Re: The Birds and the Bees of Gender

Douglas Koller wrote:

> Nik Taylor wrote:
>
> > Fascinating!  I'd never even THOUGHT of that as a problem.  But now t=
hat
> > I think about it, your absolutely right, why isn't "lettuce" and "ric=
e"
> > countable?  ESPECIALLY lettuce, since it's so large, you can easily h=
ave
> > "one lettuce".
>
> The phenomenon extends as well, since there is a sort of "agreement"
> that occurs. "Many" and "a few" go with countables; "much" and "a
> little" go with uncountables (cf. "beaucoup de cafe'" AND "beaucoup de
> carottes"; "mucho dinero" AND "muchos idiomas"). "A lot of" can go with
> either (particularly in affirmative sentences). What I find especially
> interesting is that, while I assume Romance lang speakers are inculcate=
d
> with the notion of "masculine", "feminine", and "agreement" in primary
> and secondary education,
Are we?
If we compare people who has never been to school, there are a lot of ...
_substandard_ particularities in their speech but lack of gender agreemen=
t is
not one of them.  Even if I finished my school ten years ago, I don't rem=
ember
the point on gender agreement where specially covered (well, it was cover=
ed,
but probably number agreement were a more difficult issue).

Actually, what is what people learn at school: how to write (from the bas=
ics
in primary to stylle), how to read, to avoid what prespriptions tell us w=
e
should not say, and the name of the things.  But you don't need to know t=
hat
there are things called "gender", or "count/mass nouns" in orther to make
correct sentences.

> we never even touched on this in high school
> English (and judging from Nik's reaction, I take it my high school was
> not the exception). ESL books, on the other hand, devote at *least* a
> chapter to the subject.
>
> Kou
--
Carlos Th
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/9028/

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