Is there a neuter gender in English? Gender of English nouns. History of the English family
Category of gender in English expresses whether a noun is masculine or feminine. Unlike the Russian language, in English only nouns denoting living beings have masculine or feminine gender.
Nouns that can express both masculine and feminine gender have common gender. For example: parent - parent, child - child, friend - friend, servant - servant, thief - thief, enemy - enemy, teacher - teacher, writer - writer, etc.
Nouns that are neither masculine nor feminine (that is, inanimate nouns) have neuter gender. For example: book - book, pen - pen, room - room, house - house, tree - tree, etc.
Based on the above, we can conclude that in modern English the gender of a noun depends solely on the gender of the noun and its animation. Gender does not in any way reflect the form of the noun, which determines gender in many other languages (compare with Russian: book is feminine, table is masculine).
However, it should be taken into account that sometimes inanimate objects can be perceived as animate. In this case, they also take masculine or feminine gender.
Methods of forming feminine nouns in English
There are three ways to form feminine nouns.
1. Using the appropriate feminine word:
boy – girl (boy – girl)
man – woman (man – woman)
husband – wife (husband – wife)
father – mother (father – mother)
brother – sister (brother – sister)
son – daughter (son – daughter)
horse – mare (horse – mare)
monk – nun (monk – nun)
king – queen (king – queen)
cock – hen (rooster – hen)
drake – duck (drake – duck)
gentleman – lady (gentleman – lady)
nephew – niece (nephew – niece)
uncle – aunt (uncle – aunt)
2. By adding the appropriate suffix ( -ess, -ine, -trix, etc.) to a masculine noun:
author – author ess(writer - writer)
baron – baron ess(baron - baroness)
count - count ess(count - countess)
giant – giant ess(giant (masculine) – giant (feminine))
heir – heir ess(heir - heiress)
host – host ess(master - hostess)
lion – lion ess(lion - lioness)
poet – poet ess(poet - poetess)
The following feminine nouns are formed by replacing the suffix ( -or, -er, etc.) in a masculine noun with a corresponding feminine suffix:
actor – actor ess(actor - actress)
enchanter – enchantr ess(wizard - sorceress)
duke-duch ess(duke - duchess)
emperor – empr ess(emperor - empress)
prince – prince ess(prince - princess)
tiger – tigr ess(tiger - tigress)
waiter - waiter ess(waiter - waitress)
master – master ess(master - hostess)
sorcerer – sorcerer ess(sorcerer - sorceress)
3. Replacing a masculine noun with the corresponding feminine noun (in compound nouns):
grandfather – grand mother(grandfather grandmother)
manservant maid servant (servant - maid)
landlord – land lady(landlord of furnished rooms – landlady of furnished rooms)
peacock – pea hen(peacock - peahen)
salesman - sales woman(seller - saleswoman)
For example, Boris Aleksandrovich Ilyish believes that the category of gender as a grammatical category does not exist in the English language. No noun in modern English shows any morphological features in its masculine or feminine gender. And in words like actor -- actress, prophet--prophetess The difference between the words is only lexical.
Belyaeva M.A. believes that in English gender is not a grammatical, but a purely semantic category. In modern English there is no grammatical gender category for nouns. Nouns belong to one gender or another on a purely semantic basis: the masculine gender includes nouns denoting male persons ( a father, a brother, a son), the feminine gender includes nouns denoting female persons ( a mother, a sister, a daughter), the neuter gender usually includes nouns denoting inanimate objects ( a room a table, a pen). Nouns for animals are usually neuter.
Gurevich V.V. believes that the English noun does not have a proper grammatical category of gender, since there are no corresponding grammatical indicators (endings). In English - in cases where the gender of the noun differs - this is a semantic category, not a grammatical one, since neither the noun itself nor its definition have formal indicators of gender. Gender is determined only by correlation with the 3rd personal pronoun. units h. ( he, she, it) .
However, we cannot ignore the opinion of other researchers (M. Swan, I.P. Krylova, E.M. Gordon), who distinguish the category of gender and talk about the activity and passivity of this category.
The category of grammatical gender - masculine, feminine, neuter - was once inherent in nouns of the Old English period. However, the historical development of the morphological structure of the English language has led to the fact that the category of grammatical gender, devoid of morphological means of expression, ceased to exist. It is being replaced by a new category, which Professor V.N. Yartseva called the category of activity - passivity.
