Gender

Maarten Mous

Semantic aspects of gender

• Male / Female Agentives (but)• Male / Female singulatives of animals/people

Not semantically based

• examples of “wrong” gender• m/f in multiple reference• various values for gender for similar

concepts (e.g. gourds)

Semantic effects

• size• endearment / pejoration• significance

Meaning of shift to feminine

• diminutive• endearment / pejoration• insignificant

Meaning of shift to feminine

Similar functions in neighbouring Omotic, Semitic of Ethiopia, including Amharic.

Example of Western OromoClamons (1992: 69)

(1) a small number of lexically specified words have invariant gender (m) or (f);

(2) the rest of the words are variable in gender;

(3) if the referent is sexed, its sex will determine its gender;

Example of Western Oromo(4) if the referent is not sexed, unmarked gender is partly

determined by the quality of the final vowel: (5) nouns ending in non-low vowels are (f), those ending in

low vowels or consonant are (m)(6) but the other gender may be used expressively; (7) a number of the nouns in the remaining category have an

unmarked gender that is not predictable on the basis of formal properties and have to be lexically specified

(8) still these too may shift in gender for expressive purposes.

The meaning of (p)• In some languages all (p) nouns are m.r.; all m.r. nouns

are (p). Or (p) is semantically predictable: Agaw, Dullay.

• Oromo verb agreement of m.r. nouns is (p) or (f); (f) for collective

• Option of semantic agreement of (p) on the verb for (m/f) nouns in some languages (Alagwa, partly Somali)

• (p) agreement on the verb for the resolution of gender conflict in coordinated subject noun phrase

The meaning of (p):Underived (p) nouns (Alagwa)

• Plural words daaqaay (p) ‘children’ tikay (p) ‘women, wives’ yawa (p) ‘cattle’ aaraa (p) ‘goats’ baaluu (p) ‘days’

• Liquids and collectives ilba (p) ‘milk’ mintsartú (p) ‘fresh (of milk)’ ma'ay (p) ‘water’ qubu (p) ‘hair’

• Time xwa'i (p) ‘evening’ amasi (p) ‘night’ aansí (p) ‘former times’ piray (p) ‘night till dawn’ matlatlee (p) ‘morning’

• Geographical concepts tsiindo (p) ‘west’ aluu (p) ‘behind’ pahaa (p) ‘valley’ rawa (p) ‘top, sky’ tsee/aa (p) ‘savanna, grassland’

The meaning of (p):Underived (p) nouns (Alagwa)

The rest:• fayee (p) ‘marriage settlement, bride price’• kwa/u (p) ‘house of many poles (?)’ • neetla (p) ‘devil’ • tse/era (p) ‘healed wound’ • umpumáy (p) ‘small-pox’

Bantu noun class system

Establishment/definition

Main characteristics

pervasive agreementovertsingular / plural pairingfew roots in multiple classesclass membership is reconstructable

Semantic aspects

semantic agreement with human/animatederivation within the noun class systemassociation in form / meaning

Semantic aspects: derivation

Shift to class n for diminutive, to class m for augmentative

Shift to class 14 for abstract conceptsOther semantic distribution: land/language/people;

fruit/treePositioning into class r for verbal nounShift to (empty) class 16,17,18 for concepts of locationShift to other class for plural

Semantic aspects: what remains

Characterisation of tendencies:long/thin in 11tree like things in 7liquids in 6round in 5

These are reminiscent of functions of numeral classifiers.Synchronic value difficult to determine.