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From: jack@boring.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.lang,net.women
Subject: Re: Pronouns devoid of gender connotations.
Message-ID: <6520@boring.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 19-Jul-85 14:46:18 EDT
Article-I.D.: boring.6520
Posted: Fri Jul 19 14:46:18 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 21-Jul-85 01:14:37 EDT
References: <520@leadsv.UUCP> <359@ucdavis.UUCP> <1647@ecsvax.UUCP>
Reply-To: jack@boring.UUCP (Jack Jansen)
Organization: AMOEBA project, CWI, Amsterdam
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Xref: linus net.lang:1441 net.women:6050
Apparently-To: rnews@mcvax.LOCAL

In article <1647@ecsvax.UUCP> dgary@ecsvax.UUCP (D Gary Grady) writes:
>
>A minor aside: Dutch nouns carry two genders, but they are not male and
>female.  Instead there is neuter and "common" which descended from the
>Germanic male and female.

As far as I know, this is not strictly true.  Dutch has three
genders, like German: male, female and neuter.
The point is, we only have two articles, "de" (M/F) and "het" (N). (And "een",
of course).
So while you don't see the difference normally, you should (officially)
use either "hij" (he) or "zij" (she) if you refer to the word:
"De vereniging dient *haar* statuten na te komen".
(The society has to live by it's regulations).
-- 
	Jack Jansen, jack@mcvax.UUCP
	The shell is my oyster.