Terms "Sayyad" and "Mahi gir" are used for both men and woman that fishes in Persian language.

"Sayyad Samak" in Arabic, and the word is the same one for both male and female.

They are all the same word in Telugu language from India:

Fisherman – Matsyakārulu (మత్స్యకారులు)

Matsya means Fish. The meaning is those practice the craft of fishing.

Dear Danika,

Hungarians have no sea at the moment but we had it long time ago.

Fish = hal, 'fisher' or 'fisherman' is halász and 'fisherwoman' can be a halász felesége (the wife of the fisherman).

Dear Danika,

here is my German help:

fisher: Fischer, Fischerin

fisherman: Fischersmann

fisherwomen: Fischersfrau

Make a good fishing: Petri Heil

Dear Hanno,

Fischerin and Fischersfrau may have the same meaning in English.

Fischerin is a woman who fishes, Fischersfrau is the wife of a fisher (Fischer or Fischersmann).

Dear András,

you are completely right.

It´s interesting, the male fisher and fisherman works as a professional fisher, the fisherwomen or fisherwife wife works as a female "husband". And if the female wants to work as fisher she has to work in english in the masculine form as "fisher" not as fisherwife.

But it´s not my standard job to analyse languages.

BTW: Do you know the fantastic fable of Grimm "Von dem Fischer un syner Fru" in Plattdeutsch. I loved it as child and I still remember.

Dear Danika,

In Azeri, fisherman or woman are the same and there are three words used for them as follows:

Fisherman and fisher:  balıqçı, balıqtutan and torçu.

Dear Hanno,

Thanks for your answer. Unfortunately, I know only the Hochdeutsch version of this tale. If you can send me the original Plattdeutsch version it would be famos!

I have bought my Grimm tale collection (Kinder und Hausmärchen) im Kulturzentrum der DDR in Budapest more than 30 years ago.

Dear András,

I´ve found a platdütsch version in the internet in the following URL:

http://www.gsgoehl.de/maer_fischer.htm

Have fun!

Dear Hanno,

Many thanks for the tale. Frankly spoken the Plattdeautsh version was more difficult for me than the Spanish one. Or I would have needed more time to get accustomed to it.

Dear András,

there are english appeals in plattdütsch. Just look at th word "he". It´s the same in plattdütsch and english.

Fish - Nuste

Fisherman- Nustekar

Fisherwomen- Nustekaan

in INdias Goan Language KONKANI

Hello Danika!

In French, there is no generic wording for this term. Pêcheur (masculine) and Pêcheuse (feminine) are what you have to use for fisher. The interesting issue in French is that you have to pay attention to the accent because pécheur (with accute accent) it means a sinner (masculine or male) and pécheresse is the feminine form for pécheur (sinner). There is always the possibility to use a paraphrase like "une personne qui pêche" (a person who fishes). I think that the paraphrase is probably available in all languages (may be a universal).

Éric

Thank you all so very much!  These answers are very helpful.  

András Bozsik may I ask you a follow up question?  According to google translate (which has been incorrect quite a lot) fisherwoman=halásznők in Hungarian.  Is this a closer translation for a woman that fishes (not necessarily a wife of a fisherman)?  I was especially curious about the difference in Hungarian because it's my understanding that Hungarian is a Uralic language which usually don't have grammatical gendering of nouns.  Any help would be much appreciated!

Hi Danika -

In Danish the gender neutral term 'fisker' is used. The term 'fiskerkone' also exists, meaning the wife of a fisher(man), indicating that most would presume a 'fisker' to be a man (probably still today). Traditionally, a 'fiskerkone' could also refer to a woman selling fish as the fisherman's wife would often sell the catch in the nearest town.

Dear Danika,

In Hindi (Indian) Language:

Fisherman = Machhuara (Masculin)

Fisherwomen = Machhuarin (Feminine)

(Machh = Fish)

Dear Danika,

Halásznők means fisherwomen it is the plural form of halásznő. I note halásznő as a word which does not exist, nobody uses it. This is only a game to develop a not existing word. I can but repeat what Hanno wrote Fischerinnen have no professional activity, they are only the wives of Fischer. Yes, you are right in Hungarian there are no grammatical genders. Nő means simply woman. Halásznő is a totally abstract notion means a female fisher.

Dear All,

It was good to have a little chat with Hanno on the tale about the fisher and the enchanted or golden fish. When I read the tale it became obvious that the old fisher caught the fish with a fish-hook. Generally, fishers use nets and the users of a hook are called anglers. In Hungarian horgász and horgásznő (generally women do not angle), in German Angler and Anglerin.

