Re: Gender and grammar

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Article #2968

#2968

From: John Atkinson
Date: Tue, 09 Nov 1999 00:00

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Mark Rosenfelder wrote:

> Herman Rubin <hrubin@odds.stat.purdue.edu> wrote:

> >The above sentence would be
> >
> >       "I put the key x on the book y."
> >       "I don't see y."
> >
> >The variables x and y can be replaced by any other symbols
> >or combinations of symbols which are not used for something
> >else at the time.
> 
> Lojban has explicit variables; more simply, it also has a series of
> noun-class pronouns.  The classes are, cleverly, the initial letters
> of the words! It's as if we could say
> 
>    I don't see kit.
>    I don't see bit.

They cleverly pinched that idea from Swahili, no doubt, where this is
exactly the sort of thing we can say.  Though this particular example
doesn't work there, since the Swahili words for "key" and "book" both
start with 'k'.

John.

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From: John Atkinson <johna@mech.eng.usyd.edu.au>
Subject: Re: Gender and grammar
Date: 1999/11/09
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