system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why are some countries referred to as 'fatherlands', and others as 'motherlands'?
gpt
It is primarily the local tradition. The English term tends to follow what is used in the local language; in English (and other Germanic languages) we normally use "Fatherland," but we faithfully translate "Motherland" from e.g. the Russian *rodina*, which is a feminine word in that language.