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Gender-neutral language
 
 
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Gender-neutral language, gender-inclusive language, or gender neutrality is language use
Word usage

Word usage is how a word, phrase, or concept is used in a language. lexicography gather samples of written or spoken instances where a word is used and analyze them to determine patterns of regional or social usage as well as meaning....
 that aims at minimizing assumptions regarding the gender
Gender

Gender comprises a range of differences between man and woman, extending from the biological to the social. Biologically, the male gender is defined by the presence of a Y-chromosome, and its absence in the female gender....
 of human referents
Reference

A reference is a relation between Object in which one object designates by linking to another object. Such relations as these may occur in a variety of domains, including logic, computer science, time, art and scholarship....
. For example, this may include replacing words such as chairman and stewardess with terms such as chairperson and flight attendant.

The term should not be confused with that of genderless language
Genderless language

A genderless language is a natural language or constructed language human language that has no category of grammatical gender. Some linguists use the term "noun class" to be a broader categorization which includes the categorization by gender as a special case....
, which refers to languages without grammatical gender
Grammatical gender

In linguistics, grammatical genders, sometimes also called noun classes, are classes of nouns reflected in the behavior of associated words; every noun must belong to one of the classes and there should be very few which belong to several classes at once....
.

The advocacy of gender-neutral language reflects at least two different agenda:



Clearly, removing gender marking in language altogether would automatically cover issues of inclusion.

Gender-neutral language is sometimes described as non-sexist language by advocates, and politically correct
Political correctness

Political correctness is a term applied to language, ideas, policies, or behavior seen as seeking to minimize offense to gender, racial, cultural, disabled, aged or other identity groups....
 language by opponents.

Various forms of gender-neutral language
Language

A language is a form of symbol communication in which elements are combined to represents something other than themselves. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon....
 became a common feature in written and spoken versions of many languages in the late twentieth century.






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Gender-neutral language, gender-inclusive language, or gender neutrality is language use
Word usage

Word usage is how a word, phrase, or concept is used in a language. lexicography gather samples of written or spoken instances where a word is used and analyze them to determine patterns of regional or social usage as well as meaning....
 that aims at minimizing assumptions regarding the gender
Gender

Gender comprises a range of differences between man and woman, extending from the biological to the social. Biologically, the male gender is defined by the presence of a Y-chromosome, and its absence in the female gender....
 of human referents
Reference

A reference is a relation between Object in which one object designates by linking to another object. Such relations as these may occur in a variety of domains, including logic, computer science, time, art and scholarship....
. For example, this may include replacing words such as chairman and stewardess with terms such as chairperson and flight attendant.

The term should not be confused with that of genderless language
Genderless language

A genderless language is a natural language or constructed language human language that has no category of grammatical gender. Some linguists use the term "noun class" to be a broader categorization which includes the categorization by gender as a special case....
, which refers to languages without grammatical gender
Grammatical gender

In linguistics, grammatical genders, sometimes also called noun classes, are classes of nouns reflected in the behavior of associated words; every noun must belong to one of the classes and there should be very few which belong to several classes at once....
.

The advocacy of gender-neutral language reflects at least two different agenda:

  • One aims to clarify the inclusion of all sexes or genders (gender-inclusive language).
  • The other proposes that gender, as a category, is rarely worth marking in language (gender-neutral language).


Clearly, removing gender marking in language altogether would automatically cover issues of inclusion.

Gender-neutral language is sometimes described as non-sexist language by advocates, and politically correct
Political correctness

Political correctness is a term applied to language, ideas, policies, or behavior seen as seeking to minimize offense to gender, racial, cultural, disabled, aged or other identity groups....
 language by opponents.

Various forms of gender-neutral language
Language

A language is a form of symbol communication in which elements are combined to represents something other than themselves. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon....
 became a common feature in written and spoken versions of many languages in the late twentieth century. Many feminists have argued that prior to this time, the practice of assigning masculine gender to generic antecedents was due to every language reflecting "the prejudices of the society in which it evolved, and English evolved through most of its history in a male-centered, patriarchal
Patriarchy

Patriarchy can be defined as the structuring of society on the basis of family units, where fathers have primary Social responsibility for the welfare of, and authority over, their families....
 society."

Various languages employ different means to achieve gender neutrality, see the following articles for specific discussions:

  • Gender neutrality in English
  • Gender-neutrality in languages with grammatical gender
    Gender-neutrality in languages with grammatical gender

    Gender-inclusive language in languages with grammatical gender implies promoting word usage which is balanced in its treatment of the genders. For example, advocates of gender-neutral language challenge the traditional use of masculine nouns and pronouns when referring to both genders or to a person or people of an unknown gender in most Ind...
  • Gender-neutrality in genderless languages
    Gender-neutrality in genderless languages

    Gender-neutral language in genderless languages is typically achieved by using gender-inclusive words instead of gender-specific ones when one speaks of people whose gender is unknown, ambiguous, or unimportant....


See also

  • Epicene
    Epicene

    Epicene is an adjective for loss of gender distinction, often specific loss of masculinity. It includes:* effeminacy ? a male with female characteristics,...
  • Genderless language
    Genderless language

    A genderless language is a natural language or constructed language human language that has no category of grammatical gender. Some linguists use the term "noun class" to be a broader categorization which includes the categorization by gender as a special case....
  • Gender-neutral pronoun
    Gender-neutral pronoun

    This term designates two distinct grammatical phenomena:* pronouns/periphrastics that have been assigned nontraditional meanings in modern times out of a concern for gender-equity, and...
  • Gender-specific pronoun
    Gender-specific pronoun

    A language has 'gender-specific pronouns' when personal pronouns have different forms according to the gender of their referents.The English language has three gender-specific pronouns in the grammatical conjugation, whose declension forms are also gender-specific: he , she , and it ....
  • Gender-specific job title
    Gender-specific job title

    A gender-specific job title is a name of a employment that also specifies or implies the gender role of the person performing that job, such as stewardess....
  • Gender in Bible translation
    Gender in Bible translation

    Translating the names of God There are a number of ways to translate the names of God into English from Hebrew language. Hebrew uses only four consonants for the name ? Yod-Heh-Waw-Heh ? hence it is called the Tetragrammaton....
  • Generic antecedents
  • Unisex name
    Unisex name

    A unisex name, also known as an epicene name, is a given name that is often given to either a boy or a girl. Some countries, however, require that a given name be gender-specific ....
  • Gender role
    Gender role

    The set of perceived behavioral Norm associated particularly with males or females, in a given social group or system. It can be a form of division of labour by gender....
  • Markedness
    Markedness

    Markedness is a Linguistics concept that developed out of the Prague School. A marked form is a non-basic or less natural form. An unmarked form is a basic, default form....