's some with good justifications too. FREEZER BAGS: They are male, because they hold everything in, but you can see right through them. PHOTOCOPIERS: These are female, because once turned off; it takes a while to warm them up again. They are an effective reproductive device if the right buttons are pushed, but can also wreak havoc if you push the wrong buttons. TYRES: Tyres are male, because they go bald easily and are often over inflated HOT AIR BALLOONS: Also a male object, because to get them to go anywhere, you have to light a fire under their butt. SPONGES: These are female, because they are soft, squeezable and retain water. TRAINS: Definitely male, because they always use the same old lines for picking up people. EGG TIMERS: Egg timers are female because, over time, all the weight shifts to the bottom. HAMMERS: Male, because in the last 5000 years, they've hardly changed at all, and are occasionally handy to have around. THE REMOTE CONTROL: Female. You probably thought it would be male, but it gives a man pleasure, he'd be lost without it, and while he doesn't always know which buttons to push, he just keeps trying. what say you? Anymore examples going? Someone else has pointed out that this is purely grammatical gender, not real gender--in Spanish; same applies to all the Romance languages derived from Latin (Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese and Romanian). you might be surprised to know that English, up to about 1200 AD, also had grammatical gender (as German, related to English, still has). Thus there were some curiosities, e.g. duru (= a door), was feminine, but wif (= woman) was neuter.
Heyesey Posted February 21, 2008 Posted February 21, 2008 you might be surprised to know that English, up to about 1200 AD, also had grammatical gender (as German, related to English, still has).. German, of course, also has the neuter - as you mention that English used to. The gender/sex confusion calls to mind an exasperated doctor telling his patient, 'on the medical records sheet, where it asks "sex?" you are supposed to answer Female, not "six times a week!" '
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