Genders (was Re: Láadan and woman's speak_

Robert Hailman wrote:
> Quite possible, but what I want to know is what would cause a gender
> system to change so dramatically.
I'm picturing a gender system evolving in a language that had no gender
system.

> I also find it doubtful that a culture would adopt a new gender system
> just because they couldn't understand what gave nouns their gender under
> the old ones, more likely that would cause them to drop gender almost
> entirely.
Any feature of language can evolve from the absence, a caseless language
can develop cases, and a genderless language can evolve gender.  Exactly
where gender comes from isn't completely agreed-upon, but probably
evolves from classifiers.  So, my idea was a language that had no gender
(possibly having lost another gender system in the past) developed a
gender system based upon things like electric/non-electric.

--
"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
ICQ: 18656696
AIM Screen-Name: NikTailor