by Max Wheeler
lligacama (f.) garter
tornaboda (f.) celebration on the day after a wedding or holiday
1.2.3.2 The Gender of Endocentric Compounds
If the compound is endocentric, that is, it consists of a head noun basically denoting the object in question together with a modifier (which may also be a noun), then the gender of the compound is the gender of the head noun. The head is normally the element on the left when the elements are written with a hyphen or space. In the rest, the sense is the only guide to which is the head element (indicated in italics in the examples):
camió cisterna (m.) tanker lorry
ciutat estat (f.) city state
decret llei (m.) order in council
ocell lira (m.) lyre-bird
òpera ballet (f.) opera ballet
paper ceba (m.) onion-skin paper
planta pilot (f.) pilot plant
ratapinyada (f.) bat
ferrocarril (m.) railway
filferro (πι.) wire
marededed (f.) image of the Virgin
plenamar (f.) high water
terratrèmol (m.) earthquake
voravia (f.) pavement, sidewalk
etc.
The following, however, are exceptionally masculine; note that the adjectival elements fail to mark feminine agreement with aigua (f.) ‘water’ and vora (f.) ‘edge’:
aiguacuit (m.) glue
aiguamoll (m.) marsh
aiguafort (m.) dilute nitric acid, etching
aiguardent (m.) eau-de-vie
aigua-ros (m.) rose-water
aiguanaf (m.) orange-flower water
salfumant (m.) hydrochloric acid
voraviu (m.) hem
1.2.3.3 Other types of compound nouns
In the case of other types of exocentric compounds (other than those in 1.2.3.1), which denote something different from what either of the individual elements denotes, and in the case of noun + noun compounds where both elements contribute equally to the meaning, the principle seems to be that a compound that contains a feminine singular noun and no masculine nouns is feminine (i), otherwise the compound is masculine (ii):
aiguaneu (f.) sleet
avemaria (f.) Hail Mary
bonaventura (f.) fortune-telling, palmistry
cama-roja (f.) flamingo
coliflor (f.) cauliflower
enhorabona (f.) congratulations
giravolta (f.) marialluïsa (f.) turn, revolution lemon verbena
etc.
and also sempreviva ‘everlasting flower’ which contains a feminine adjective but no noun.
adéu (m.) farewell
aiguapoll (m.) dummy egg, infertile egg
capicua (m.) palindromic number
cara-sol (m.) part facing the sun
colinap (m.) turnip (for fodder) (f. in some sources)
culdellàntia (m.) vignette
estira-i-arronsa (m.) give and take
forabord (m.) outboard motor
llargmetratge (m.) feature-length film
no-sé-què (m.) je-ne-sais-quoi
trespeus (m.) tripod
etc.
Milfulles ‘yarrow’, which ought to be masculine by the above principles, is given as (f.) in some sources, including the Institut d’Estudis Catalans Diccionari de la llengua catalana. The following are also unexpectedly masculine.
bona-nit (m.) goodnight
cinc-en-rama (m.) cinquefoil
milengrana (m.) goosefoot
semprenflor (m.) alyssum
1.2.4 Homonyms of Different Gender
There is a relatively small number of nouns which have a homonymous form of the opposite gender, with a different meaning:
Masculine Feminine
alambor scarp luxuriance
albor (freshwater fish) dawn light
baboia scarecrow, foolish man/boy fib
breu (papal) brief breve
canal canal channel, gulley
capital capital, assets capital (city/letter)
clau nail key
còlera cholera anger
coma coma comma, mountain hollow
cometa comet (pl.) inverted commas
consonant vowel rhyme consonant
contra organ pedal, argument against opposition, obstacle
cremallera rack railway zip
delta (river) delta (Greek letter) delta
deu ten source, spring
editorial editorial publishing house
extra bonus, extra item, (male) film extra (female) film extra
fe hay faith
fí objective end
fleuma dope, fool (male) ribbonfish, dope, fool (female)
frau fraud gorge, defile
Gènesi book of Genesis genesis
guia (male) guide guidebook, guidance, (female) guide
habilitat paymaster skill
levita Levite frock coat
llama llama lamé
llum lamp light (radiation)
marieta poof ladybird, Russula sanguinea mushroom
mel cheekbone honey
mofeta (male) leg-puller (female) leg-puller, firedamp, skunk
mort (male) dead person death
necessitat needy man need, necessity
neula (male) twit/fool (female) twit/fool, mist, wafer
ordre order, orderliness command
paleta (male) bricklayer (female) bricklayer, trowel, palette, paddle
part childbirth part
pau simpleton, mug peace
Pi pine Pi
planeta planet (a person’s) destiny
pols pulse dust
post (military) post plank, ironing board
pudor shame, modesty stink
salut greeting health
set set, seven thirst
setge siege figwort
son sleep sleepiness, desire to sleep
talent talent appetite
terra ground earth, Earth
tos occiput cough
vall trench valley
vocal (male) committee member (female) committee member, vowel
1.2.5 NOUNS OF VARIABLE OR DOUBTFUL GENDER
The case of some abstract nouns ending in -or, where either gender may be found, has been mentioned above (1.2.2.3), There are a few others where either gender is regarded as correct, or where the two genders are found in slightly different uses.
