• TimewornTraveler@lemm.ee
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    5 days ago

    i thought gendered languages had two genders for words like “person” so you could make the swap when the gender is known

    e.g. un person / une personne

    • ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works
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      5 days ago

      I deliberately picked an example where there isn’t (or I don’t know) a feminine version. Most words that I can think of for various categories of people do have two genders, although in many cases the feminine version sounds awkward to me, a little like the “trix” suffix does to English speakers.

      (Also, the male default sometimes makes using the feminine version of a word sound like you’re deliberately emphasizing that you’re referring specifically to women as opposed to simply talking about someone who happens to be a woman.)