Grammatical Categories of the Noun

 

Grammatical categories of Noun:

1) Gender

2) Number

3) Case

THE GENDER

 

The Genders. – A noun that denotes a male is of the Masculinegender; one that denotes a female is of the Femininegender; one that denotes either sex is of the Common gender; one that denotes neither sex, that is, something without life, is of the Neater gender. So the genders of Nouns are four in number:

1. Masculine – males. 3. Common – either sex.

2. Feminine – females. 4. Neuter – neither sex.

The Category of Gender is a grammatical form denoting sex.

 

Note. – In Old English the gender of a noun was indicated by its form. In Modem English it has become entirely a matter of sex or the absence of sex. This is not gender in the grammatical sense of the term.

 

The existence of this category is disputable. Some grammarians accept it, others reject it because there are very few grammatical forms to express it: only two suffixes -ine and -ess: hero-heroine; steward-stewardess. It expressed grammatically

(-ess, -ine) and lexically.

Gender is disputable: there are very few grammatical forms to express the idea of sex, there are only two suffixes “ess” (acter – actress) and “ine” (he-ro – heroine), but there are a number of ways to express it lexically.

Masculine and Feminine.– These are distinguished in three different ways:

 

By a Change of Word

Masc. Fem. Masc. Fem.

Bachelor spinster, maid Gander (гусак) goose

Boar (хряк) sow (свинья) Gentleman lady

Boy girl Hartroe, hind

Brother sister (самец оленя) (самка оленя)

Buck doe Horse mare

(самец(оленя,зайца)) (кобыла)

Bull cow Husband wife

Bullock,Steer heifer(телка) King queen

(вол)(бычок) Lord lady

Cock hen Man woman

Colt filly Milter spawner

(жеребенок) (молодая кобыла) (самец рыбы)

Dog bitch, slut Nephew niece

Drake (селезень) duck Ram(баран) ewe(овца)

Drone (трутень) bee Sir madam

Father mother Siredam

Friar(монах),Monk nun (Ваше Величество)

Gaffer gammerSloven slut

(старик) (старуха) (лентяй)

Son daughter Stag hind

Uncle aunt (самец оленя (5 лет)) (лань)

Viceroy(наместник) vicereine

 

By a Change of Ending

 

Masc. Fem. Masc. Fem.

 

Abbot abbess Emperor empress

Actor actress Founder foundress

Adventurer adventuress Giant giantess

Author authoress God goddess

Conductor conductress Governor governess

Duke (герцог) duchess Heir (наследник) heiress

Host hostess Priest priestess

Hunter huntress Prince princess

Lad lass Prophetprophetess

(мальчик) (проповедник)

Lion lioness Shepherd shepherdess

Manager manageress Songster (певец) songstress

Marquis marchioness Seamster seamstress

['ma:kwis] (портной) (швея,портниха)

Master mistress Steward stewardess

Mayor mayoress Tiger tigress

Murderer murderess Traitor traitress

Negro negress Viscount viscountess

[΄vaikaunt]

Ogre ogress Votary votaress

['əugə] (людоед) (сторонник, почитатель)

Patron patronessWaiter waitress

Poet poetess

 

Note. – In the word laundress we have an example of a feminine form to which there is now no corresponding masculine.

 

Peculiar Changes of Ending

 

Masc. Fem. Masc. Fem.

 

Czar czarina Sultan sultana

Executor executrix Testator testatrix

(палач) (завещатель)

Fox vixen Widower widow

Hero heroine Wizardwitch

(колдун)

Spinner spinster

(старый холостяк) (старая дева)

 

By Placing a Word-morpheme before or after

Masc. Fem. Masc. Fem.

 

He-goat she-goat Tom-cat pussy-cat

Land-lord land-lady Jack-ass she-ass

Man-servant maid-servant Billy-goat she-goat

Man-doctor woman-doctor Male-elephant female-elephant

Grand-father grand-mother Great-uncle great-aunt

Bride-groom bride Pea-cock pea-hen

Cock-sparrow hen-sparrow

 

5.Examples of Nouns in the Common gender:

 

Parent Monarch Fowl(дичь) Elephant

Relation Person Child Camel

Friend Pupil Deer Calf(теленок)

Enemy Orphan Baby Foal(жеребенок, осленок)

Cousin Pig Infant Student

Bird Sheep Servant Teacher

Carol Cohn

“Wars, Wimps And Women: Talking Gender And Thinking War”

 

When I talk about “gender discourse”, I am talking not only about words or language but about a system of meanings, of ways of thinking, images and words that first shape how we experience, understand, and represent ourselves as men and women, but that also do more than dial; they shape many other aspects of our lives and culture. In this symbolic system, human characteristics are dichotomized, divided into pairs of polar opposites that are supposedly mutually exclusive: mind is opposed to body; culture to nature; thought to feeling; logic to intuition; objectivity to subjectivity; aggression to passivity; confrontation to accommodation, abstraction to particularity; public to private; political to personal, ad nauseam. In each case, the first term of the “opposites” is associated with male, the second with female. And in each case, our society values the first over the second…

As gender discourse assigns gender to human characteristics, we can think of the discourse as something we are positioned by. If I say, for example, that a corporation should stop dumping toxic waste because it is damaging the creations of mother earth, (i.e., articulating a valuing and sentimental vision of nature), I am speaking in a manner associated with women, and our cultural discourse of gender positions me as female. As such I am then associated with the whole constellation of traits – irrational, emotional, subjective, and so forth – and I am in the devalued position. If, on the other hand, I say the corporation should stop dumping toxic wastes because I have calculated that it is causing $8.215 billion of damage to eight nonrenewable sources (i.e., using a rational, calculative mode of thought), the discourse positions me as masculine – rational, objective, logical, and so forth – the dominant, valued position.