mt.biker
10-15-2002, 11:27 AM
A French teacher was explaining to her class that in French, Unlike
English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.
"House" is feminine-"la maison."
"Pencil" is masculine-"le crayon."
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 their recommendation.
The men's group decided that "computer" should definitely be of the
feminine gender ("la computer"), 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 review; and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half
your salary on accessories for it.
The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be masculine
("le computer") 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.
The women won.
got this from ruthie.. thought it was funny.
English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.
"House" is feminine-"la maison."
"Pencil" is masculine-"le crayon."
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 their recommendation.
The men's group decided that "computer" should definitely be of the
feminine gender ("la computer"), 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 review; and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half
your salary on accessories for it.
The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be masculine
("le computer") 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.
The women won.
got this from ruthie.. thought it was funny.