Gender of Russian loan words

[Tatyana Buzina]

Already back in 1991, Orfograficheskii slovar' russkogo iazyka listed kofe as officially having both masculine and neuter genders. Oddly enough, I heard from several people that they have clear combination preferences. They can say "odno kofe," but never "chernoe kofe." I am yet to query them on phrases lke "U nas kofe eshche ostalos'?"

> > 
> I was taught that kofe is masculine (while kafe is neuter).
> It's supposed to "chernyi kofe," although I've heard that in very 
> recent usage this too has become unstable.
> Any confirmation either way?
> Also, what gender is assigned to a city whose name ends in -o, -e, or 
> even u (Timbuktu, Baku)? What about countries (Mali, Togo, Peru)?
> -FR
> Francoise Rosset, Associate Professor
> Chair, Russian and Russian Studies
> Coordinator, German and Russian
> Wheaton College
> Norton, Massachusetts 02766
> Office: (508) 285-3696
> FAX:   (508) 286-3640
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