So! with regard to English counties, Where does Mersyside come into it. Male or female?

Question

Aurélie Drouard · Accepted Answer

Bonjour Ian !Mmmmmhhh, I checked to make sure that my first instinct was correct, and indeed, Merseyside is masculine in French:
J'habite dans le Merseyside.
See https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merseyside
This got me wondering whether all English counties are actually considered as masculine in French (regardless of their ending), so I went around to check.
It turns out that Merseyside seems to be the only -e county (except for the -shire ones), and all are masculine, with two notable exceptions:
- Cornwall, which in French is translated as la or les Cornouailles.- Isle of Wight, which is a special case due to the term "île" : l'île de Wight.
J'habite en Cornouailles.J'habite (sur) l'île de Wight.
Thanks to you, I learned something today :)
I hope that's helpful to you too!Bonne journée !

Chris Wirt · Answer

I would treat it as a feminine region (the "-shires" being exceptions to the rule):

Je viens de la Mersyside.
Je vais en Mersyside.

-- Chris (not a native speaker).

Ian McCaffrey · Answer

Thank you, Claus/Chris. On your advice, from now on I will treat it as feminine. :)

Ron Thomas · Answer

Bonjour Ian,
Chris, je m'excuse, mais voyez ces deux leçons-ci:
https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/my-languages/french/view/4713
https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/my-languages/french/view/3118
English provinces ending in "-shire" are masculine

Ron

Ian McCaffrey · Answer

Hi Ron, Thanks for your help, but I'm still confused. Are we saying then that all English counties are masculine?

Ian McCaffrey · Answer

Hi Ron, Thanks for your help, but I'm still confused. Are we saying then that all English counties are masculine?

Ron Thomas · Answer

The take-away from the lesson that I referenced would be that all of the «-shires» are masculine; if there are other counties that have endings other than -shire then they may be feminine or masculine.  Aurélie clearly notes this in both of the lessons that I referenced.
You might wish to consider addressing this to Aurélie specifically.  I understand that she lives in the UK so would have first-hand knowledge.  My response to your question is based solely on the lesson.

Bonne journée,

Ian McCaffrey · Answer

Hi Ron, Thanks for taking the time to help me.I will take your advice and ask Aurélie.

Merci encore et passez une bonne journée.
Ian.

Chris Wirt · Answer

Yes, of course the -shires are masculine. If you reread my original post that's what I said: they are the exception to the rule that all regions ending on e are feminine. I apologize if I haven't been clear on that.

-- Chris.