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===Gender=== | ===Gender=== | ||
There is substantial debate over how to categorize and describe gender in Saxuma. It is not a grammatical gender system, but rather semantic. It is largely agreed that historically, the two genders mapped to a traditional masculine-feminine split (evidenced by words such as "man," "woman," and sexed animal terms being derived from the gendered suffixes), but now is used to describe the speaker's attitude toward the referent or their role in a narrative, with the potential to shift mid-discourse. | |||
Because of the history of the gender system, as well as the fact that most of the associations of the two genders line up well with existing stereotypes of men and women, some argue it is most appropriate to describe the Saxuma genders as masculine and feminine. Indeed, direct translations of European languages with gendered pronouns frequently use {{sx-s|''in''}} to translate "he" and {{sx-m|''le''}} for "she." However, others opt against this in an attempt to make it clear that there is only a tenuous link between the semantic gender and a referent's gender identity. Many alternative sets of terms have been proposed, such as yin-yang, passive-active, orange-blue, etc. Classrooms on Sasajos generally use the terms {{sx-m|lunar}} and {{sx-s|solar}}, which are also featured in municipally-sponsored textbooks. For this reason, this page will use these as well. | |||
Gendered terms are frequently used in narrative. In conversation, though, they are generally reserved for people the speaker is familiar with, as they can carry an intimate, playful, or rude connotation. Using gendered pronouns with strangers is generally considered mocking, hostile, or openly flirtatious. The implication of each gender varies based on the context and tone. Below is a table summarizing common connotations. | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|+ Common gender connotations in Saxuma (del Aglio, 2017) | |||
|- | |||
! Tone or Context !! {{sx-m|Lunar}} !! {{sx-s|Solar}} | |||
|- | |||
| Praising || Smart, beautiful, wise, insightful, learned || Funny, strong, impressive, handy, energetic | |||
|- | |||
| Flirtatious || Beautiful, cute, enticing, following, shy || Fit, dominant, seductive, leading, sexy, confident | |||
|- | |||
| Teasing || Sleepy, low energy, lazy, spacy, callous, pathetic || Silly, worked up, easily teased, frazzled, hyperactive | |||
|- | |||
| Aggressive || Airheaded, lazy, inconsiderate || Buffoonish, obnoxious, whiny | |||
|- | |||
| Narrative || Passive, introverted, strange, deceitful, sagacious, nurturing, aloof, anxious, depressed, narcissistic, cold, logical || Active, extroverted, bold, heroic, protective, impressive, foolish, unaware, cruel, angry, brash, hysterical, emotional | |||
|} | |||
==Sample Texts== | ==Sample Texts== | ||