Dear Hanno,

What about the connection and similarity between the Dutch language and Plattdeutsch? Many say Dutch language is an intermediate station between German and English. I think Dutch language is a bit nearer to the German.

Dear András,

you know my profession. But indeed I´ve learnt exactly what you stated for the Dutch and English similarities. Dutch can be understood by each willingly German.

One of my reminescences from my youth was another plattdüütsch novel, called "Ut mine Stromtid vun Fritz Reuter". And I was even as a child astonished about the similarities of Dutch, English and plattdüütsch. I understood the text without any problems in spite the fact that I was grown up in southern Germany.

PS: nice comment about Angler and Anglerin who both do the job with the hook. In Germany Anglerinnen are not so rare.

Dear Hanno,

Thanks for your answer.

Of course, I know your profession but I was eager for your personnel opinion. Generally, physicists are very accurate people. When I first met Plattdeutsch, it was in the novel of Kurt Tucholsky: Schloss Gripsholm. You must have read it. The “Princessin” used sometimes very expressive and it seemed to me virile Plattdeutsch expressions.

Dear Danika,

Like Eric Poirier pointed out for French, in European Portuguese there is also a similarity within the words. Fishermen is Pescador and Fisherwoman is Pescadora. If we drop the 's' ten we get a 'sinner'.

Dear Jorge and Eric,

What may be the explication of the mentioned similarities?

Dear Anika:

In Galician Language ( NW Spain) .

Fishermen = Pescador,    but if you ask to the galician fishermen almost all of them describes themselves like MARIÑEIRO ( people form the sea), also Mariñeira.

The women that works in the water line harvesting shellfish ( 90 % of them are women) are knew as MARISCADORAS.

There is another great name, PERCEBEIROS. People that harvests and specific type of crustacean, Percebe (Pollicipes pollicipes), from rocks. This is the most dangerous kind of shellfish harvest in Galicia,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCWrjt8hCZk

The owners of aquiculture platforms of mussels ( Bateas) are called BATEIROS

The Spanish language takes words as Percebeiros or, Bateiros , from Galician.

RIBAR for both sex

Dear Hugo,

Dear All,

I think “Yo no soy marinero, Yo no soy marinero, soy capitan” in La Bamba cannot mean fisherman buti it is good to listen to the song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp6j5HJ-Cok

Dear All,

It seems to me that Danika has abandoned her own thread. Participants need sometimes a bit of care…

I am still here and categorizing the very helpful answers.  I am also carefully taking account of who has contributed so that they can be added to the acknowledgements of the paper!  Please let me know if for any reason you don't want to be included.

Dear Danika,

the main matter is, to read the contents and analysis in your paper, I´m curious.

Thank you all for your help. Using the answers given here, as well as other researchers I have created a data table of translations attached here.  There are still many languages missing, and other languages that I have specific questions about.  The table includes a column of questions related to the specific languages.  If you have any answers, corrections, or comments, please let me know.  Also please feel free to send this far and wide.  Thanks again!

Data Fisher_translations_Branch&Kleiber_2014

Dear Mrs Kleiber,

Like in some of another European language in Bulgarian the situation is same. Fishermen is 'Ribar' and Fisherwoman is 'Ribarka'.

all of word are same in Iran language.

It might be too late, but any way

In Danish we use the term fisker= fisherman for both genders. But notice

tale som fiskerkælling= talk like Billingsgate

fiskerpige= fisherman's daugther

fiskerkælling= fishwife

fiskerkone= fisherman's wife  but in terms of fishmonger= fishwife

Hello Everyone,

Thank you all for your help with translations.  My co-author Trevor Branch and I have published the paper (Branch & Kleiber. 2015. Should we call them fishers or fishermen? Fish and Fisheries DOI 10.1111/faf.12130). The full table of translations is available in the on-line version. If anyone has trouble accessing the table please let me know and I will send you the final table. Thanks again!

Always,

Danika

Dear Danika. Could you please send me the final table as I have had trobule accessing.

yours Lisbeth Pedersen

Hello All,

I have attached the final version of the paper "Should we call them fishers or fishermen?" and the table of translations of "fisher" "fishermen" and "fisherwomen" into 75 different languages. The table was published as supplementary on-line material. Thanks again to everyone who added their expertise! 

Sincerely,

Danika

Article Should we call them fishers or fishermen?

Data Translations of "fisher" "fisherman" & "fisherwoman" Branch&...

I see that it is an old discussion, by the way, in case it may be useful, in Italian we say 'pescatore' to refer to a man, and 'pescatrice' to refer to a woman.