English lacks gendered noun classes and doesn't require agreement between separate words, you're right. But pronouns are still reflective of grammatical gender and they're artifacts from the Anglo-Saxon language, which did have arbitrary gendered noun classes. There are other nouns that indicate gender too, also artifacts from earlier forms of English, like waitress or actress. The feminine suffix -ess comes from Middle English, and the feminine suffix -en comes from Anglo-Saxon, like in the words maiden or chicken.
Maybe a distinction could be made between abstract, arbitrary gendered nouns (like a lamp is feminine) and gendered nouns specifically for describing people.
But pronouns are still reflective of grammatical gender and they’re artifacts from the Anglo-Saxon language, which did have arbitrary gendered noun classes.
Sure, but there’s a vast difference between a special category of nouns (i.e., pronouns) being gendered and every noun being gendered.
Maybe a distinction could be made between abstract, arbitrary gendered nouns (like a lamp is feminine) and gendered nouns specifically for describing people.
The latter is called gendered pronouns, she made that exact distinction. No "maybe" about it
Hard disagree. There's a vast difference between a special category of nouns (i.e., pronouns) being gendered and every noun being gendered.
English lacks gendered noun classes and doesn't require agreement between separate words, you're right. But pronouns are still reflective of grammatical gender and they're artifacts from the Anglo-Saxon language, which did have arbitrary gendered noun classes. There are other nouns that indicate gender too, also artifacts from earlier forms of English, like waitress or actress. The feminine suffix -ess comes from Middle English, and the feminine suffix -en comes from Anglo-Saxon, like in the words maiden or chicken.
Maybe a distinction could be made between abstract, arbitrary gendered nouns (like a lamp is feminine) and gendered nouns specifically for describing people.
Sure, but there’s a vast difference between a special category of nouns (i.e., pronouns) being gendered and every noun being gendered.
The latter is called gendered pronouns, she made that exact distinction. No "maybe" about it