# Languages that do not have gendered pronouns **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 31, 2022, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-do-not-have-gendered-pronouns/958688 "2022-01-31T15:45:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-do-not-have-gendered-pronouns/958688/81 "2022-02-10T04:13:09Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > Jack and John went to fetch a pail of water. Jack carried the pail and John carried the ladle.” Some religious groups do this because they don’t want to assign a gender to God. They just say “God” or “God’s” every time and never use a pronoun. * * * * * * > [@Didi44](#): > > In Hawaii we have calabash relatives who aren’t related by blood, but were close family friends. In South Texas – don’t know if this is prevalent in other Spanish-speaking areas – _comadre_ and _compadre_ have a special meaning: > In Mexico, we say someone is our “comadre” (feminine) or “compadre” (male) when they are the godparents of our child (in baptism), … > [Cite](https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/comadre-compadre.655816/) ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-do-not-have-gendered-pronouns/958688/82 "2022-02-10T13:08:54Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > In South Texas – don’t know if this is prevalent in other Spanish-speaking areas – _comadre_ and _compadre_ have a special meaning: > > > In Mexico, we say someone is our “comadre” (feminine) or “compadre” (male) when they are the godparents of our child (in baptism), … > > [Cite](https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/comadre-compadre.655816/) Same thing in Italian—the relationship is called _comparatico_ (co-parenthood). To a child, their baptismal sponsors/godparents are _madrina_ and _padrino_. (_Madrina_ is also the lady who smashes the champagne bottle on a ship). To the child’s parents, the child’s sponsors are _comare_ and _compare_. In Sicilian, _cummari_ and _cumpari_. The relationship between you and your child’s sponsors is supposed to be every bit as close as blood relation, and is sacred to St. John the Baptist. This is why there are two different words for godfather. The Italian translation of Puzo’s novel The Godfather was _Il Padrino_, not _Il Compare_. Also, _cummari_ and _cumpari_ are colloquialisms to address your close friends by, even if they didn’t literally sponsor your child. Even if you’re childfree. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-do-not-have-gendered-pronouns/958688/83 "2022-02-10T15:10:25Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > To the child’s parents, the child’s sponsors are _comare_ and _compare_ . In Sicilian, _cummari_ and _cumpari_ . Aren’t these also the origins of Italian-American slang terms “goomar” (mistress) and “goombah”? ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-do-not-have-gendered-pronouns/958688/84 "2022-02-10T15:43:03Z")
> [@kitap](#): > > I took Turkish specifically because there is no grammatical gender. He, she, and it it are all the word o. Curiously, it’s exactly the same in my wife’s African language. When she is speaking English she never has an issue with referring to an inaminate object as ‘it’ but does mix up ‘he’ and ‘she’ when talking about people. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-do-not-have-gendered-pronouns/958688/85 "2022-02-10T15:50:14Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > > [@Johanna](#): > > > > To the child’s parents, the child’s sponsors are _comare_ and _compare_ . In Sicilian, _cummari_ and _cumpari_ . > > Aren’t these also the origins of Italian-American slang terms “goomar” (mistress) and “goombah”? Maybe maybe Neapolitan? Cf. “cumpà”, “cummà”. I heard something on this subject from an actual Italian, but do not remember all the details. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-do-not-have-gendered-pronouns/958688/86 "2022-02-17T00:51:28Z")
It must be Neapolitan, because it doesn’t match the Sicilian words. All of them, Spanish too, go back to Latin _commater_ and _compater_. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-do-not-have-gendered-pronouns/958688/87 "2022-02-17T01:50:57Z")
The origin could be either the Italian, Sicilian or Neapolitan words being pronounced by someone who doesn’t actually speak any of those languages and doesn’t even hear the sounds correctly, forget about replicating them. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-do-not-have-gendered-pronouns/958688/88 "2022-02-17T02:14:19Z")
I think it’s likely Neapolitan, because (particularly around the province of Naples) there is a tendency for word-final vowels to drop (as in fagioli \> fazool). Dictionaries seem to suggest _cumpare_ and _cummara,_ but Wiktionary, at least, seems to think there’s a _cumpà_ ([cumpà - Wiktionary](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cump%C3%A0#Neapolitan)). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-do-not-have-gendered-pronouns/958688.md?page=4)