grammatical gender
Let an agent explain grammatical gender as a linguistic system, describe how it works in specific languages, distinguish it from natural gender and from social gender, relay research on its origins and effects with attribution, and present debates about inclusive language neutrally.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify
Researched by: Claude
Purpose and description
Let an agent explain grammatical gender as a linguistic system, describe how it works in specific languages, distinguish it from natural gender and from social gender, relay research on its origins and effects with attribution, and present debates about inclusive language neutrally.
A grammatical system in which nouns are assigned to classes such as masculine, feminine, neuter or common, or animate and inanimate, with agreement marked on articles, adjectives, pronouns or verbs, as in French, German, Aragonese and most Indo-European and Semitic languages; grammatical gender is a kind of noun class, is often only partly related to natural sex or animacy, and raises questions of gender marking in job titles and inclusive language.
What it is for: Organising agreement between nouns and other words.
It can be explain the system and its kinds; describe gender in specific languages; distinguish from natural and social gender; present inclusive language debates.
Distinguishing features
Noun classification
Agreement
Partly arbitrary assignment
Sociolinguistic debates
What it looks like
Not a visible object; agreement patterns in words and endings.
Physical character
languages with gender: about 40 percent - of surveyed languages, per typological databases
How it is recognised
Noun classes with agreement
Masculine, feminine, neuter, common, animate and other systems
Natural gender refers to sex; social gender is a separate concept
Related models
is a kind of - in registry terms
is a kind of - in linguistics
is contrasted with - based on sex
is related to - the marking mechanism
In practice
Families and kinds
two-gender systems such as French and Spanish
three-gender systems such as German and Russian
common-neuter systems such as Dutch and Swedish
animacy-based systems
gender in Aragonese and other Romance varieties
gender marking in job titles and inclusive forms
Standards and regulation
Language academy rules on gender and job titles
Inclusive language guidelines of institutions
No legal regulation in most countries
Failure modes and hazards
Confusing grammatical with social gender
Presenting inclusive language debates as settled
Overstating effects of gender on thought
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.
Concept What grammatical gender is.
Definition.
Definition
Definition and kinds.
Definition
Definition.
- What is grammatical gender, and what systems exist across languages? definition
- Is the question about grammatical, natural or social gender? boundary
Assignment
Assignment and agreement.
Assignment
Assignment.
- How is gender assigned to nouns, and how does agreement work? definition
- Which entry fits the specific language? action
Languages Gender in specific languages.
Linguistics.
Examples
Examples.
Examples
Examples.
- How does gender work in French, German, Aragonese and other languages? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Typology
Typology.
Typology
Typology.
- How do typologists classify gender systems, and where are they found? provenance
- Which entry fits linguistic typology? action
Research Origins and effects.
Attribution.
Origins
Origins and change.
Origins
Origins.
- How do gender systems arise and change, as historical linguists describe? provenance
- Which entry fits historical linguistics? action
Cognition
Effects on thought.
Cognition
Cognition.
- What does research say about grammatical gender and cognition, with findings attributed? provenance
- Is the presentation neutral? boundary
Society Inclusive language.
Attribution.
Titles
Job titles and inclusive forms.
Titles
Titles.
- How are job titles and inclusive forms handled in gendered languages, with positions attributed? provenance
- Is the presentation neutral and attributed? boundary
Policy
Academy and institutional policy.
Policy
Policy.
- What do language academies and institutions prescribe? provenance
- Which sources are cited? provenance
What the second pass must settle
- Should gender in each language be a separate entry?
- How should typological databases be linked?
- The registry entry has merged aliases naming language-specific systems and a sociolinguistic topic; should they be split off?