Caterpillar genders

[Neil Jones]

In article <Pine.OSF.3.96.990112191351.18262A-100000 at aurora.alaska.edu>
           fnkwp at aurora.alaska.edu "Kenelm Philip" writes:

> 
> > I think the language is changing to become clearer. People see "sex"
> > as an activity, and "gender" as a state of being.
> 
>         Unfortunately, it's a bit more complicated than that. The word
> 'gender' is being used both for one's biologically-determined sex, and
> for the sexual role one assumes in society--two items which are not always
> the same. There is thus some clarity to be gained by using 'sex' for
> biological 'gender'.
> 
>         Furthermore, in this multicultural age, the choice of 'gender' for
> a term to replace 'sex' as a 'state of being' is an odd one. 'Gender' is
> a linguistic term--and not that well related to sex. Even in European
> languages, some words have a gender opposite to their 'sex'. In some non-
> European languages, gender could never be equated to sex (which would make
> translating the current usage of 'gender' into those languages a real
> challenge!). This current use of 'gender' is, on the whole, curiously
> Eurocentric... 

Even within Europe gender doesn't always follow masculine and feminine lines.
Danish has I belive two genders common and neuter. The German word for a young
girl is neuter.

I have been brought up in a community where two languages are
spoken. Perhaps this explains why I see the difference. It is clear to me
that gramatical gender has nothing to do with the sex of the noun.

There is a great deal of cross fertilisation between the two languages here 
as you would expect if many people are bilingual. I can think of one
specific example of a noun used locally here which retains its Feminine
gender even when borrowed into English because it is pronounced differently
after the definite article. The noun describes something exclusively male
,even macho, in nature and yet even monoglot English speakers still retain
the pronounciation difference.

> 
>         On the other hand, there doesn't seem to be anything one can do
> about it. Fighting changes in English appears to be a singularly
> profitless endeavor.

I agree. Words change their meaning often through ignorance leading to
imprecision. 
Mundane for example means worldly but is often used to mean boring and
ordinary.
My favourite has to be this example though. A developer describing
the immense size of his project which would destroy an important rare 
butterfly colony said. "You have got to realise the enormity of this project."
I was able to get up and agree that it was indeed "monstrous evil" which
is what "enormity" should mean!
 


>                                                         Ken Philip
> fnkwp at uaf.edu
> 
> 

-- 
Neil Jones- Neil at nwjones.demon.co.uk http://www.nwjones.demon.co.uk/
"At some point I had to stand up and be counted. Who speaks for the
butterflies?" Andrew Lees - The quotation on his memorial at Crymlyn Bog
National Nature Reserve