Spanish just got easier....or did it?

[A&A]

In today's NYTimes:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/26/world/europe/26spanish.html?_r=1&ref=global-home


I am waiting for the alphabet to get to 20 letters then start learning...

 

[darmanad]

Can someone explain to me why nouns need to be either feminine or masculine? Wouldn't it facilitate Spanish (and some other languages) if the gender of words were eliminated?

 

[mariposa]

only a native english speaker would ask such a question.

hey why no reduce everything to texting lingo - u 4 it?

 

[fifs2]

Can someone explain to me why nouns need to be either feminine or masculine? Wouldn't it facilitate Spanish (and some other languages) if the gender of words were eliminated?

Bcause by nature we are sexual beings who transfer gender onto objects even if inanimate and not formally recognised in the grammar of the langauge. In English for example ships are always feminine..ie she went down in the Atlantic we say..not sure why... in French if I recall correctly victim is always feminine La victime even if the victim was a man...I like gender, long live gender in language.

 

[PhilipDT]

Actually that is already happening all over the world with people under 21. They spend most of their time texting for communication and it is slowly slipping into all of their written communications!

I´m under 21 and I think that only took hold with people too stupid to figure out T9. I´ve had a cellphone since 1995 and learned pretty quickly that for the most part abrvtng wrds lik this actually requires more time to punch in with a standard input than writing the full words out with t9.

I suspect there was this weird middle generation, those currently 20-35 ish who sort of half grew up with technology. Those are the people who hunt and pick and needed the short hand to be able to keep up a conversational pace in an IM conversation. But these days with kids having computers basically from birth, who doesn´t type at least 50wpm? What used to be a specialized skill (typing) is now normal and expected.

I´ll admit, I use acronyms like lol and brb sometimes while chatting, but I don´t see them as being any different from others such as RSVP and ASAP which have been in use much longer than texting.

 

[fedecc]

Thats weird, i though the ch and ll were allready drop from the alphabet a long time ago. I actually remember in school (in the 90s) my teacher saying something about it.

And as far as gender, in spanish it comes rather easy and intuitively. Try german, die, der, das....its hell.

 

[mariposa]

german is my first language and i can imagine it must be hell for others. of course i know when it is der or die or das but i don't know why i know it.

i think in spanish the gender is pretty intuitive, too.

 

[darmanad]

only a native english speaker would ask such a question.
hey why no reduce everything to texting lingo - u 4 it?

Instead of a putdown of English speaking EXPATS, for whom this site was supposedly primarily intended, why not just answer the frigging question?

 

[mariposa]

try googling your question if you like.

btw (and there is a language shortcut for you), remind me, what is misogynistic about attaching genders to nouns?