The following are nowadays predominantly masculine: aglà ‘acorn’ (but the alternative form gla is feminine), crin ‘horsehair’, èmfasi ‘emphasis’, esfinx ‘sphinx’, pivot ‘pivot’, serpent ‘serpent’.
The following are predominantly feminine: crisma ‘chrism’, ‘holy oil’, grip ‘influenza’, idus (f.pl.) ‘Ides’, sarment ‘vine shoot’.
For some there is no clear preference: aviram ‘domestic fowls’, bricbarca ‘barque’, laude ‘arbitrator’s decision’, vodka ‘vodka’. Fel ‘gall’, ‘bile’ may be feminine in Balearic and Valencian, but is masculine elsewhere.
Art is masculine in the sense ‘fishing net’; in the sense ‘art’, ‘skill’ it is masculine in phrases such as Viure bé és un art ‘Good living is an art’, el dubtós art de la guerra ‘the doubtful art of war’, exercitar un art ‘practise a skill’, art dramàtic ‘dramatic art’, art figuratiu ‘figurative art’, art grec ‘Greek art’; feminine in belles arts ‘fine arts’, arts gràfiques ‘graphic art’, arts mecàniques ‘manual skills’, art poètica ‘Ars Poètica’, ‘poetics’, males arts ‘trickery’.
Mar is usually masculine in its literal sense, when occurring unqualified, as in D’allí podíeu veure el mar ‘From there you could see the sea’, la superfície del mar ‘the surface of the sea’. But we find both el mar Mediterrani and la mar Mediterrània ‘the Mediterranean’. When talking about the state of the waves or tide, mar is feminine: l’estat de la mar ‘the state of the waves’, mar grossa/brava/desfeta ‘heavy sea’, mala mar ‘heavy sea’, mar calma ‘calm sea’, fer-se a la mar ‘put to sea’; and metaphorically: una mar de/la mar de ‘a
lot’, ‘a large quantity’ as in Vam estar la mar de contents ‘We were extremely pleased’, Estic en una mar de dubtes ‘I am in a great deal of doubt’. In Balearic mar is feminine in all senses.
Vessant is masculine in the sense ‘valley side’, but either masculine or feminine in the sense ‘slope’ (of roof, hillside, where rainwater runs down) and in the figurative sense ‘facet’ (of an issue).
1.2.6 Metonymic Gender
Some of the examples in previous sections illustrate instances where one noun has acquired the gender of another associated with it which has been suppressed. This pattern accounts for some apparent gender anomalies, e.g. el Psicosi = el bar ‘Psicosi’ (la psicosi ‘psychosis’), el Gran Via = el cine ‘Gran Via’, una EBRO = una camioneta EBRO ‘an EBRO light van’, la Model = la presó Model ‘Model prison’, un Ibiza = un cotxe SEAT «Ibiza»; un Alella = un vi d’Alella ‘Alella wine’, el Barça = el club de futbol «Barça» ‘Barcelona FC’, el Plata = el riu Plata ‘the River Plate’ (but note that Catalan rivers whose names end in -a are feminine: la Valira, la Sènia).
Through ellipsis of this kind names of companies are feminine: la (companyia) SEAT, la IBM, la Hertz; likewise roads: la (carretera) N2, l’(autopista) A-l.
