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<TITLE>Re: gender assignement : academic answers needed URGENT PLZ !!!</TITLE>
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<FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'>The explanation is quite simple: Astuce is feminine in French – une astuce, <a href="http://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/astuce">http://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/astuce</a> - and the speaker, who is probably bilingual, uses, correctly, the feminine form of the Arabic demonstrative.<BR>
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Best Regards, JR<BR>
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</SPAN><SPAN STYLE='font-size:7pt'><B>Dr Reisdoerfer Joseph, hdr<BR>
Affiliation:</B> Professeur à l'Athénée grand-ducal; Professeur associé à<BR>
l’Université du Luxembourg<BR>
<B>Adresse:</B> 60, rue de la Chapelle, L-9513 Wiltz Grand-Duché de Luxembourg<BR>
<B>Tél & Fax:</B> 352 552004; 352 552001<BR>
<B>Courriel:</B> <a href="joseph.reisdoerfer@ci.rech.lu">joseph.reisdoerfer@ci.rech.lu</a><BR>
<B>Blog:</B> <a href="http://laurette.blog.lemonde.fr/">http://laurette.blog.lemonde.fr/</a><BR>
<B>Pagina domestica:</B> <BR>
<a href="http://web.mac.com/charleselie1/iWeb/JR%20/Pagina%20domestica.html">http://web.mac.com/charleselie1/iWeb/JR%20/Pagina%20domestica.html</a><BR>
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17/05/09 15:27, « mostari hind » <<a href="hmostari@yahoo.com">hmostari@yahoo.com</a>> scripsit :<BR>
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</SPAN></FONT><BLOCKQUOTE><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'>Hi , <BR>
in code switching, it is generally agreed that the speaker uses his L1 in order to assign gender to L2 following his L1 equivalent or the phonological shape of L1 such as :<BR>
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di: k sachet <BR>
this bag <BR>
<BR>
here , the speaker uses a feminine demonstrative pronoun ( dik in arabic ) because he translates sachet into arabic ; which is feminine ( chkara ) .<BR>
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But , i have found that sometimes the speaker assigns a gender though he does not really know the equivalent word in his L1 , basing on sonority ie i think that the speaker feels whether such word in Fr sounds more feminine or masculine such as :<BR>
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dik l'astuce <BR>
the equivalent french word ' astuce' is unknown in arabic , so here , the only explanation i found is that the speaker thinks that the phonological sonority of 'astuce ' is more feminine than masculine . Though in reality , the french word astuce is masculine <BR>
so, my question is : can you give to my explantion a more academic terminology , and do you agree with me ? <BR>
all the best <BR>
<BR>
Dr Mostari <BR>
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