Messages: 3
Language: English
Alkanadi (User's profile) June 25, 2014, 2:24:59 PM
"Ĝi is used principally with animals and objects".
Wikipedia
In English we refer to animals as "it" unless we know the gender. If we know the gender of an animal then it is called a "he" or a "she". Does Esperanto work the same way? Or, is it always an "it" even if we know the sex of the animal?
Wikipedia
In English we refer to animals as "it" unless we know the gender. If we know the gender of an animal then it is called a "he" or a "she". Does Esperanto work the same way? Or, is it always an "it" even if we know the sex of the animal?
nornen (User's profile) June 25, 2014, 3:23:45 PM
If I am not mistaken you use "ĝi" for animals in general, and "ŝi" or "li" for pets.
A rule of thumb could be that if the animal has a proper name (Spike, Belle, Mr. Tibbers) use "li" or "ŝi", otherwise "ĝi".
A rule of thumb could be that if the animal has a proper name (Spike, Belle, Mr. Tibbers) use "li" or "ŝi", otherwise "ĝi".
bartlett22183 (User's profile) June 25, 2014, 6:30:11 PM
It would seem legitimate to me that if one is discussing an aggregate of non-pet animals, some of which are female and some male, then it would be acceptable to refer to individuals as "ŝi" or "li" when the sex is significant to the discussion.