Taxacom: Gender agreement is easy - beer example

[Scott Thomson]

Thanks Michael a perfect example of my point re computers, computers cannot
"feel" the correct answer that requires what we call common sense, and
computers are idiots when it comes to common sense.

I almost finished my last post on the other thread with this:

If this were easy it would have been done and we would not be having this
conversation.

Cheers Scott

Em ter., 4 de jul. de 2023 às 20:03, Michael A. Ivie via Taxacom <
taxacom at lists.ku.edu> escreveu:

> I have renamed this so that I am not replying to any specific person's
> comment and cut off the tail.
>
> Regarding gender agreement.  For those that think that learning a few
> simple rules and then just knowing what the answer is, let's look at a
> real world example we can all appreciate - from Beer. Everyone who has
> taken a few introduction to Spanish classes, or who grew up with Spanish
> speakers, or has a working grasp of Spanish that works for travel,  but
> did not get a degree in Spanish Language, knows the simple rules of
> gender agreement in Spanish. You can follow it because it sounds right,
> and "feels" right.
>
> However, there is an excellent (my opinion) Mexican beer named Negra
> Modelo.  Clearly, Modelo ends in an "o" and is masculine, so the
> modifier must conform and also end in an "o."  So this name is wrong,
> and many many people say "Negro Modelo" or "Negra Modela" as a reflexive
> conformity to gender agreement (similar to correcting a species name
> with the "wrong" ending).  Why would a company screw this up like this?
>
> Well, in an example just like what happens with scientific names, deeper
> knowledge of a language is needed than having a basic working knowledge
> of a language in order to get the details correct.  "Modelo," meaning
> "style or fashion" is a Greek borrow-word taken into Spanish as a direct
> form.  In Greek that last "o" is feminine (in this case), so it retains
> its feminine form in Spanish and modifiers conform by ending in an "a."
> How the ### are you supposed to just know that?  Same happens with "El
> Drama."
>
> Gender agreement that is absolutely and always correct is not something
> perfectly easy to a non-fluent speaker - of any language.
>
> Keep it or get rid of it, but don't call it easy and simple.
>
> Mike
>
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-- 
Scott Thomson

Centro de Estudos dos Quelônios da Amazônia - CEQUA
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Brasil

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