'Componente' as a uniform noun with two genders

Abstract

The main aim of this study is to analyze the grammatical gender of the word component. The need to identify the gender of this noun arises from the fact that, in recent decades, it has been used more frequently in scientific, political, cultural, social, industrial, IT and other fields. Our questions have increasingly been raised in practically all linguistic disciplines (morphology, syntax, semantics and lexicology). The conclusion of our research indicates that the most decisive factors in interpreting the gender of the name in question are diaphasic and semantic. At the same time, we found a partial influence of frequency of use. Our study is based mainly on two pillars: corpus linguistics, which contributed to the creation of the material studied, and the extensive research of Maria Carmen Frias e Gouveia, which provided the key points of the methodological framework of our research.