GB051
Is there a noun class/gender system where masculine and feminine categories are a factor in class assignment?
A noun class/gender system categorizes nouns for the purposes of grammatical agreement with other constituents in the noun phrase or other inflectional morphology. See the classification wiki page for more information on our definition of noun class/gender. Noun class/gender assignment may be based on one or several factors. This feature focuses on whether the categories masculine and feminine are relevant for noun class/gender assignment in a given language. A contrast between these categories in a noun class/gender system serves as a minimal criterion for this feature to be coded 1. Languages that overtly mark only one of these categories (e.g. feminine, with an unmarked class interpreted as non-feminine) do encode the relevant distinction and should be coded 1. A language may encode other socially or culturally relevant gender distinctions, and there may be cross-linguistic and cross-cultural differences in the semantics and membership of masculine and feminine categories. A language may also categorize nouns based on other factors entirely (e.g. shape, animacy, phonological properties). For the purposes of this feature, grammatical categories other than masculine and feminine should be disregarded.
The use of these two specific categories in the definition of this feature is meant to enable consistent coding and interpretation of data for a narrowly-defined, cross-linguistically common distinction. This is not meant to represent social or cultural gender constructs or particular biological traits, nor is it intended to reflect the full diversity of grammatical gender systems. For more information on the difference between grammatical gender and social, cultural, and biological constructs or traits, see the gender wiki page.
- If there is a system of nominal classification where some markers vary based on the category of the noun,
- And if these markers are not used only with numerals, demonstratives, and possessors (or some subset of these categories),
- And if these markers are involved in agreement within the noun phrase, inflectional marking of the noun, or correspond to categories of indexing,
- And if there is a correlation between use of a particular gender marker and the categories masculine and/or feminine, then code 1.
- Code 0 if there is no class/gender system as defined in steps 1-3 or the assignment of nouns to classes/genders does not include masculine and/or feminine categories.
- If the language has a gender/noun class system that does not encode a distinction between masculine and feminine, but does encode some other distinction(s) associated with gender/sex, code ? and provide a comment about the relevant categories.
Yuchi (ISO 639-3: yuc, Glottolog: yuch1247)
The noun class/gender system in Yuchi (also spelled Euchee) includes six noun classes. Three of these are used for inanimate nouns; the other three are used for animate nouns. Within the set of animate nouns, one class includes all animate nominals (humans, animals) whose referents do not have known, traceable ancestry within the Yuchi community. For nouns whose referents are individual humans who are members of the Yuchi community, nouns are classified into masculine and feminine categories.
Linn (2000: 371–373) describes this classification further:
"Classification as a Euchee is restricted to people of Euchee ancestry. There are a few symbolic exceptions to this that occur in traditional tales and in some references to God. Euchee classification may come from either parent or a grandparent from either the father or mother's side. It does not matter if this line comes from the mother or the father, or if one can claim only one Euchee great-grandparent. Generally, everyone is known in the Euchee community, and so the division between Euchee and non-Euchee is quite clear. … The category of Eucheeness based on bloodline is unalterable. People of mixed heritage, say Euchee and Creek, but who identifies with their Creek family and participates solely in their Creek community still bear the classification of Euchee. Conversely, people who marry into the Euchee Tribe will not assume Euchee classification, no matter how long they have been married or the degree of participation in the community. Children adopted by Euchee families and raised in the community but who are not of Euchee descent are not classified as Euchee. Whereas the language does not allow change in category for Eucheeness, inclusion in the community is quite apparent in other social ways. … Members of the Euchee tribe are further classified by the sex of the referent, so men and women are in separate classes."
The distinction between masculine or feminine only applies to a relatively small subset of referents, yet it is indeed a factor in noun class/gender assignment in this system so it triggers a 1 for this feature.
Barein (ISO 639-3: bva, Glottolog: bare1279)
"Nouns referring to animals or people can be grammatically masculine or feminine. Their grammatical gender is semantically linked to their natural (biological) gender. In some cases, the semantic link is lexically defined (sex-differentiable); thus the grammatical gender does not vary (e.g. boy, mother, rooster, etc.). However, for words like mòosó ‘cow’ and námá ‘child’, the natural gender is understood to be male when a masculine direct object suffix is used, and female when the feminine direct object suffix is used, i.e., they are "common-gender nouns" (Corbett 1991: 34, 181)." (Lovestrand 2012: 71)
The semantic association between nouns whose grammatical gender is invariant and whose referents are semantically associated with femininity or masculinity (‘mother’, ‘rooster’) triggers a 1 code for Barein. The 'common-gender' nouns, for which gender agreement indicates a masculine or feminine characterization of the individual(s) being referred to (rather than the general semantics of the noun), are also an example of masculine and feminine categories playing a role in the gender system.
Corbett, Greville G. 1991. Gender. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Senft, Gunter. 2000. Systems of nominal classification. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Linn, Mary Sarah. 2000. A grammar of Euchee (Yuchi). (Doctoral dissertation, University of Kansas.)
Lovestrand, Joseph. 2012. The Linguistic Structure of Baraïn (Chadic). (MA thesis, Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics.)
- GB052 Is there a noun class/gender system where shape is a factor in class assignment?
- GB053 Is there a noun class/gender system where animacy is a factor in class assignment?
- GB054 Is there a noun class/gender system where plant status is a factor in class assignment?
- GB192 Is there a noun class/gender system where a noun's phonological properties are a factor in class assignment?
- GB321 Is there a large class of nouns whose noun class/gender is not phonologically or semantically predictable?
- GB030 Is there a gender distinction in phonologically independent third person pronouns?
- GB196 Is there a masculine/feminine distinction in phonologically independent second person pronouns?
- GB197 Is there a masculine/feminine distinction in phonologically independent first person pronouns?
Hannah J. Haynie