|
Post by lionking on Dec 6, 2010 7:28:16 GMT -4
A joke sent to me through my friend:
"A SPANISH Teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, all nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine. 'House' for instance, is feminine: 'la casa.' 'Pencil,' however, is masculine: 'el lapiz.'
A student asked, 'What gender is 'computer'?'
Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves
whether 'computer' should be a masculine or a feminine noun.
Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.
The men's group decided that 'computer' should definitely be of the feminine gender ('la computadora'), because:
1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;
2 The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval; and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.
The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be Masculine ('el computador'), because:
1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model."
|
|
|
Post by echnaton on Dec 6, 2010 10:00:24 GMT -4
Don't forget these
Computers are male because one big power surge and they are completely out of action.
Computers are female because their error messages cannot be deciphered.
|
|
Jason
Pluto
May all your hits be crits
Posts: 5,579
|
Post by Jason on Dec 6, 2010 12:13:03 GMT -4
Come now, citizen. Even the lowliest Infrared drone scrubbing the food vats knows that friend Computer has no gender. Rumors to the contrary are treasonous. You should go report to the nearest termination booth immediately.
|
|
|
Post by echnaton on Dec 6, 2010 12:50:07 GMT -4
It riles them to believe that you perceive the web they weave And keep on thinking free.
|
|
Ian Pearse
Mars
Apollo (and space) enthusiast
Posts: 308
|
Post by Ian Pearse on Dec 6, 2010 12:57:02 GMT -4
Quote, source unknown:
"I really hate this damn' machine, I wish that they would sell it. It never does just what I want, only what I tell it."
|
|
|
Post by LunarOrbit on Dec 6, 2010 13:23:24 GMT -4
I know this isn't the point of the thread, but it always bothered me how some languages like French and Spanish assign gender to words.
What is the point of that? Inanimate objects do not have genders, so it only makes learning the language more confusing and difficult. It was probably the biggest reason I failed to learn French as a kid.
And this joke demonstrates how illogical it is. Who decides the gender of new words? What is their reasoning behind it?
|
|
|
Post by echnaton on Dec 6, 2010 13:56:29 GMT -4
Like you, gender was one of the reasons I failed to grasp German. I worked as a night porter for two winters at an Austrian hotel and never really got past the basics of the tourist business. The local staff used to wince when I spoke.
I've wondered how English, as a Germanic language with a large influence from French, lost gender. However that happened I am grateful, otherwise I might not be able to speak at all.
I suspect that in France, the Ministry of Culture officials decide gender in official French and that most people simply ignore them.
|
|
Jason
Pluto
May all your hits be crits
Posts: 5,579
|
Post by Jason on Dec 6, 2010 13:58:13 GMT -4
German has three genders (male, female, and neuter). Dutch used to have three too, but only has two now. Why do they do it? Because languages are not constructed logically - the grow organically. There is no "reasoning" behind it. The gender of new words is decided pretty much by the person who coins them, and in keeping with what gender similar words are.
|
|
|
Post by gillianren on Dec 6, 2010 15:01:18 GMT -4
I have to say the part which makes me twitch is "no one else understands it." 51% of the world population is female. Doesn't that logically mean that, if anyone's language is the problem, it's the minority's? Besides, if women can figure out what men mean--which is quite possible and not even terribly difficult--what's men's problem? I also don't like the idea that women's internal logic is comprehensible only to women. If people try, they can understand one another. If all they do is make cheap, not-very-funny jokes about it, they clearly aren't trying.
|
|
|
Post by PhantomWolf on Dec 6, 2010 15:47:38 GMT -4
Come now, citizen. Even the lowliest Infrared drone scrubbing the food vats knows that friend Computer has no gender. Rumors to the contrary are treasonous. You should go report to the nearest termination booth immediately. Have you tried the latest Bouncy Bubble Beverage *, Citizen? If so, have you found that the lighting has been unusually dim of late? Do you have fuzz on your tongue? Remember the Computer is your friend. Happiness if mandatory, are you happy? ;D *Bouncy Bubble Beverage, now available in Original, New! Improved! and Recaffeinated Lite flavors. Remember, it not just about your hydration, it's mandatory.
|
|
Jason
Pluto
May all your hits be crits
Posts: 5,579
|
Post by Jason on Dec 6, 2010 16:15:17 GMT -4
Happiness if mandatory, are you happy? ;D I believe you meant "Happiness IS mandatory, are you happy?". You are in error. Errors are, of course, treasonous. Your treason has been noted and will be rectified as soon as a troubleshooter team can be re-routed to your location. Please remain where you are until that time, and refrain from further treasonous acts in the mean time. Have a nice day!
|
|
|
Post by lionking on Dec 6, 2010 17:54:58 GMT -4
Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval
I liked this..
|
|
|
Post by gillianren on Dec 6, 2010 17:56:13 GMT -4
It's not as though no men are capable of keeping a grudge--or that there are no women who don't.
|
|
Jason
Pluto
May all your hits be crits
Posts: 5,579
|
Post by Jason on Dec 6, 2010 19:49:30 GMT -4
It's not as though no men are capable of keeping a grudge--or that there are no women who don't. It's a joke Gillian. If anything I think the women's responses are even more sexist then the men's; The men basically said "we don't understand them, they can hold a grudge over little things, and it's expensive to get everything they want." The women said "they're obsessed with sex, they are idiots, half the time they are the main problem we're dealing with and there are always better ones than the one I was stuck with."
|
|
|
Post by StoneRoad on Dec 10, 2010 16:20:28 GMT -4
Solution for the problem of gender in nouns.
Learn Esperanto. There is the definite article "The" in English, which is "la" in Esperanto, and all nouns end in -o (-oj if plural) and no gender!
|
|