 | The gender of trade names |
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Is there a rule for trade names and the gender that they take? For example, if I want to ask for a specific type of beer e.g. Mythos, is it feminine (because beer is feminine) or does it take a neuter gender? So would I say: μια Μύθος παρακαλώ or ένα Μύθος παρακαλώ Thank you |
| Re: The gender of trade names |
| I'm no expert in Greek but logic tells me that if you just say "beer" it should be feminine, μια μπύρα of course. But if you call it by its name then the article should follow suit, i.e. depending on the gender of the name. Μύθος sounds masculine to me (if it is not some exception) so it should be ένας Μύθος I suppose. Let's see what others have to say. |
| Re: The gender of trade names |
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With trade names there is an implied or understood noun describing what kind of thing it is. In the case of Mythos, a brand of beer, the implied noun is indeed η μπίρα (L36). The name itself is treated as an indeclinable label, and any articles and/or adjectives agree in gender, number, and case with the implied noun. Thus, using Mythos as an example: η/τη [μπίρα] Μύθος, της [μπίρας] Μύθος So you'd say to the waiter: Δωσ' μου ακόμα μια Μύθος παρακαλώ. - Give me another Mythos, please. Here's another example, using the name of a large Greek supermarket chain: η/την [αλυσίδα σούπερ μάρκετ] Carrefour Μαρινόπουλος, της [αλυσίδας σούπερ μάρκετ] Carrefour Μαρινόπουλος - the Carrefour-Marinopoulos supermarket chain And another example, using the name of a large multinational consumer electronics company: η/τη [εταιρεία] Γερμανός, της [εταιρείας] Γερμανός - the Germanos company Regards, Greg Brush |
| Re: The gender of trade names |
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By the way, strictly speaking, in print these trade names should be enclosed in quotes to indicate that we are dealing with a brand name, i.e., with an indeclinable label: η/τη «Μύθος», της «Μύθος» η/την «Καρφούρ Μαρινόπουλος», της «Καρφούρ Μαρινόπουλος» η/τη «Γερμανός», της «Γερμανός». However, in practice this is very often not done, since the reader is usually expected to know the name in question. Thus you will normally see well known trade names in print used without quotes. However, where there may be some uncertainty that a trade name is known to readers, the writer will likely use quotes. |
| Re: The gender of trade names |
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Greg, I have a question on this topic of inflection of trade names so I've posted it as a new topic. Thanks. |
