Knuguy
Well-Known Member
Computers - feminine or masculine?
A Spanish teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.
The Spanish word for house, for example, is feminine - “la casaâ€. Pencil, on the other hand, is masculine - “el lapisâ€.
A student asked, “What gender is the Spanish word for computer?â€
Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether a computer should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.
The men's group decided that computer should definitely be the feminine ('la computadora'), because
1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your pay check on accessories for it.
The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be masculine ('el computador'), because
1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realise that if you had waited a little longer, you could have got a better model.
The women won.
A Spanish teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.
The Spanish word for house, for example, is feminine - “la casaâ€. Pencil, on the other hand, is masculine - “el lapisâ€.
A student asked, “What gender is the Spanish word for computer?â€
Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether a computer should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.
The men's group decided that computer should definitely be the feminine ('la computadora'), because
1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your pay check on accessories for it.
The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be masculine ('el computador'), because
1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realise that if you had waited a little longer, you could have got a better model.
The women won.
