txakur/dzhagaru/cachorro....

[Rick Mc Callister]

	I've pretty much consistently HEARD <<el internet>> in everyday
speech but have occasionally seen la internet in print. When I've asked
about it, people tell me that the word "sounds masculine" but that when
they think about it it immediately occurs to them that <<la red
informa/tica>> is, of course, feminine. E-mail, of course, has been
"Spanglicized" as masculine <<emilio>>.

>Certain neologisms seems to be genuinely neuter gender terms. For example,
>the term <internet> is very resistent to gender assignement:

>1. Spanish speakers avoid expressions with article like <el internet> / <la
>internet>, the form without ariticle is preferred in all contexts (this is
>very unusual for a noun in Spanish).

>2. Spanish speakers fluctuate in using feminine or masculine adjectives:
><internet es divertido> and <internet es divertida> are both common (this is
>also very very unsual for a noun in Spanish).

>this seems to indicate that the term <internet> is not definitively adscribed
>to none gender!

Rick Mc Callister
W-1634
Mississippi University for Women
Columbus MS 39701