Dutch is a peculiar language in that certain nouns have more than one gender. This first academic study of double gender nouns (DGNs) in the Dutch language investigates this anomaly. First assigned a lexicological classification, the DGNs are then analysed contextually by means of a corpus study. DGNs are shown to be part of a generalized restructuring of Dutch gender as a whole. No longer a fringe phenomenon in the Dutch gender system, this study shows them to be catalysts in the transition towards a (more) semantic system, a process that is much more advanced than commonly assumed.
This first academic study of double gender nouns (DGNs) in the Dutch language investigates why certain nouns have more than one gender. DGNs are shown to be part of a generalized restructuring of Dutch gender as a whole, and this study shows them to be catalysts in the transition towards a (more) semantic system.
