The times seem to be ripe: in many countries around the world, discussions on how to solve the gender gap and protect the LGBTQ+ community ignite the public debate. In this context, language evolves together with society as it shifts to more respectful communication towards different groups of people. In many languages, in fact, it is increasingly common to hear the term inclusive language. This expression is used to identify a way of communicating that is free from words, tones and expressions that are discriminatory and prejudicial to certain groups of people.
Inclusive language embraces all instances that have to do with respectful and accessible communication between people: it is anti-racist, non-discriminatory toward people with disabilities and the spectrum of gender identities with which people identify. Also, part of this inclusive vision is the spread of tools and apps that translate their content into multiple languages to be accessible to as many people as possible.
Becoming familiar with gender-inclusive languages also means learning new words that are part of an evolving lexicon among the LGBTQ+ community and beyond. Here are some words we will use throughout the article:
- gender: set of norms and habits that define each person’s presence, expression and role in society; gender is different from the sex assigned at birth, which instead refers to the presence of certain anatomical and biological features observable at birth
- gender identity: the act of self-determination by which each person perceives and manifests their gender
- gender-fluid: people whose gender identity varies over time or depending on the context or people they interact with
- LGBTQ+: acronym that encompasses the wide spectrum of existing gender identities, sexual and romantic orientations
- non-binary: gender identity of people who reject the binary construction of gender and the roles and expectations usually ascribed to men and women
What does gender-inclusive language mean?
Gender-inclusive language is a branch of inclusive communication. From the United States to Mexico, from China to India, via Spain, Italy, Germany and more. Countries are increasingly seeing their languages change and adapt to the needs and new definitions cherished by speakers and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
According to the United Nations gender-inclusive language guidelines:
“Using gender-inclusive language means speaking and writing in a way that does not discriminate against a particular sex, social gender or gender identity, and does not perpetuate gender stereotypes. Given the key role of language in shaping cultural and social attitudes, using gender-inclusive language is a powerful way to promote gender equality and eradicate gender bias.”
Three friends sit at a table in what looks like a coffee shop, they chat and laugh heartily.
In practice, using gender-inclusive language means embracing gender-neutral and gender-positive expressions that deconstruct patriarchal attitudes and beliefs.
Those who advocate the use of gender-inclusive language believe that this helps to:
- denounce sexism and gender intolerance
- highlight the concept that gender is a spectrum, so besides men and women other genders exist, are valid, and need to be visibilized
- unhinge gender biases that especially harm women and non-binary people, preventing them from fully enjoying rights and opportunities
- value and respect people in the LGBTQ+ community, their lives, and choices
- not privilege some people to the detriment of others
As the European Parliament puts it, “gender-neutral or gender-inclusive language is more than a matter of political correctness. Language powerfully reflects and influences attitudes, behavior, and perceptions.” This means that gender-neutral language is not only for talking about non-binary and gender-fluid identities. It can be an effective tool to address and dismantle sexist language.
Whatever language you are studying, we want to encourage you to explore the path of inclusivity. In this way, you will not only enhance your vocabulary, but you will enrich your ability to express yourself and support causes you believe in, such as women and LGBTQ+ rights.
A person holds in front of them, hiding their face, a blackboard with 3 English pronouns written on it: he/him, she/her and they/them. Next to each pronoun is a checkbox; the one on the gender-inclusive pronoun they/them is marked.
Gender inclusion in the world’s most widely spoken languages
Now that we know what gender-inclusive languages have in common, it is time to go into more detail. Let’s see how gender neutral languages are addressed in 5 of the most widely spoken languages in the world: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French and Mandarin Chinese.
Gender inclusive language in English
English doesn’t have grammatical gender and has very few gender markers like pronouns, possessives and some nouns and forms of address.
Personal nouns are mostly gender-neutral while there are personal pronouns specific for each gender (he, she, her and his, they and them).
The UN guidelines on gender-inclusive language in English recommend to:
use non-discriminatory language, like forms of address and pronouns that are consistent with people’s gender identity
avoid gender-stereotyped expressions, like “She throws/runs/fights like a girl” or “In a manly way”
use both feminine and masculine forms (he or she; her or his) when you want to make both women and men visible
You can also:
- use gender-neutral words, like “humankind” instead of “mankind”, “partner” instead of “wife/husband”, “firefighter” instead of “fireman”, etc.
- use gender-neutral pronouns, like they/them (singular they), instead of the binary masculine/feminine pronouns
The prestigious Merriam-Webster dictionary elected singular they word of the year in 2019. Today, there are many media, public and private institutions (like the American Psychological Association) that support this solution. Even the White House is among them!
