Re: Gender of rivers - and other waters.

Den 4. okt. 2008 kl. 14.18 skreiv Michael Poxon:

> It's important to realise that what we call "gender" in linguistics
> doesn't of necessity relate to "sexual gender", although that
> doesn't mean this isn't done. "Gender" is just a sort of cover-all
> term used to describe grammars in which there are noun classes,
> which is probably a better term. But since traditional linguistics
> began with the study of well-known IE languages, especially the
> classical tongues, the term "gender" was used and has sort of stuck
> ever since.
Of course there are many ways to classify nouns, but I think the
gender systems in many cultures strongly suggest some relation to the
genders of the deities or spirits inhabiting the physical objects.
For example, the Germanic Sun is feminine with a masculine Moon
counterpart, while further south it is often the other way around.
After all, gender is a vital part of your spiritual world wherever
you happen to locate yourself in space and time, at least if you're
human.

As for Suraetua I'm not completely sure if the classes are so gender-
relevant after all. The only two obvious classes are the a-class,
which is generally substantial, and the u-class, which is abstract.
There are many nouns with other endings, mostly consonantal, but I
think I possibly may find feminine e-endings hidden in the material
if I explore it some more.

LEF

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