Conlang Gender (was Re: Writing Systems and Biscriptal Children

> nicole perrin wrote:
> > So, obligatory conlang reference:  those of you who do have gender in
> > your language, is it masc/fem?
I have an animate/inanimate gender distinction -- it works pretty well,
actually.  It's much easier thinking in terms of animacy than in terms of
sex, sometimes.

Gender determines how the optional plural is formed -- the prefix en- for
animate nouns, oa- for inanimate nouns.  It also determines how the
construct state is formed -- animate nouns change their final -o to -a for
the construct state, while inanimate nouns add an -a to their final -e.

sho = the man
sha Oa-oe = the man of the island of Oa-oe.

satape = the weapon
satapea oso = the weapon of the mind.  (this, incidently, is from my first
bit of shakespeare translated into Hatasoe, a piece of Macbeth)

Some words are irregular.  Most body parts, for example, are animate,
except the eye, which is "hivie", inanimate.  Most constructed objects are
inanimate, except for book, "uvoro", which is animate for no good reason
other than my whim.  All gerunds are considered animate.

--Pat