Computers in Spanish Class

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 5:13 am

Computers in Spanish Class

A Spanish teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike
English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine. 'House'
for instance, is feminine: 'la casa.' 'Pencil,' however, is masculine:
'el lapiz.' A student asked, "What gender is 'computer'?"

Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two
groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether
'computer' should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was
asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.

The men's group decided that 'computer' should definitely be of the
feminine gender ('la computer'), because:
1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is
incomprehensible to everyone else;
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for
possible later retrieval; and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending
half your paycheck on accessories for it.

The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be masculine
('el computer'), because:
1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they
ARE the problem; and
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a
little longer, you could have gotten a better model.

The women won.

AIOfan11 · Post by **AIOfan11** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 7:40 am

Thats funny! $\:D/$

Evil Chick · Post by **Evil Chick** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 9:22 am

LOL!! That's hilarious, Frodo!

Linne · Post by **Linne** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 10:22 am

Very funny, and quite true in places!

J-man · Post by **J-man** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 11:02 am

I don't agree with the men one

The women's one was true is places..

JesusFreak777 · Post by **JesusFreak777** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 12:31 pm

LOL Ok I have a new favorite joke. That is so true...sadly enough.

Taq · Post by **Taq** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 1:22 pm

...But isn't the noun computer really feminine in Spanish: la computadora?...Just wondering if I missed something, hope I didn't kill the joke.

pianokitty · Post by **pianokitty** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 3:03 pm

i think computers should have been feminine..lol

Trent DeWhite · Post by **Trent DeWhite** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 3:09 pm

I don't know about Spanish, but I believe "computer" is feminine in French. Thus, la ordinateur... l'ordinateur.

JesusFreak777 · Post by **JesusFreak777** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 3:13 pm

If I am not mistaken, it is masculine in German

Der Computer.

Evil Chick · Post by **Evil Chick** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 4:14 pm

JesusFreak777 wrote:If I am not mistaken, it is masculine in German

Der Computer.

You are not mistaken.

JesusFreak777 · Post by **JesusFreak777** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 4:18 pm

Finally I got at least SOME part of German Grammar correct.

Me · Post by Me » Mon Jul 11, 2005 7:34 pm

Hilarious, but the sad thing is that I saw this over five years ago.... in reference to a French class!

Then, speaking of German, I translated it for my German first semester final this year.

Chandler · Post by **Chandler** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 12:03 am

That is pretty funny, if stereotypical.