The essence of this new grammatical category is to distinguish two classes of words in the system of nouns: active nouns and passive nouns.
Active nouns are those that, being the subject of a sentence, control the object. This can include both persons, that is, people, and non-persons, that is, objects that, due to the current situation, are considered active by speakers.
Passives are those nouns that, being the subject of a sentence, do not require an addition. As noted by V.N. Yartsev, the determining factor is the speaker’s attitude to a given fact, generated by a specific situation of objective reality.
The category of activity - passivity has its material expression in language. Nouns of the active category correlate with the personal pronouns he, she according to their natural gender, with the relative pronoun who - which takes the possessive affix - "s.
Nouns of the passive category correspond only to the personal pronoun it and the relative pronoun which:
She spent a great deal of money on her clothes, which she got from the most fashionable dressmakers in Paris... (W.S. Maugham. The Lion's Skin).
"I liked that picture," she said quietly, "I"m sorry you took it back." (H.S. Walpole. A Picture).
They are also used in a prepositional phrase with of:
"The first gentleman detached a slip of paper and gave it to her." (J. Galsworthy. Maid in Waiting).
"The engine of his car purred into the morning air, while his mind went back to his mother"s death and his father"s." (G. Gordon. Let the Day Perish).
There are three genders: male (masculine), female (feminine) and middle (or neutral) (neuter). The belonging of words to one gender or another is to some extent connected with the belonging of the concepts that they denote to the male or female gender (as in other languages).
For example:
- - masculine - he, father, son, boy, king, brother;
- - feminine - she, mother, daughter, girl, queen, sister.
As for the neuter gender, all other words include it: inanimate nouns ( table, idea, finger) and animate nouns, which can refer to both masculine and feminine genders ( driver, sheep, child, monarch).
It should be noted that some authors distinguish four genders: masculine, feminine, neuter and common. They refer to the neuter gender as inanimate objects or concepts ( carpet, dream, soul). And in their opinion, the common gender includes animate nouns that can refer to both the male and female genders ( doctor, baby, horse).
The distinction between feminine and masculine is often made by using different words or gender-defining morphemes. There are three ways to determine the genus:
- 1. Feminine nouns are formed by adding the suffix -ess to masculine nouns:
- - count - countess; host - hostess; lion - lioness; prince - princess; baron - baroness; mayor - mayoress; priest - priestess; manager - manageress; heir - heiress; giant - giantess; patron - patroness; steward - stewardess; shepherd - shepherdess.
Some masculine nouns ending in -er, -or have vowel loss -e- And -O- respectively:
- waiter- waitress; warder - wardress; actor-actress; murder - murderess; emperor - empress; tiger-tigress.
Other (including zero) morphological markers are also used:
- - bridegroom - bride; widower - widow; hero - heroine; usher - usherette; sultan - sultana; testator - testatrix; executor - executrix; master-mistress.
- 2. Different words are used for feminine and masculine genders:
- - uncle - aunt; gentleman - lady; madam - sir; monk - nun; duke - duchess; wizard - witch; bachelor - spinster.
Particular attention should be paid to separating animal names by gender. Some of them (*) can serve as a general name for a class of animals, regardless of gender:
- - drake - duck*; gander - goose*; drone - bee*; tiger *- tigress; lion *- lioness; cock - hen; dog * - bitch; pig* (boar) - sow; sheep* - ewe; fox* - vixen; bull - cow*; horse* (stallion) - mare (filly).
- 3. Words contain elements indicating gender:
- - men-servant - maid-servant; he-goat - she-goat; billy-goat - nanny-goat; he-sparrow - she-sparrow; he-wolf - she-wolf; landlord - landlady; boy-friend - girl-friend; man-driver - woman-driver; businessman - businesswoman.
Gender markers are sometimes used only in relation to a gender for which a given property or action is not habitual or typical:
- male nurse - nurse; doctor - woman doctor; chairman - madam chairman.
- 1. As a result of personification, some inanimate nouns can be considered animate and as a result, like all animate nouns, can be either feminine or masculine:
- · masculine - death, the fatherland, sun, winter;
- · feminine - creation, nature, luck (Lady Luck), the earth (Mother Earth), the mother-land, the mother-language (a mother- tongue), fortune, fame, the moon, religion.
