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Re: What's a gender?

From:Lars Finsen <lars.finsen@...>
Date:Friday, December 22, 2006, 12:10
Den 22. des. 2006 kl. 05.56 skrev Benct Philip Jonsson:
> > In Swedish _öl_ 'beer' as a mass noun is neuter gender, but > in the meaning 'a glass of beer' it is common gender, even > though _glas_ 'glass' is neuter. (Is it the same in > Norwegian -- Taliesin, Lars, Arnt?)
Yes, we too say "Jeg tar en øl, takk". But "Det ølet var surt". However aren't we thinking of two different words with the same root here? Like the titles we sometimes encounter with different endings dependent on the sex of the bearer, common in French and German for example. In the first case the beer is a serving out of a brew, but in the second case the noun refers to the brew. Beer as a general concept also is neuter: "Ølets gleder, ølets forbannelse". LEF

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Benct Philip Jonsson <conlang@...>