In Spanish Computer Class... - Lighter Side

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September 26th, 2005

In Spanish Computer 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 computadora”), 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 computador”), 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.


Originally published September 26th, 2005 on Fly Anglers Online.