- 2. The names of countries and cities can be feminine when they denote political and economic unity. But when they denote geographical unity, they are considered neutral.
Sometimes cars, trains and vessels (yachts, ships, etc.) can be feminine, especially if this emphasizes a reverent attitude towards them. However, if the vehicle belongs to a woman, she talks about it he.
First of all, it should be noted that in English there is no grammatical category of gender as such. At the same time, the following main trend is observed: the vast majority of nouns are of an inanimate type (table - table, conversation - conversation, tree - tree, armchair - chair, etc.) and most of the animate vocabulary units that do not indicate specific female or male (bird (bird), cat (cat), dog (dog)), are classified as neuter and, within the framework of speech communication, are often replaced by the pronoun it. -
The conversation happened to be rather hard. Though it was helpful as well. - The conversation turned out to be quite difficult. However, he was also quite helpful.
The cat looked very pretty. It was busy, drinking milk. (The cat looked extremely cute. She was busy lapping up milk).
In turn, nouns that clearly designate persons belonging to the male gender (boy (boy), brother (brother), uncle (uncle), etc.) are considered to belong to the masculine gender and in speech are often replaced by he (My uncle is a true professional, he uses all his potential in his work. - My uncle is a true professional, in his work he uses all his potential), and units indicating female persons (sister, mistress (beloved), aunt (aunt), mother (mother), etc.), are considered in terms of their belonging to the feminine domain, often replacing them with the pronoun she (His mistress is a true treasure, she is really very devoted to him - His beloved is a real treasure, she is truly very devoted to him.).
As for animate nouns in English, there is no clear distinction between them in relation to belonging to a certain generic category. The fact is that nouns like (a) doctor (doctor, doctor), (a) scientist (male scientist, female scientist), (a) neighbor (neighbor, neighbor), etc. can equally denote belonging to both the feminine and masculine gender. He is a famous scientist (He is a famous scientist). - She has achieved much success as a scientist (She has achieved great success as a scientist).
In view of this, often in order to more clearly indicate the gender of any specific noun of an animate type (referring to people or animals), so-called gender determiners of the type are placed immediately before it: he, man, boy, she, girl , woman (she-cat (cat); woman-doctor (female doctor); girl-friend (girlfriend); man-doctor (male doctor); he-dog (dog), etc. - John introduced me to his new friend, she happened to be a famous woman-doctor. (John introduced me to his new friend, she turned out to be a famous woman-doctor).
It is also sometimes possible to observe the process of formation of feminine vocabulary units from certain nouns in the masculine form by adding the corresponding affix -ess to their stems: lion - lioness (lion - lioness); actor - actress (actor - actress); poet - poetess (poet - poetess). However, this method cannot be considered as sufficiently productive.
Of certain interest is also the fact that vocabulary units that denote the names of planets, ships, countries (if interpreted as economic or political entities, but if a geographical name is meant, then it will refer to the neuter gender and be replaced by it) are classified as feminine and in speech replaced by the pronoun she (she). - Have you ever seen our pleasure boat? - She is so remarkable and amazing. -Have you ever seen our yacht? She is so wonderful and amazing. China is a really strong country. Her potential is high enough. (China is indeed a very strong country. It has great potential.)
List of factual material
1. Vinokurova L.P. English grammar. Uchpedgiz, 1978.
2. Zhigadlo I.N., Ivanova I.P., Iofik L.L. Modern English. M., 1996.
3. Mincoff M. An English grammar. Sofia, 1958.
In linguistics, gender is a grammatical category that consists of the distribution of words into various classes associated with male or female gender, as well as with no gender. The category of gender is present in approximately a quarter of the world's languages (and in total, according to various estimates, from 3 to 6 thousand). Thus, a distinction is made between masculine, feminine and neuter gender: in some languages there are only masculine and feminine genders, in some languages only animate and inanimate objects are distinguished.
