{"id":19014,"date":"2021-05-12T09:53:22","date_gmt":"2021-05-12T09:53:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.open-up.ch\/the-thorny-but-important-issue-of-inclusive-language\/"},"modified":"2021-05-12T10:36:16","modified_gmt":"2021-05-12T10:36:16","slug":"the-thorny-but-important-issue-of-inclusive-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open-up.ch\/en\/the-thorny-but-important-issue-of-inclusive-language\/","title":{"rendered":"The thorny but important issue of inclusive language"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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05.05.2021 |<\/p>\n

The thorny but important issue of inclusive language<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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Are you a \u201che\/she\u201d or a \u201cthey\u201d kind of person? Does it irritate you when people go out of their way to speak or write inclusively? Inclusive language is a topic of heated debate. And a good thing too: language is something that\u2019s alive and evolving. <\/strong><\/p>

Language forms and influences us down to our very deepest ideas and beliefs. When asked to draw a \u201cteacher\u201d or \u201cpupil\u201d, children often depict predominantly male figures. See for yourself in the video<\/a> from journalist Eva Schulz (in German). In German the consequences are even more far-reaching: if the feminine form of the noun is left out for male-dominated roles such as engineers and electricians, fewer girls realise that these trades and professions might also be something for them.<\/p>

The male prototype
<\/strong>For the longest time the German (and French) language used the masculine generic form \u2013 for example \u201cKunde\u201d (female form \u201cKundin\u201d), \u201cMitarbeiter\u201d (\u201cMitarbeiterin\u201d) and \u201cClient\u201d (as opposed to \u201cCliente\u201d) \u2013 to also include females. Writers assumed that masculine terms would be interpreted to mean both sexes. But in reality that rarely happens. Numerous studies in various languages have repeatedly shown that the generic male form is not interpreted generically, but predominantly as male \u2013 not just by children, but by adults as well. The result is that women are less likely to respond to job ads written in the masculine form, and the results of surveys are distorted because the use of the masculine influences the responses of females. Language has a direct influence on companies and businesses.<\/p>

At the beginning of 2021, the definitive reference Duden abolished the generic male form in German. The male form no longer applies to both genders. A \u201cPolitiker\u201d (\u201cpolitician\u201d) is now a \u201cmale person who holds political office\u201d.<\/p>

Diversity of inclusive language
<\/strong>But what options are there for making language inclusive? The German language is a really interesting case in point, so let\u2019s look at the pros and cons of the various options.<\/p>