A language instructor was explaining to her class that French nouns, >> unlike >> their English counterparts, are grammatically designated as masculine or >> >> feminine. Things like "chalk" or "pencil," she described, would have a >> gender association. For example: House is feminine, la" maison. In >> English, >> of course, words are of neutral gender. >> Puzzled, one student raised his hand and asked, "What gender is a >> computer?" >> >> The teacher wasn't certain which it was, and so divided the class into >> two >> groups and asked them to decide if a computer should be masculine or >> feminine. One group was composed of the women in the class, and the >> other of >> men. Both groups were asked to give four reasons for their >> recommendation. >> >> The men decided that computers should definitely be referred to in the >> feminine gender (la) 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 later >> retrieval. >> 4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending >> half >> your paycheck on accessories for it. >> >> The group of women, however, concluded that computers should be referred >> to >> in the masculine (le) gender because: >> 1. In order to get their attention, you have to turn them on. >> 2. They have a lot of data but are still clueless. >> 3. They are supposed to help you solve your problems, but half the time >> they >> ARE the problem. >> 4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that, if you had waited a >> little longer, you could have had a better model >> >> >> >> >>