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What's the point of gendered words in certain languages? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago by TheDarkKnight@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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I know a lot of languages have some aspects that probably seem a bit strange to non-native speakers…in the case of gendered words is there a point other than “just the way its always been” that explains it a bit better?

I don’t have gendered words in my native language, and from the outside looking in I’m not sure what gendered words actually provide in terms of context? Is there more to it that I’m not quite following?

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[-] Couldbealeotard@lemmy.world -1 points 1 year ago

Regarding the paper analogy,

Paper is a material, not a discrete object. A sheet is an object, but is ambiguous until you quantify what is it a sheet of.

You could have a sheet of paper, or metal, or pasta.

A page would be a way to say a sheet of paper as an object.

this post was submitted on 23 Aug 2023

115 points (88.1% liked)

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