Re: Gender classes, which to use?

On Fri, 27 Nov 1998, Didier Willis wrote:

> In Almaqerin, standalone words are generally neuter, and may be
> preceded by the particle "i" to denote the feminine gender.
> Masculine is not distinguished from neuter.
> (Formerly there was a masculine particle "o", but it is seldom
> used now in common speech, unless a particular sublety is wanted).
>
>        nanar   = "(he-)rabbit"
>        i.nanar = "she-rabbit"
>
etc.  down to:

>
> The main idea behind this is that the Almaqerin society was
> mainly matriarchal (though this is changing in modern times),
> and that female beings are respected.
Hmmm.  This is surprising, Didier.  Reading your post down to this point,
I had assumed that your system was patriarchal, since it gives special
marking to the feminine--indicating that it's the "other" albeit
the "respected" entity--while leaving the masculine absolute or neutral.
I had rather thought it would be the reverse:

vehdr  human
i.vehdr  male human

Compare   prince and princess, and Old English mann and wifmann, i.e.
"human" and "female human."

It's usually (at least in the languages I know and that's not saying
much) the sex that is considered different that gets the different
marking, as in our tiresome discussions of the "genderless" "he": "he"
and "man" mean both he/she and man/woman because the one is considered
the default and the other the exception.  Sorry to raise this "feminist"
perspective, but there it is.

Sally
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Sally Caves
scaves@frontiernet.net
http://www.frontiernet.net/~scaves/teonaht.html
http://www.frontiernet.net/~scaves/contents.html


Li fetil'aiba, dam hoja-le uen.
volwin ly, vul inua aiba bronib.

This leaf, the wind takes her.
She's old, and born this year.
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