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Article published In: Historiographia Linguistica
Vol. 43:3 (2016) ► pp.363–391

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Gender Asymmetries in Iroquoian Languages and their Cultural Correlates

 | Adam Mickiewicz University
Published online: 21 December 2016
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https://doi.org/10.1075/hl.43.3.05kil
Summary
This article examines the approaches to grammatical gender in Northern Iroquoian languages, ranging from the earliest references made by French missionaries in the 1630s to contemporary studies. The author focuses on two motifs in descriptions of Iroquoian gender: the supposedly ‘primitive’ nature of its morphological expression, which was mentioned predominantly in 18th-century accounts of Huron, and the asymmetries between the expression of masculine and feminine reference, which have been the main topic of the accounts of Mohawk, Oneida and Onondaga since the late 19th century. By tracing the two motifs the close links that were established between gender and culture patterns are illustrated, frequently leading to contradictory explanations concerning diachronic scenarios as well as more general impressionistic properties attributed to the languages and their speakers.
Résumé
Cet article examine les analyses réalisées sur les genres grammaticaux des langues iroquoises du Nord, depuis les missionnaires français des années 1630 jusqu’aux études contemporaines. Deux descriptions des genres grammaticaux en iroquois sont ciblées : la présumée nature ‘primitive’ des expressions morphologiques, majoritairement mentionnée dans les ouvrages traitant du huron au XIIIe siècle, ainsi que les asymétries entre expressions de référence masculine et féminine, principalement abordées dans les recherches effectuées sur le mohawk, l’oneida et l’onondaga à partir du XXe siècle. En suivant ces deux axes, nous comptons démontrer le lien étroit établi entre les genres grammaticaux et les spécificités culturelles, conduisant souvent à des explications contradictoires concernant le développement historique de la langue ainsi qu’ à des propriétés impressionnistes plutôt générales attribuées à la langue en question et à ses locuteurs.
Zusammenfassung
Dieser Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit den Analysen des grammatischen Genus in nordirokesischen Sprachen, von den frühesten Darstellungen französischer Missionare um 1630 bis zu zeitgenössischen Studien. Dabei konzentriert sich der Autor auf zwei Themenbereiche: einerseits die vor allem im 18. Jahrhundert viel diskutierte, vermeintlich “primitive” Art und Weise, wie das Genus in der Sprache der Huronen morphologisch ausgedrückt wird, andererseits die Asymmetrien zwischen dem maskulinen und femininen Genus, die seit dem Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts ein zentrales Thema in den Berichten über die Sprachen der Mohawk, Oneida und Onondaga bildeten. In beiden Bereichen wurden enge Beziehungen zwischen dem grammatischen Genus und bestimmten kulturellen Mustern postuliert. Daraus ergeben sich nicht nur häufig widersprüchliche Erklärungen über diachronische Entwicklungen in den Sprachen, sondern es führt auch allgemein dazu, dass den Sprachen und deren Sprechern auf impressionistische Weise bestimmte Eigenschaften zugeschrieben werden.
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Cited by (4)

Cited by four other publications

Joseph, John E.
2022. Review of Kilarski (2021): A History of the Study of the Indigenous Languages of North America. Historiographia Linguistica 49:2-3 ► pp. 405 ff. DOI logo
Kilarski, Marcin
2018. American Indian Languages in the Eyes of 17th-Century French and British Missionaries. Studia Anglica Posnaniensia 53:s1 ► pp. 295 ff. DOI logo
Kilarski, Marcin
2021. Erminnie A. Smith (1836–1886). Historiographia Linguistica 48:2-3 ► pp. 228 ff. DOI logo
[no author supplied]
2021. A History of the Study of the Indigenous Languages of North America [Studies in the History of the Language Sciences, 129], DOI logo

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