Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Posts: 656
|
A French teacher was explaining to her class that in French, (and in German) unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine, i.e., "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 (SMILE)))
_________________
My Sight & Sound @ Soundclick |
|
