Colloquial Gender Neutralization in the Numeral Systems of Modern Hebrew and Lebanese Arabic.

Abstract

This phenomenon of 'polarized' gender agreement has puzzled Semiticists for generations, and numerous theories were proposed with a view to account for it see Blau (1972) , Kautzsch (1910) , and notably Hetzron (1967) for reviews. Some scholars presumed that the 'feminine' suffix had originally had a 'collective' meaning; others claimed that it was of different origin, and only later came to be interpreted as a feminine ending. Hetzron (1967) , developing earlier theories from the beginning of the century, argues convincingly that 'polarity' already existed in Proto-Semitic, i.e., the plural of a masculine noun was feminine, and the plural of a feminine noun was masculine. 'Masculine' referred primarily to persons, 'feminine' to things. Numerals were followed by a noun in the plural, and since gender had a priority over number, the plural of a person could be

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