Miscellaneous items #024
Croatian words for youngsters are neuter
Until animals are adults, in Croatian they are neuter (linguistically).
SUMMARY
When I am learning Croatian, one epiphany follows another ........
Gender-unspecific English words to denote youngsters
In English, we have words for youngsters of animal species (including humans) that do not specify whether they are male or female, such as:
.... notwithstanding that in some cases there are also gender-specific terms. For example, a male child is a boy, and a female child is a girl.
- A child
- A kitten
- A puppy
- A chicken
- A duckling
- A lamb
- A calf
- A foal
- A piglet
- A kid
- A fawn
.... notwithstanding that in some cases there are also gender-specific terms. For example, a male child is a boy, and a female child is a girl.
And in Croatian .......
There are similar words:
There are similar words:
dijete |
a/the child |
mače |
a/the kitten |
štene |
a/the puppy |
pile |
a/the chicken |
pače |
a/the duckling |
janje |
a/the lamb |
tele |
a/the calf |
ždrijebe |
a/the foal |
prase |
a/the piglet |
jare |
a/the kid (goat) |
lane |
a/the fawn (deer) |
As you can infer from the -e ending on these words, they are all neuter nouns. So, until they have become adults, youngsters are linguistically gender neutral!
An egg is as young as you can get, so we shouldn't be surprised that the Croatian word for 'egg' (jaje) is also neuter.
Grammatical consequences ......
So how does the gender of these nouns play out in sentences? Some examples:
Can you see that each of the underlined words is appropriate to the neuter gender of the nouns (mače, pile, and janje)?
- Mače je tražilo majku. (A kitten looked for its mother.)
- Pile je bilo žuto. (The chicken was yellow.)
- Ovo janje je jače od drugog janjeta. (This lamb is stronger than the other lamb.)
Can you see that each of the underlined words is appropriate to the neuter gender of the nouns (mače, pile, and janje)?
The obligatory exception
There is a significant exception to the rule: the word for 'baby' (beba) is feminine.
So ... Beba je velika. (The baby is big.) Even if the baby is a boy!
So ... Beba je velika. (The baby is big.) Even if the baby is a boy!
When you are learning Croatian, there are always epiphanies to be had. And exceptions to be recognised!
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