1.2.7 Gender of Abbreviations and Acronyms
This is determined by the gender of the head noun:
el BUP (m.) (Batxillerat Unificat Polivalent) (approx. GCSE)
la CEE (f.) (Comunitat Econòmica Europea) EEC
els EUA (m.pl.) (Estats Units d’Amèrica) la fecsa (f.) (la (companyia) forces Elèctriques de Catalunya, SA) USA
l’IVA (m.) (Impost sobre el Valor Afegit) VAT
l’ONU (f.) (Organització de les Nacions Unides) UN
l’OTAN (f.) (Organització del Tractat de l’Atlàntic Nord) NATO
ovni (m.) (objecte volant no identificat) UFO
la SIDA (f.) (Síndrome d’Immunodeficiència Adquirida) AIDS
la UIB (f.) (Universitat de les Illes Balears)
When the abbreviation or acronym denotes an institution named in a foreign language, the gender either derives from an associated Catalan word if there is one, or is masculine by default: la Unesco ‘UNESCO’ (cf. ONU (f.)), la Unicef ‘UNICEF’, l’FBI, l’IRA (m.).
1.2.8 Gender of Foreign Words
Words borrowed from Spanish, French, Italian, and Latin typically bring with them the gender they have in the source language (with Latin neuter > Catalan masculine); words from other languages tend to be masculine, unless they are closely associated semantically with a Catalan word which is feminine. Even so there are some anomalies. The following examples are taken from Terenci Moix’s novel Lleonard, ο el sexe dels àngels (1992): allure (f.), alma mater (f.), aloha (m.), best-seller (m.), blue-jeans (m.) de color blanc‘white jeans’, boom(m.), boutade(f.), cassette (m.) ‘cassette recorder’, charme (m.), contestazione (f.), les élites (f.pl.), entente cordiale (f.), flipper (m.) ‘pin-ball machine’, kitsch (m.), knack (m.), els mass media (m.pl.), milieu (m.), minishorts (m.), modus vivendi (m.), no-man’s land (f.), ñángara (m.) ‘guerrilla fighter’, partouze (m.) ‘orgy’, puente del diálogo (m.) ‘bridge of discussion’, sancta sanctorum (m.), trattoria (f), travelling (m.) ‘pan shot’.
2 PLURAL OF NOUNS AND FORMATION OF DERIVED NOUNS
In 2.1 and 2.2. we discuss plural formation and the use of plurals. Section 2.3 introduces diminutive, augmentative, and evaluative suffixes in nouns, especially those that are productive. Some orthographic features mentioned at various points in this chapter are summarized in Chapter 37.
2.1 PLURAL FORMATION
There are five, related, patterns for forming the plural of nouns (and adjectives) in Catalan. These are (i) the addition of -s to the singular form (the predominant pattern), (ii) the replacement of final -a by -es, (iii) the addition of -ns, (iv) the addition of -os, (v) invariable form (plural identical with singular). Pattern (iv), the addition of -os, is unique to masculine nouns; the other patterns are found with nouns of both genders.
2.1.1 BASIC PLURAL FORMATION RULE
The normal pattern for words which end in a consonant or semiconsonant (other than -ç, -s, or -x), or an unstressed vowel (other than -a), consists in the addition of the suffix -s. (Words which end in -ig, -sc, -st, or -xt optionally follow this pattern; see below 2.1.5.4.)
ou → ous eggs
got → gots tumblers
arbre → arbres trees
crisi → crisis crises
moto → motos motorbikes
etc.
Nouns which end in unstressed -en require the addition of a written accent in the plural, e.g. examen → exàmens ‘examinations’, fenomen → fenòmens ‘phenomena’, origen → orígens ‘origins’ (see 37.5.1).
2.1.2 PLURAL OF WORDS ENDING IN -a
Words which end in unstressed -a in the singular replace this with -es in the plural. There are some consequential regular orthographic changes when the stem ends in -c-, -ç-, -g-, -gu-, -j-, or -qu- (see 37.3).
cama → cames legs
fantasma → fantasmes phantoms
idea →idees ideas
papa → papes popes
taula → taules tables
boca → boques mouths
plaça → places squares, places
psicòloga → psicòlogues (female) psychologists
llengua → llengües tongues
taronja → taronges oranges
platja → platges beaches
pasqua → pasqües Christmas period
etc.
