[Lexicog] gendered language references

[Hayim Sheynin]

I forgot to mention that eretz and ha-aretz (earth, country and this country, i.e.
  Palestine) is feminine in Hebrew, as names of all countries (cp. Latin  names of countries). Hebrew has only two genders, so for Hebrew  speakers there is only binary choice.
  
  Hayim

Fritz Goerling <Fritz_Goerling at sil.org> wrote:                                                                  
    Hayim,
     
    When God told patriarch Abraham to leave  his country, relatives and his father’s house
    in Gen. 12:1, how is country (erets)  perceived by a native speaker of Hebrew? Is there any idea of “fatherland”  or “motherland” in modern Hebrew? When Jews make Aliya, do they  come back to Israel  just as “ha erets” (as their “homeland”) or to the land  of their fathers?
    Is there any politically correct movement,  like in the anglophone world, among modern Hebrew speakers who avoid talking  about “fathers” and prefer “ancestors?”
     
    Shalom,
     
    Fritz
                Dear Ken,
  
  On the other hand, what is striking that Latin word patria is feminine. If you  can imagine a simile that you country like a mother for you, why patria even it  is derived etimologically from pater, cannot be  feminine.
  The same relates to patrimonia. The problem with gender of these words lie
  not with the language, but rather with the thought. On one hand, you may  explain 
  that patria is the country of your forefathers and  foremothers and  patrimonia  is
  the property (and legacy) of your forefathers and foremothers,  on the  other that
  the roots of these words reflect reality of the patriarchal society, where  fathers were the "top" persons. 
  
  --Hayim Sheynin
  
  "Kenneth C.  Hill" <kennethchill at yahoo.com> wrote:
                Grammatical gender is an insufficient explanation. I find it striking  that in Spanish, the word for "fatherland" is grammatically feminine:  la patria. Patria is a Latin word derived from pat(e)r 'father' + the feminine  derivational suffix -ia.
  
  --Ken
  
  saghar sharifi <saghar_sharifi at yahoo.com>  wrote:
    
                The answer to your question would be that in some languages, as in  German, the word " language " is feminine.
    
         
    
         Leman  <wayne_leman at sil.org> wrote:
    
                I'm wondering about English terms for kinds of languages:
  
  Why do we speak of a mother tongue but not a father tongue?
  
  Why do we speak of sister languages but not brother languages?
  
  Why are there daughter languages but not son languages?
  
  Why can we refer to both a motherland and a fatherland?
  
  Do other languages use kinship terms to refer to language relationships?
  
  Wayne
  -----
  Wayne Leman
  Cheyenne  dictionary online:
  http://www11.asphost4free.com/cheyennedictionary/default.htm
    
    
         
                
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