From: alderson@elaine46.Stanford.EDU (Rich Alderson)
Subject: Re: feminine as the generic case
Originator: alderson@leland.Stanford.EDU
Reply-To: alderson@elaine46.Stanford.EDU (Rich Alderson)
Organization: Stanford University LOTS Computer Facility
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 92 17:30:53 GMT

In article <29EB5042.28533@noiro.acs.uci.edu>, cortese@hepxvt (Janis Maria Cortese) writes:
>In article <1992Apr14.211412.761@leland.Stanford.EDU> alderson@elaine46.Stanford.EDU (Rich Alderson) writes:

>>Because virga "rod" and barba are feminines in Latin?
>>
>>(Latin terms were mentula "erect penis" and verpa "flaccid penis."  Doe
>>Spanish verga ever get used for other than an erect penis?  Does French
>>vierge?)

>But that just shunts the question back to Latin.  Why the HELL would ANYONE
>with two brain cells to rub together call a penis and a beard, two things that
>pretty much mark one as a man, FEMININE?  THAT'S what I meant by asking this
>question.  What possible reason could people have to call these things
>feminine?

Of course it shunts it back to Latin.  I didn't think I needed a smiley-face
for that broad and obvious (to me) a side-step.

I knew what you meant by asking the question.  I hoped that by making a joking
response, you would see that the question is meaningless.

>A lot of things do have some kind of order to them; gender is not assigned
>COMPLETELY randomly, and this is so jarring that it begs an explanation.

I wish it *were* the case that gender were assigned completely randomly,
because then a great number of philosophical discussions of a type I personally
find tiresome and ultimately empty would be avoided.  People seem to get so
caught up in Whorfian conflicts over how such things might affect world view.

You find it jarring; I find it amusing.  And I don't worry about it for a
minute; I am not defined by whether or not my genitalia dangle or not.

Let's see.  What can we say here?

    The  use  of words which govern  adnominal concord  of a type usually
    referred to as  "feminine" in  the traditional grammars of Latin  and
    its descendants is evidence of a  substrate culture in the prehistory
    of the speakers of Latin, one in which the feminine principle was the
    primary.  This culture worshipped the Great Mother, in her aspects of
    fecundity and sexuality.
    
    Since   the  great sign  of  the  favour  of the   Mother Goddess was
    increase, and since one of the most obviously increasing things about
    a male is his penis, it stands to  reason  that words associated with
    the penis  should  be marked in  some  way  as related to   the Great
    Goddess.   How  this was   evidenced  in the substrate  language   is
    unknown,   but  when   the  Italic languages  were    adopted  by the
    autochthons the use of generic marking in nouns was taken over as the
    appropriate method of paying homage to Her.

The trouble is, there are people who put forth such nonsense not for satirical
effect, but because they really truly *believe* it.  You have indicated in the
past that you are studying linguistics.  I hope that you come to see how fruit-
less such inquiries are.

Yeah, I know.  IMAAGDMFSOBO.

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-- 
Rich Alderson   'I wish life was not so short,' he thought.  'Languages take
                such a time, and so do all the things one wants to know about.'
                                                        --J. R. R. Tolkien,
alderson@leland.stanford.edu                              _The Lost Road_