should a male have a male or a female teacher?
Before making my question sounds stupied, read this first. I studied chinese for a year from a female teacher. After four years, When i speak chinese with natives, some "smart" of them could tell that I had the language from a female!. I was told that there are some expresions and sound levels which varies between males and females. I know that this gap between the two gender is even bigger (a real big difference) in Japanees language. If a man chooses to depends soley on femals to learn that langauge, this will put him in funny situations -- opps ..
...the new "gay" in town !...just joking!
are there any similar cases in other languages??
interesting, can you raise an example in chinese?
I never noticed that untill you mentioned it.
Brennus
(Also, none of the major languages of the world seem to be characterized by strong male and female differences. I read about them existing mainly in tribal languages with small speaking populations.)
Portuguese has one word that that is gender based and that being
obrigado (thank you) masculine
obrigada (thank you) feminine
but if you have a good teacher he/she should point that out.
The rest of the language is gender based but is mostly affected by the nouns that are used.
I think Russian has different verb endings for male and female speakers. That's a major language of the world.
That is the case in romance languages, where a phrase canno't be said by a man/women the same way :
Je suis belle (women)
Je suis beau (man)
etc.
Just think about it in English... a woman could describe another as "bubbly", but if a man used that word he'd be given an odd look.
<<Some linguists even claim that we learn language from our mothers to begin with though I don't know if it is a majority of them.
>>
I'm pretty sure that's been proven. For instance, if only one of your parents is bilingual, you're much more likely to learn that second language if it's your mother.
I've seen some pretty compelling papers that say that the main focus of language is allowing people to keep social relationships and alliances straight in their heads -- language allows us to code that information better -- studies show that we can keep track of many more social relationships than our closest nonverbal primate kin (an important skill in a social animal living in a hierarchical society).
Other studies have quantified WHAT people talk about most, and the vast majority of conversations turn out to be about ... other people. Gossip, in other words. This backs up the theory above very well!
And who gossips the best, and keeps a sharp eye out for what's going on around the neighborhood? Whose social-climbing strategy most often involves gossiping, backstabbing, disseminating and manufacturing rumors about rivals and networking with allies ..... women!
As far as I can tell, (modern) Chinese is one of the languages with the LEAST distinction between male and female speech patterns. So what you say is very interesting! If someone can discern that you learnt Chinese from a female, then it might be even more obvious for other languages.
««And who gossips the best, and keeps a sharp eye out for what's going on around the neighborhood? Whose social-climbing strategy most often involves gossiping, backstabbing, disseminating and manufacturing rumors about rivals and networking with allies ..... women! »»
This not true!! Men gossip a lot more than women. They talk huge amounts of silly stuff about women and women again. If we were going to measure who speaks more gossip I am pretty sure men will win. They can even convince others that women gossip more than they do. It is men gossip propaganda you have been reading and brainwashing your head.
"Silly stuff" isn't gossip.
"Silly stuff" isn't gossip.»» Yes it is. All gossip is gossip even when it is about "silly stuff". And the most dangerous gossip of all is done at higher levels and by men.
gossiping, backstabbing, disseminating and manufacturing rumors about rivals and networking with allies »» This is like politics backstage. A man's world.
Yes, I speak like a woman because the nastalgia has overcome me. If it had not done that, it wouldn't matter.
Well, Sarah, I've worked with mostly men in some jobs, and with mostly women in aothers, and I can say with full confidence that in MY experience, women are much more vicious, play more political games, and jockey for power much more overtly. Men would be left in the dust if they had to compete in the kind of maneuvering games that women play with each other! And their weapons are words ... nothing more. It's like working in a nest of snakes -- and you never know who's sneaking up behind you to strike when you're not looking.
Men that I've worked with, onthe other hand, don't seem to use these kinds of overt Machiavellian machinations to get ahead. They do some social maneuvering and networking and asskissing, but not even remotely on the same level as women.
It makes sense, though -- when you are in a group that can't use physical power as well to compete and often denied social power, you have to use your brains and wits and shrewdness to compete -- and a sharp, sly tongue.
Spanish - Encantado - Male
Encantada - Female
I don't look at these behaviors as good or bad, just different strategies for the same goal -- getting to the top.
Primatologists note similar gender-based strategies in male and female baboons and chimps, where both sexes vie for status in a hierarchical society. Often both sexes will use alliances with members of their own sex, or "friendships" with members of the opposite sex, to move up the ladder. And one of the best ways to move up? Plot the downfall of those above you, and outmaneuver or sabotage the efforts of those in your own rank.