Gold gender chart: Difference between revisions
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====Neuter==== | ====Neuter==== | ||
Since neuters cannot be agents of verbs(except a few irregulars), it may make sense to have 1st & 2nd person pronouns behave as if they were neuters. Essentially, a neuter 2nd person agent marking on a verb is equivalent to using the pronoun "you" in a pronoun-using language. In some ways, this will not "feel" like a neuter since the 1st & 2nd person args will be marked with consos, like the animate gen ders. | Since neuters cannot be agents of verbs(except a few irregulars), it may make sense to have 1st & 2nd person pronouns behave as if they were neuters. Essentially, a neuter 2nd person agent marking on a verb is equivalent to using the pronoun "you" in a pronoun-using language. In some ways, this will not "feel" like a neuter since the 1st & 2nd person args will be marked with consos, like the animate gen ders. | ||
===Semantic associations of noun genders=== | |||
Most words for objects that are non-human, but living, belong to one of the animate genders. The assignment of gender largely follows semantic boundaries, but the choice of which gender to use has little in common with an object's physical characteristics. For example, all words for sea life belong to the greater feminine gender, even if they are words for male animals. Celestial objects also belong to the greater feminine gender. All words for birds, meanwhile, belong to the "maiden" gender, also known as the young feminine. | |||
Revision as of 08:35, 23 March 2017
Gold nouns have complex gender inflections. See also Khulls verbs.
| Gender | Epicene ♁ | Fem+ ♀ | Fem- ⚳ | Young Fem ☿ | Unisex ☼ | Neuter ⚲ | Masc ♂ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUBJECT | OBJECT | ||||||
| 4 Greater Feminine ♀ | ♁ | ♀ | ♀ | ♀ | ♀ | ♀ | ♁ |
| 3 Lesser Feminine ⚳ | ♁ | ♀ | ⚳ | ⚳ | ⚳ | ⚳ | ♂ |
| 3 Young Feminine ☿ | ♁ | ♀ | ⚳ | ☿ | ☿ | ☿ | ♂ |
| 1 Unisex ☼ | ♁ | ♀ | ⚳ | ☿ | ☼ | ☼ | ♂ |
| 0 Neuter ⚲ | ♁ | ♀ | ⚳ | ☿ | ☼ | ⚲ | ♂ |
| 4 Epicene ♁ | ♁ | ♀ | ⚳ | ☿ | ♁ | ♁ | ♂ |
| 4 Masculine ♂ | ♁ | ♁ | ♁ | ♁ | ♂ | ♂ | ♂ |
Epicene
The epicene has no singular form. It generally refers to groups of people of mixed gender, and therefore is never singular either as a subject or an object. It often corresponds to English "they/them". Epicenes can in fact refer to a single person, but only when of an entity whose size is unknown (e.g. "those who passed the test", even if only 1 student passes). Also, many words for mass nouns are epicene. For example, water.
The epicene therefore cannot be 1st person singular or 2nd person singular, either as a subj or an obj. Additionally, it never changes (in most langs) when serving as a patient for an agent of a different gender.
- BETTER IDEA... 1ST AND 2ND PERSON *CAN* TAKE GENDER INFLECTIONS, BUT IT MEANS "ME AND A WOMAN", "YOU AND A MAN", ETC.
Neuter
Since neuters cannot be agents of verbs(except a few irregulars), it may make sense to have 1st & 2nd person pronouns behave as if they were neuters. Essentially, a neuter 2nd person agent marking on a verb is equivalent to using the pronoun "you" in a pronoun-using language. In some ways, this will not "feel" like a neuter since the 1st & 2nd person args will be marked with consos, like the animate gen ders.
Semantic associations of noun genders
Most words for objects that are non-human, but living, belong to one of the animate genders. The assignment of gender largely follows semantic boundaries, but the choice of which gender to use has little in common with an object's physical characteristics. For example, all words for sea life belong to the greater feminine gender, even if they are words for male animals. Celestial objects also belong to the greater feminine gender. All words for birds, meanwhile, belong to the "maiden" gender, also known as the young feminine.
