Newsgroups: sci.lang.translation,sci.lang
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From: donh@netcom.com (Don HARLOW)
Subject: Re: International Language.
Message-ID: <donhD22C1B.IBF@netcom.com>
Organization: Esperanto League for North America, Inc.
References: <donhD1xxxp.KJ1@netcom.com> <1995Jan6.075328.17902@midway.uchicago.edu> <3ejt2e$duv@panix2.panix.com> <1995Jan8.003137.4773@midway.uchicago.edu>
Date: Sun, 8 Jan 1995 01:27:11 GMT
Lines: 37
Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu sci.lang.translation:513 sci.lang:34034

deb5@midway.uchicago.edu skribis en lastatempa afisxo <1995Jan8.003137.4773@midway.uchicago.edu>:
>In article <3ejt2e$duv@panix2.panix.com> rcpj@panix.com (Pierre Jelenc) writes:
>>In article <1995Jan6.075328.17902@midway.uchicago.edu>,
>>Daniel von Brighoff <deb5@midway.uchicago.edu> wrote:
>>>                                                  Zamenhof's linguistic
>>>bias (feminine agent nouns should be derived from masculine agent nouns),
>>>which is derived from an older European cultural bias (women are subordi-
>>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>>nate to men), would then have been turned into a cultural bias again
>>
>>How do you know? At most, it is a correlation in a single example, hardly
>>the stuff from which one can draw conclusions. 
>
>In every European language of my acquaintance, specifically feminine
>agent nouns are derived from the masculine agent noun.  How is this
>"correlation in a single example"?  Also, I think it's really sufficiently
>clear that European cultures have not even striven for equality of the
>sexes until recently and that this fact is reflected in their languages.
>
You are unfamiliar with Spanish, then? In Spanish, while some nouns 
for feminine agents are completely different from the masculine 
equivalents (vaca/toro, mujer/hombre), those that are related are 
generally of equal weight, and it would be difficult to say which 
one was derived from the other (hermana/hermano, hija/hijo). I don't 
know any in which the feminine agent nouns are (at least obviously) 
derived from the masculine agent nouns, and my wife (a native 
Spanish speaker) can't think of any offhand, either...

I guess this proves that Spanish speaking cultures have no sexual 
bias and women are treated on a basis of complete equality with men.
Just ask my wife, who grew up in enlightened, egalitarian Mexico.

-- 
Don HARLOW			donh@netcom.com
Esperanto League for N.A.       elna@netcom.com (800) 828-5944
ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/el/elna/elna.html         Esperanto
ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/do/donh/donh.html 
