• School_Lunch@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    15 days ago

    It’s just one more thing to memorize when trying to learn them. I’m not going to intuitively know what gender a chair is…

    • Glowstick@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      edit-2
      15 days ago

      I’ve asked the following question before and I’ve never gotten a good answer - why do the words need a gendered suffix at all? Why can’t the final O and A letters simply be omitted from all words that aren’t inherently gendered? Like the word for library is 'bibliotheca", so why can’t it just be called “bibliothec”?

      • phdepressed@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        15 days ago

        The long and short of it is that it was decided on however long ago and now the people who learn the language growing up are used to it and they decide the rules that are followed.

        English (and any non-native language) does many weird things that native speakers are just used to and will get upset if you try and change it.

        • Glowstick@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          15 days ago

          That’s sort of exactly why i as an individual don’t understand why they don’t do it, because I’m a native english speaker and there’s a lot i would like to change about it. Like imo in spelling, almost all the silent letters that don’t effect pronunciation should be eliminated. Debt should be spelled det, night should be spelled nite