Gender-inclusive languages across the world
Respecting people’s identities by learning gender neutral forms in local languages while traveling can help create stronger bonds with everyone on the gender spectrum. Let’s find out how gender inclusive language has evolved in several places throughout time.
The need for linguistic evolution
For people who are gender nonconforming or genderless, a binary gender pronoun may not suit them. In English, the use of the singular they pronoun has gained popularity as a way to refer to someone whose gender is unknown or who prefers a non binary pronoun. Neopronouns exist and are used as well, such as xe/xir or ze/zir. The preferred terminology depends on the person. Since sex and gender are separate concepts, and masculinity/femininity/androgyny do not dictate gender identity, you never know what someone’s preferred gender pronouns may be.
Although it may seem overwhelming to overhaul the way you talk, incorporating gender neutral pronouns in daily life can help alleviate dysphoria in genderqueer and genderfluid people and further normalize their gender identity in society. It upholds that the binary gender system is a social construct and is a continuum. Allies can strive to be open to gender diversity by deconstructing gendered language when it’s unnecessary and respecting how people self-identify.
A way to enact a gender inclusive approach is to stay knowledgeable about gender diversity in the queer community, particularly in the ways we can use gender inclusive language in everyday life.
How to create a gender inclusive language?
How is gender diversity represented in other languages? As the world becomes more aware of LGBTQ folks, activism in linguistic gender inclusivity has worked at unique paces. Some languages aren’t heavily gendered to begin with, like most Uralic languages, such as Estonian or Finnish. Others are grammatically reliant on gendered terms, such as Latin languages or Arabic.
The two general approaches to reforming languages have been either adapting current linguistic rules to include gender neutrality or creating new words and grammar to accommodate.
A big challenge in both lies in words being able to be spoken and written. For example, in Spanish, the ending -x had become popular in writing (I.e. Latinx), but concern was expressed over how pronounceable this change is on a multitude of words.
Adapting the language
This concept involves maintaining official grammar and vocabulary but giving them a new spin in order to include nonbinary people. English is a good example of this: the singular they pronoun already existed and this is merely giving it a new use.
Other languages are also exploring this concept, if their plural pronoun is gender-neutral. This is the case for Arabic (هما) German (sier) and Yiddish (zey). All of them are able to use their plural pronoun for singular neutral use.
Creating new words
Although unofficially recognized by their respective language academy, it seems that most languages need to create a space for gender neutrality in their language. This is particularly the case for Latin languages, which rely heavily on gendered grammar. The LGBT community has been fighting for these terms to be normalized and officiated for inclusivity.
For Latin descendants, gender and language go hand-in-hand. Spanish, Portuguese and Italian use letters at the end of words in order to indicate gender. Language reforms have touched upon using new endings to signify gender neutrality. In Spanish for instance, the alternative that has gained traction is the ending -e, which is neither the masculine -o or the feminine -a.
New pronouns are created such as in the case of French (iel) and Swedish (hen). These come from a combination of their feminine and masculine form. In Swedish, hen has been recognized officially as a pronoun referring to non-binary people.
Since these linguistic movements are fairly recent, it’s normal to struggle to find information on how to best use gender neutrality. That said, expressing interest and care in respecting people’s gender worldwide is a great step towards a world of equality.