2.1.3 PLURAL OF WORDS ENDING IN A STRESSED VOWEL
Most nouns that end in a stressed vowel (for historical reasons) add -ns in the plural (losing any written accent; a diaeresis will be required over syllabic -i preceded by another vowel).
cinturó → cinturons belts
do → dons gifts
mà → mans hands
pi → pins pines
veí → veïns neighbours
Names of the letters of the alphabet, and notes of the scale (music), are exceptions, which add just -s: bes ‘Bs’, kas ‘Ks’, dos ‘Cs’, etc. Likewise, grammatical words: perquè/perquès ‘whys’/‘reasons’, sís ‘yeses’, nos ‘noes’, peròs ‘buts’. There are around a hundred other exceptions which add -s only, the great majority of them words borrowed from other languages and which usually have a similar form in English. The following list includes the indigenous examples, and the commonest of the rest, grouped according to the final vowel.
lilà pl lilàs lilac
mamà pi. mamàs mum
panamà pl. panamàs Panama hat
papà pl. papàs dad
rajà pl. rajàs rajah
sofà pl. sofàs sofa
tarannà pl. tarannàs character
xa pl. xas shah
abecé pl. abecés ABC, pl. = rudiments
calé (fam.) usually used in pl. calés lolly, cash
clixé pl. clixés photographic plate, cliché
consomé pl. consomés consommé
pagaré pl. pagarés promissory note
peroné pl peronés fibula
plaqué pl plaqués gold or silver plate
puré pl. purés purée
quinqué pl. quinqués oil lamp
ximpanzé pl. ximpanzés chimpanzee
bebè pl. bebès baby
cafè pl. cafès coffee
canapè pl. canapès couch
comitè pl. comitès committee
fe pl. fes faith
mercè pl. mercès reward, favour; (plural also = thanks)
oboè pl. oboès oboe
bengalí pl. bengalís Bengali
bisturí pl. bisturís scalpel
esquí pl. equís ski
frenesí pl. frenesís frenzy
juí (Val.) pl. juís judgement
perjuí (Val.) pl. perjuís damage
dominó pl. dominós mask, disguise
rondó pl. rondós rondo
pro pl. pros pro, argument for
bambú
pl. bambús bamboo
hindú pl. hindús Hindu
menú pl. menús table d’hote menu
nyu pl. nyus gnu
tabú pl. tabús taboo
tatú pl. tatús armadillo
2.1.4 PLURAL OF WORDS ENDING IN UNSTRESSED -e
In Valencian, NW Catalan, and some other areas (Ibiza, Alghero) a few words that end in unstressed -e may form plurals in -ns (entailing a written accent on the stressed syllable). Hòmens and jóvens are well established in standard Valencian.
home Val/NW pl. hòmens, elsewhere homes man
jove Val/NW pl. jóvens, elsewhere joves youth
ase Val/NW pl. àsens or, as elsewhere, ases ass
cove Val/NW pl. còvens or, as elsewhere, coves conical basket
freixe Val/NW pl. fréixens or, as elsewhere, freixes ash tree
marge Val/NW pl. màrgens or, as elsewhere, marges edge, margin
orfe Val/NW pl. òrfens or, as elsewhere, orfes (male) orphan
rave Val/NW pl. ràvens or, as elsewhere, raves radish
terme Val/NW pl. térmens or, as elsewhere, termes boundary, term
verge Val/NW pl. vèrgens or, as elsewhere, verges virgin
2.1.5 PLURAL OF NOUNS ENDING IN -ç, -s, -x; -sc, -st, -xt; -ig
2.1.5.1 Feminine nouns
Feminine nouns ending in -s are invariable: les tos ‘the coughs’, les càries ‘the caries (pl.)’, les ics ‘the Xs’, etc. Feminine nouns ending in one of the other letters or sequences mentioned add -s in the regular way (though the s is silent after -ç or -x): les falçs ‘the sickles’, les xeixs ‘the Xs’, les hèlixs ‘the spirals’, les larinxs ‘the larynxes’, les posts ‘the planks’, les forests, ‘the forests’, etc.
2.1.5.2 Plural of masculine nouns ending in -s or -x (unstressed)
Masculine nouns ending in -s or -x whose final syllable is unstressed follow the rule just given for feminines: un atles ‘an atlas’: els atles ‘the atlases’, divendres ‘Friday’: els divendres ‘the Fridays’, and so on for Adonis ‘Adonis’, clítoris ‘clitoris’, albatros ‘albatross’, termos ‘thermos flask’, síl·labus ‘syllabus’, focus ‘spotlight’, fòrceps ‘forceps’; index ‘index’: índexs ‘indices’, ‘indexes’, apèndix ‘appendix’: apèndixs ‘appendices’, càrritx ‘reed’: càrritxs ‘reeds’, etc. (Before a spelling reform of 1984 some masculine words were written with unstressed -as in the singular, but with -es in the plural, such as atlas ‘atlas’, galimatias ‘nonsense’, Judas ‘Judas’, pàncreas ‘pancreas’; the reform introduced invariable -es into all such words.)