Language Log: gender variation in French Native Speakers

[tree_and_leaf]

French can't do genders either, shock!

Though what really shocks me is that there seems to have been so little work done on the topic; it's a pity that there's no indication as to where the native speakers came from. Certainly in German it's well known that some dialects have divergent genders of common words (Swabians have a habit of referring to 'der Butter' instead of 'die Butter', for instance, and there are similar anomalies around Aachen). The only factor the article mentions is age - it's possible that a growing uncertainty about gender might be evidence of a process which, left to itself, lead to it dying out, but I doubt that that will happen in a language with a fixed written system, particularly one watched over by the Académie.

Comments

[anna-in-the-sky.livejournal.com]

This is incredibly interesting, thanks for linking! Also, take that you arrogant French waiters who would mock me for ordering "une coca" when apparantly, it's masculin. *g*

There is certainly one borrowed word in German which I always struggle with when it comes to gender: Why the hell is it 'das Email'? Well, I do know why, but I have to physically force myself to say or write 'das' instead of 'die' every time I use it.

BTW, they often say 'der Butter' in Baden, too. They pronounce it'de Budder', really. Funny, isn't it?

[tree_and_leaf]

I seem to have convinced myself that it is 'die Email' (actually, I'm sure Wahrig lists both as possible - drat, it's not in the shorter Wahrig and my big one's at home in Scotland)

Oddly enough, although I currently live in Baden, I know more Swabian dialect speakers (well, it's not surprising: most of the people I know in Baden are academics, and most of the people I know in Schwaben are Scouts, and hence more diverse).

[anna-in-the-sky.livejournal.com]

I seem to have convinced myself that it is 'die Email' (actually, I'm sure Wahrig lists both as possible - drat, it's not in the shorter Wahrig and my big one's at home in Scotland)

LEO says so, too! I just checked. Now I'm even more confused.