The category of gender manifests itself in the interaction of nouns with other parts of speech: definitions, pronouns, adjectives, namely, in the way they change their form depending on the gender of the corresponding noun. Is this phenomenon noticeable in English? Let's compare, for example:
These sentences refer to masculine and feminine people and animals, but this does not affect the grammatical structure in any way; for example, we use the same adjective form when we talk about a waiter or waitress:
The choice of pronoun depends on the gender - masculine or feminine - of the person being spoken about. But this difference disappears when we are talking about the plural:
Traditional names of professions: overcoming gender stereotypes
“Male” (fireman - fireman, fisherman - fisherman) and “female” (nurse - nurse, secretary - secretary) professions are now becoming “common”. Neutral, gender-correct words come to the rescue: instead of secretary - personal assistant (PA), instead of fireman - firefighter, instead of male nurse (for a nurse) - nurse.
| Mary is my friend. She is a doctor. Mary is my friend. She doctor. |
Peter is my cousin. He is a doctor. Peter is my cousin. He doctor. |
| Jane is my cousin. She is a student. Jane is my cousin. She student. |
Arthur is my friend. He is a student. Arthur is my friend. He student. |
But sometimes certainty is introduced by adding the words male (male) or female (female) to these words:
No, he is not my boyfriend, he is just a male friend. - No, he's not my boyfriend. He's just my friend.
I have three female cousins and two male cousins — I have three cousins and two cousins.
Male and female names of professions, activities and human characteristics in English
|
Masculine |
Feminine |
| Actor - Actor | Actress - Actress |
| Administrator - Administrator | Administratrix - Administrator |
| Author | Authoress |
| Bachelor | Bachelorette - unmarried woman, spinster - old maid |
| Boy - Boy, young man | Girl - Girl, girl |
| Boy Scout | Girl - Guide Girl Scout |
| Bridegroom, groom - Groom (at a wedding) | Bride - Bride (at a wedding) |
| Brother - Brother | Sister - Sister |
| Chairman - Chairman (m.) | Chairwoman - Chairman (female) |
| Conductor - Conductor | Conductress |
| Count - Count | Countess - Countess |
| Czar - King | Czarina - Queen |
| Dad - Dad | Mum - Mom |
| Daddy | Mummy - Mommy |
| Duke - Duke | Duchess - Duchess |
| Emperor - Emperor | Empress - Empress |
| Father - Father | Mother - Mother |
| Father-in-law - Father-in-law, father-in-law | Mother-in-law - Mother-in-law, mother-in-law |
| Fiancé - Groom (before the wedding), engaged, betrothed | Fiancée - Bride (before the wedding), engaged, betrothed |
| Gentleman - Gentleman | Lady |
| Giant - Giant | Giantess - Giantess |
| God - God | Goddess - Goddess |
| Grandfather - Grandfather | Grandmother - Grandmother |
| Grandson - Grandson | Granddaughter - Granddaughter |
| Headmaster - Director | Headmistress - Headmistress |
| Heir - Heir | Heiress - Heiress |
| Hero - Hero | Heroine - Heroine |
| Host - Host, broadcaster | Hostess - Hostess, TV presenter |
| Hunter - Hunter | Huntress |
| Husband - Husband | Wife - Wife |
| King - King | Queen |
| Lad - Boy | Lass - Girly |
| Landlord - Landowner | Landlady - Landowner |
| Lord | Lady - Lady, lady |
| Male - Male | Female |
| Man - Man | Woman |
| Manager - Manager, leader | Manageress - Manager (female), leader (female) |
| Manservant - Servant | Maidservant - Maid |
| Masseur - Masseur | Masseuse – Masseuse |
| Master - Owner | Mistress - Mistress |
| Mayor - Mayor (m.) | Mayoress - Mayor (female) |
| Milkman - Milkman | Milkmaid |
| Millionaire - Millionaire | Millionaires - Millionaire |
| Monk - Monk | Nun - Nun |
| Mr. - Mister | Mrs. — Madam |
| Murderer - Killer (m.) | Murderess - Killer (female) |
| Negro - Negro | Negress - Black woman |
| Nephew - Nephew | Niece - Niece |
| Poet - Poet | Poetess - Poetess |
| Policeman - Policeman (m.) | Policewoman - Policewoman |
| Postman - Postman | Postwoman |
