Why do some languages use gendered nouns? - eviltoast

Why do some languages use gendered nouns? It seems to just add more complexity for no benefit.

  • Hyperreality@kbin.social
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    9 months ago

    For example, you hear a word that sounds (exactly/a bit) like another word, and can tell it’s not that other word, because the other word has a different gender. Or you only really need to learn one word because both are very similar. Some examples:

    Spanish : La Nina/La Nino. Both basically the same world (female/male child) and sound the same, unlike boy/girl in English.

    Dutch : Het jacht = the boat / yacht, de jacht = the hunt. No need to guess the meaning of the word from the context, you can go by gender.

    Spanish: El Capital = Capital as in money, La Capital = Capital as in Capital City.

    French: Un Livre = a book. La livre = pound sterling.