Language and Gender: Gender in Geography (16 December 2005) Language and Gender: Gender in Geography (16 December

Language and Gender: Gender in Geography (16 December 2005)

GEOGRAPHY IS FEMININE IN GREEK! Majority of feminine names: - as their
ending (2nd declension).
9 Greek: inflective; 3 grammatical genders (cf. German, Latin, Sanskrit and Slavic languages). (feminine) well-entrenched.
Etymologically, some - islands were
9 Geography, like all arts and sciences, is a feminine noun in Greek. Is geography feminine?
named after a male individual (see:
9 The Greek words for art () and science () are feminine. Male regulators of http://www.typos.com.cy/nqcontent.
language (lexicographers, grammarians) conceptualised abstract notions as feminine (cf. cfm?a_id=6336).
, , , , , , , ). Why? Groups of islands: feminine (,
) or neuter ().
(neuter) newer form.
7 Major cities: feminine.
Ambiguous names: / , same
lexical item, no morphological change.

QUICK FACTS:
Continents () are feminine; oceans () are masculine.
Seas are either feminine () or neuter ().
Bays () are masculine; lakes () are feminine.
Rivers () are masculine. EXCEPTION: Feminine and neuter river names in Cyprus!
Acceptable endings in Greek: vowels and -, -, -.
Feminine endings: -, -.
How about states1, cities, islands and settlements2? Neuter endings: -, -o (+ plural).
Masculine names: Saints names or because of Ambiguous names: /,
their ending (e.g. , ). /, different lexical items.
Tendency to give feminine names, even in
cases with unmarked endings (). This list includes suburbs, environs and regions for the city of Nicosia.
Romance countries: almost exclusively Many masculine names, because of
feminine (see EUROPE and SOUTH AMERICA). Saints names.
Countries ending in -land become feminine Some neuter names are used for
in Greek (e.g. , ). Turkish names ( , ,
Neuter names preferred for countries with , , ).
unacceptable endings (e.g. , ).

Masculine names found only in Greece

(and , in Russia). GENERAL CONCLUSIONS:
Cities with neuter names also have There are some exclusively
unacceptable endings and/or lack masculine/feminine/neuter domains in geography.
inflexions ( , ).
Wherever there is liberty of choice between the three grammatical genders, it is the
Neuter endings: -, - (-/-um in classical
feminine that wins (perhaps not in the case of Mountains).
Greek/Latin), unacceptable consonants.
Masculine endings: -, -. Endings play a role in the selection of gender, primarily in relatively new names.
Feminine endings: -, -. Neuter names are reserved for cases of names with unacceptable endings. Some of them
also lack inflexions.
1
. The term is used here to denote both independent countries and autonomous regions.
2
. The term is used here to denote both municipalities and communities. e-mail: katoomba@cytanet.com.cy
Alexander-Michael Hadjilyra, ID: 99362 1 Alexander-Michael Hadjilyra, ID: 99362 2