| Priest - Priest, priest | Priestess - Priestess, wife of a priest |
| Prince - Prince | Princess - Princess |
| Prophet - Prophet | Prophetess - Prophetess |
| Proprietor - Owner | Proprietress - Owner |
| Protector - Defender | Protectress - Protector |
| Shepherd - Shepherd | Shepherdess |
| Sir - Mister | Madam - Mistress |
| Son - Son | Daughter - Daughter |
| Son-in-law - Son-in-law | Daughter-in-law - Daughter-in-law |
| Step-father - Stepfather | Step-mother |
| Step-son - Stepson | Step-daughter |
| Steward - Steward | Stewardess - Stewardess |
| Sultan - Sultan | Sultana - Sultana |
| Tailor - Tailor | Tailoress - Dressmaker |
| Uncle - Uncle | Aunt - Aunt |
| Usher - Gatekeeper | Usherette - Gatekeeper |
| Waiter - Waiter | Waitress - Waitress |
| Widower - Widower | Widow - Widow |
| Wizard - Sorcerer | Witch - Witch |
Names of male and female animals
Many animal names have masculine and feminine forms:
|
Masculine |
Feminine |
| Ass, donkey - Donkey | Jenny, Jennet, she-ass – Donkey |
| He-bear - Bear: male | She-bear - Ursa |
| Pig: boar - Pig: boar | Sow - Sow |
| Bull - Bull | Cow - Cow |
| Cat: tom-cat - Cat (male) | Tabby-cat, pussy-cat - Cat |
| Swan: сob - Swan (male) | Pen - Swan (female) |
| Cock (rooster) - Rooster | Hen - Chicken |
| Colt - Foal (foal) | Filly — Foal (filly) |
| Deer: buck, stag - Deer: male | Doe, hind - Doe, female deer |
| Dog, male dog - Male dog (male) | Bitch, female dog - Female dog (bitch) |
| Drake - Drake | Duck |
| Drone | Bee - Bee |
| Elephant: bull-elephant - Elephant (male) | Cow-elephant - Elephant |
| Fox - Fox | Vixen - Fox |
| Gander - Goose | Goose - Goose |
| Goat: billy-goat, he-goat - Goat | Nanny-goat, she-goat - Goat |
| Guinea pig: boar - Guinea pig (male) | Sow - Guinea pig (female) |
| Hare: buck - Hare | Doe - Hare |
| Hedgehog: boar - Hedgehog | Sow - Hedgehog |
| Leopard - Leopard | Leopardess - Female leopard |
| Lion - Leo | Lioness - Lioness |
| Peacock - Peacock | Peahen - Female peacock, peahen |
| Pigeon: cock-pigeon - Male pigeon | Hen-pigeon - Dove |
| Rabbit: buck - Rabbit | Doe - Rabbit |
| Ram - Ram | Ewe - Sheep |
| Seal: bull-seal — Male seal | Cow-seal - Female seal |
| Sparrow: cock-sparrow – Sparrow | Hen-sparrow - Sparrow |
| Stallion - Stallion | Mare — Mare |
| Tiger - Tiger | Tigress - Tigress |
| Turkey-cock, gobbler | Turkey-hen - Turkey |
| Whale: bull-whale - Male whale | Cow-whale - Female whale |
| Wolf: he-wolf - Wolf | She-wolf - She-wolf |
Why are there no genders in English?
Here you can find out why there are no genders in English.
People learning English often ask this question. However, before answering it, it should be noted that this question is not entirely correct. Like Russian, English has genders. But, unlike the Russian language, English words do not have special endings by which they can be classified as masculine, neuter or feminine.
And the classification of genders in English is as follows.
1. Animate nouns in English are divided into masculine and feminine.
To designate male persons, the pronoun he is used.
My father is a doctor. He works at the hospital - My father is a doctor. He works in a hospital.
To designate female persons, the pronoun she is used.
My mother is an economist. She works in the bank - My mother is an economist. She works in a bank.
2. Inanimate nouns in English are neuter.
To denote inanimate nouns, the pronoun it is used.
Where did you find my wallet? - Where did you find my wallet?
It was in the garden - He was in the garden.
It should be noted that nouns denoting animals are also neuter. But this is only the case when the sex of the animal is unknown or indifferent to the speaker. If the speaker wants to indicate the gender of the animal, then he or she is used instead of it.
It is also necessary to remember that the pronoun they is used with both animate and inanimate nouns.
The doctors are in the bus - Doctors on the bus.
They are in the bus - They are on the bus.
The books are on the shelf - Books on the shelf.
They are on the shelf - They are on the shelf.