Re: Láadan and woman's speak

----- Original Message -----
From: "Nik Taylor" <fortytwo@...>
To: <CONLANG@...>
Sent: Wednesday, May 24, 2000 11:53 PM
Subject: Re: Láadan and woman's speak


> Robert Hailman wrote:
> > This is definitely possible, but a society that got rid of it's gender
> > system wouldn't likely adopt a new one.
If you see gender as a burden, well, they don't.  If you see gender as an
expresive need they will eventually evolve some gender system.  For example:
objects that can be alienabaly possessed and those that cannot.  Things with
plurals and things without plurals.  Animates vs. inanimates (inanimates
would seldom inflects in nominative, active or ergative cases).

> Why not?  We know from records that gender can be lost.  Language has
> existed for God knows how long, if gender could only be lost, and not
> gained, then where there'd be no genders in any language on Earth!
>
> > I say simultaniously because I'd imagine the electrical
> > and synthetic distinctions would come in as the male/female
> > disctinctions were lost.
>
> I forget the earlier posts in this thread, but why should there have
> been an earlier gender system?  Why not just postulate gender evolving
> from a non-gendered language?
Well. English has now-a-days and important classification system in its
grammar: count and mass nouns.  Count nouns can use singular and plural
determinants like "a" and "some", have a marked plural form (-s), and will
agree, based on number with either "it" or "they".  Mass nouns use a subset
of the determinants (no "a"), don't have a plural form (unless it means
kinds of), and only one pronoun.  How long until this clasification will
count as a gender system?  Which further changes in the grammar would evolve
if the distinction is not lost?

> --
> "If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men
> believe and adore, and preserve for many generations the remembrance of
> the city of God!" - Ralph Waldo Emerson
> "Glassín wafilái pigasyúv táv pifyániivav nadusakyáavav sussyáiyatantu
> wawailáv ku suslawayástantu ku usfunufilpyasváditanva wafpatilikániv
> wafluwáiv suttakíi wakinakatáli tiDikáufli!" - nLáf mÁldu nÍmasun
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