Male or Female Computer?
A Spanish teacher was explaining to her class that in
Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either
masculine or feminine.
"House" for instance, is feminine, "la casa."
"Pencil," however, is masculine, "el lapiz."
A student asked, "What gender is 'computer'?"
Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class
into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide
for themselves whether "computer" should be a masculine or
a feminine noun.
Each group was asked to give four reasons for its
recommendation.
The men's group decided that "computer" should definitely
be of the feminine gender ("la computadora"), because:
1. No one but their creator understands their internal
logic...
2. The native language they use to communicate with other
computers is incomprehensible to everyone else...
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term
memory for possible later retrieval, and...
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find
yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.
The women's group, however, concluded that computers should
be Masculine ("el computador"), because:
1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them
on...
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for
themselves...
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half
the time they ARE the problem, and...
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you
had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better
model.
So guys, who is right?
Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either
masculine or feminine.
"House" for instance, is feminine, "la casa."
"Pencil," however, is masculine, "el lapiz."
A student asked, "What gender is 'computer'?"
Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class
into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide
for themselves whether "computer" should be a masculine or
a feminine noun.
Each group was asked to give four reasons for its
recommendation.
The men's group decided that "computer" should definitely
be of the feminine gender ("la computadora"), because:
1. No one but their creator understands their internal
logic...
2. The native language they use to communicate with other
computers is incomprehensible to everyone else...
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term
memory for possible later retrieval, and...
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find
yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.
The women's group, however, concluded that computers should
be Masculine ("el computador"), because:
1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them
on...
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for
themselves...
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half
the time they ARE the problem, and...
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you
had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better
model.
So guys, who is right?
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