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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.<br><br>--Ken<br><br><b><i>saghar sharifi <saghar_sharifi@yahoo.com></i></b> wrote:<blockquote class="replbq" style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;"> <!-- Network content --> <div id="ygrp-text"> <div></div><div>The answer to your question would be that in some languages, as in German, the word " language " is feminine.</div> <div> </div> <div><b><i> Leman <wayne_leman@<wbr>sil.org></i></b> wrote:</div> <blockquote
class="replbq" style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255);"><!-- Network content --> <div id="ygrp-text"> <div>I'm wondering about English terms for kinds of languages:<br><br>Why do we speak of a mother tongue but not a father tongue?<br><br>Why do we speak of sister languages but not brother languages?<br><br>Why are there daughter languages but not son languages?<br><br>Why can we refer to both a motherland and a fatherland?<br><br>Do other languages use kinship terms to refer to language relationships?<br><br>Wayne<br>-----<br>Wayne Leman<br>Cheyenne dictionary online:<br><a href="http://www11.asphost4free.com/cheyennedictionary/default.htm">http://www11.<wbr>asphost4free.<wbr>com/cheyennedict<wbr>ionary/default.<wbr>htm</a><br></div></div><!--End group email --></blockquote><br><div> <font color="#666666"><font size="2"><hr size="1">Sponsored Link</font></font><br><br>Rates near 39yr lows. $510,000 Loan for $1698/mo - <a
href="http://www.lowermybills.com/lre/index.jsp?sourceid=lmb-9137-16419&moid=4119">Calculate new house payment</a></div> </div> <!--End group email --> </blockquote><br><p>
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