BobHoveyGa@aol.com wrote:
> In a message dated 2/28/05 3:13:41 PM, Matteo writes:
>
>>Nuova is female.In this case,it refers to the bicycle,which,in italian,its
>>considered,female.
> OK, lemmee get this straight... a bicycle is considered female but a rear
> derailleur is considered male. Who gets to decide this stuff?
For a good discussion of the use of gender in language, please see Mark Twain's "The Awful German Language" and in particular the TALE OF THE FISHWIFE AND ITS SAD FATE:
http://eserver.org/
It's worth it... :-)
--
John (john@os2.dhs.org)
Appleton WI USA