|
Good Person,
The examples you note are indeed termed "nouns of common gender." In my response, I'd also like to address the question of the grammar of masculine nouns like врач ~ doctor and механик ~ mechanic when they denote females. But let's begin with nouns of common gender.
There are a number of nouns of common gender in addition to the two you cited:
сирота ~ orphan
умница ~ clever person
бродяга ~ tramp
коллега ~ colleague
судья ~ judge
левша ~ "southpaw," left-handed person
обжора ~ glutton
убийца ~ murderer
глава ~ head, chief
and a few others. To begin with, because these nouns all end in -а/-я, they belong to the feminine paradigm and decline like all -а/-я nouns. However, in terms of modifying adjectives, ordinal numbers, pronouns and past tense verbs - it depends on the sexual gender of the individual in question. Note the following:
- Виктор Петрович пригласил одного своего коллегу, который жил...
(The colleague in question is obviously a male.)
- Наша учительница сказала про одну свою коллегу, что та была...
(Here the colleague is a female.)
- Поехал в зараженную зону и вывез детей из детского сада пьяница из нашей деревне....
(The drunk was a male.)
- А самому монастырю якобы положила начало горькая пьяница и страшная грешница...
(The drunk was a female.)
* * *
In addition to nouns of common gender, there are many masculine nouns denoting a profession, occupation or title that may be applied to women: педагог ~ teacher
хирург ~ surgeon
доктор ~ doctor
and the like.
These nouns do not have feminine counterparts like: чемпион: чемпионка ~ champion: women's champion (more on this later). Also included in this category are masculine nouns like человек ~ person and друг ~ friend. The grammar of these nouns is different than the grammar for nouns of common gender.
Briefly, they all decline as masculine nouns and all attributive adjectives are also masculine:
- Ольга Ивановна отличный хирург.
However, past tense verbal forms are based on the sexual gender of the individual. Thus, in the case of a female director:
- Наш новый директор поступила на свой пост вчера.
* * *
It should also be noted that "the times they are a'changin'" - even in Mother Russia. In recent years Russian women have expanded their career ambitions. As a result, the list of masculine nouns denoting occupations and professions applied to women has grown significantly. As part of their rising consciousness, Russian women have also started to eschew feminine forms like летчица ~ female pilot, бигунья ~ female runner and (my favorite!) крановщица ~ female crain operator, opting instead for the masculine forms: летчик, бигун, крановщик.* * *
Finally, a true, self-denigrating story from the life and times of the RLM:
I was once hired by ABC News "Widе World of Sports" as an interpretеr for the US-USSR Track Meet in Durham, NC. On the last day I found myself in front of the cameras doing a live interview with Nadezhda Chizova, a delightful and charming 6'4" 250 lb. Soviet shot-putter who had just set another world mark for women, heaving an 8 lb., 13 oz. iron shot some 71 feet. Things went pretty well until ABC's Chris Shinkel said:
"Nadezda, are you married?"
"Надежда, ты жената?" the interpreter asked the dainty champ.
"Нет, я не замужем!" Nadezhda replied as she stepped on the interpreter's toe.
"No, Chris, she's not. Back to yooouuuuu!"
In short, it's really important to get all of this gender stuff straight before you go out on the road with your Russian. Otherwise, you may make a fool out of yourself in front of a world-wide audience and have a permanent limp to boot.
Long live the Revolution!
The RLM
|