A semiotic approach to grammatical gender in Mandarin Chinese

Abstract The present article addresses the typical linguistic forms of Mandarin Chinese with regard to the grammatical gender of the language, for which the whole text is articulated in different segments that explain the nature of “feminine” and “masculine” in Chinese and their historical implications, taking into account how distant it may be for speakers of Indo-European languages. The study then discusses some examples of sinograms that use the “feminine” radical in their graphical materializations, which sometimes brings semantic connotations to the sinogram itself. In addition, the text reflects on the third-person pronoun in Mandarin and the historical evolution it has undergone. Finally, the article explains some sinograms that are used to mark gender, especially in relation to animals or animate beings.