Do you wonder why an arm is masculine while a leg is feminine? Why your sofa is masculine but your chair is feminine? And why should a person or victim always be feminine, even if the person or victim you're talking about happens to be a man? And isn't it odd that masculinit is feminine? The illogic of French gender can be very frustrating. But after reading this book, if you see words like croisement, pays, vin, or chocolat, you will instantly know they are masculine, and you will also immediately recognize that words like ville, facture, maladie, and essence are feminine.

Surveys gender across a range of languages. For class use and as a reference resource for students and researchers in linguistics.

Focuses on French applied linguistics