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Orly Borges Personal Collection |
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Is computer
in French a
feminine or masculine noun? |
A
language instructor was explaining to her class that
nouns in French,
unlike
their
English
counterparts,
are grammatically designated as masculine or feminine.
"House," in French, is feminine - "la maison."
"Pencil," in French, is masculine "le crayon."
One
puzzled
student asked, "What
gender
is Computer?"
The teacher did not know, and the word wasn't in her
French dictionary. So for fun she
split
the class into two groups appropriately enough by gender
and asked them to decide whether "computer" should be a
masculine or feminine noun.
Both groups were required to give four reasons for their
recommendation. |
The
boy's group decided that computers 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 absolutely incomprehensible to everyone else;
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long-term
memory for possible later
retrieval;
4. As soon as you make a
commitment
to one, you find yourself spending half your salary on
accessories for it. |
The
girl's group, however, concluded that computers should
be masculine ("le computer"), because:
1. In order to get their attention, you have
to turn them on;
2. They have a lot of
data
but they are still
clueless;
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but
half the time
they ARE the problem;
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if
you'd waited a little longer, you could have
gotten
a better model. |
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Source:
Orly Borges Personal Collection
(Contributed by Roberto Fernández Acevedo) |
GLOSSARY |
unlike:
different, not like (al revés de)
English counterparts: equivalents in English (equivalentes
en inglés)
puzzled: perplexed, bewildered (desconcertado)
gender: gramatical category, masculine or feminine
(género gramatical)
split: divided (dividió)
both groups were required to give: the language
instructor asked them to give (a ambos grupos se les
solicitó que dieran) < IDIOMATIC PASSIVE VOICE
retrieval: recovery of information from the
computer's memory (recuperación)
commitment: engagement (compromiso) |
to turn them
on: to excite them sexually (double-sensed with "switch on" or "start
something by turning a switch") (excitar sexualmente, en
lugar de encender)
data: information (datos, información acumulada)
clueless: stupid, without much intelligence (torpes,
inútiles)
half the time: 50% of the time, most of the time (el 50%
de las veces)
gotten: obtained (conseguido)
to get / got / gotten or to get / got / got
(both ways are correct) |
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MAS "HUMOR Y CHISTES"
FORO
INICIO |
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