Screenshot of the White House “Contact Us” web page. The drop-down menu in the Pronouns field is open and shows the options: she/her, he/him, they/them, other and prefer not to share.
More recently, Jennifer Lopez showed how parents can use the gender-neutral pronoun they to talk about their non-binary children. During the LA Dodgers Blue Diamond Gala, Lopez introduced her 14-year old child Emme Maribel Muñiz with these words:
“So this is a very special occasion. They are very, very busy. Booked. And pricey. They cost me when they come out. But they’re worth every single penny because they’re my favorite duet partner of all time.”
Gender inclusive language in Spanish
Given the enormous spread of Spanish around the world, it is not easy to summarize the debate on inclusive language for Spanish. Each Spanish-speaking country is pursuing the goal in a manner consistent with its linguistic and social context and the civil rights already guaranteed to the LGBTQ+ community.
However, we can identify two efforts that unite the evolution of gender inclusive language in Spanish:
- finding a neutral suffix to avoid the grammatical masculine/feminine forms
- raising awareness of sexist language and giving equal visibility to all genders
Spanish is a Romance language and, as such, involves a strict categorization of words into two grammatical genres, masculine and feminine.
The rule of thumb, found in every grammar and also carried forward by the Real Academia Española (the secular institution that monitors the use and evolution of Spanish) is clear: the generic masculine prevails and should be used to talk about collectives of several people of different genders.
This position has been challenged for some years now. Different social groups believe that more inclusive ways of referring to people can be found. And it is precisely from the needs of LGBTQ+ friendly speakers that new gender-inclusive suffixes are emerging.
A 2020 study by the Fundeu BBVA foundation and the Instituto de Ingeniería del Conocimiento revealed the prevalence of three non-binary gender suffixes among Spain and Latin American countries: @, -x and -e.
For example, let’s take the words “niño” (child, masculine) and “niña” (child, feminine). If we wanted to use a gender inclusive and non-binary form, we could write:
- niñ@
- niñx
- niñe
Illustration showing the text LGBTQ+ in the center, with the colors of the LGBTQ+ flag. In the left corner, a person opens their arms wide and smiles. In the right corner, a hand holds a mobile phone. A person pops out from the screen: they hold a mobile phone on whose screen the Preply logo appears.
The study showed that these three suffixes have a different spread in Spanish-speaking countries. In Argentina, for example, the forms with -x and -e are the most widespread. In Venezuela and Spain, the @ still prevails.
Gender inclusive language in Portuguese
Portuguese, like Spanish, has strong gender markers. Words are considered masculine or feminine, but when we want to speak generically or in the plural, the masculine gender is considered correct to represent the whole.
So, if we are talking about a group composed of boys, girls, or even children of other genders, grammar says the correct terminology to use is “eles” or “todos” to refer to the collective.
To get around this rule, gender neutral language in Portuguese is starting to embrace these solutions:
- use the symbols @ or “x” or the suffix “-e” in place of gender markers identified by “o” or “a”
- use other gender-neutral pronouns, such as “ile,” developed by Brazilian artist and consultant Pri Bertucci and psychologist Andrea Zanella in 2015. This pronoun is a proposal to replace the use of masculine “ele”/”eles” for non-binary people, and is inspired by Latin demonstrative neuter pronouns
During a consultation with HBO, Pri Bertucci and Andrea Zanella created an inclusive language manual that can be downloaded for free.
Gender inclusive language in French
The debate around gender neutral language in French began a long time ago. The first book to address the issue of sexism in the French language dates back to 1978 (Les Mots et les femmes, by linguist Marina Yaguello).
The more generalist debate began to come alive around 2013. In that year, the Haut Conseil à l’Egalité entre les femmes et les hommes published the first official document to open the debate (also) on the use of inclusive language in French society: it is the “Rapport relatif à la lutte contre les stéréotypes. Pour l’égalité femmes-hommes et contre les stéréotypes de sexe, conditionner les financements publics.“
One of the grammar rules most contested by gender inclusive language advocates is the one that says “le masculin l’emporte toujours sur le féminin”: the masculine always prevails over the feminine.
The rejection of this grammatical rule inspired several proposals to make the written language more inclusive and give equal representation to the masculine and feminine.
You can find a good collection of solutions and examples in the French version of the United Nations website. Some proposals are:
- use professional titles correctly, declining them to the feminine when referring to a woman
- do not reduce women to a first name, but use the surname as you do with men and, if relevant, professional title as well
- avoid the distinction between Mademoiselle and Madame, which emphasize a woman’s marital status even when not needed
- avoid expressions that favor one gender over the other (and choose, for example, “humanité” or “les êtres humains” instead of “les hommes”)
Illustration with French text “Bonjour, mes pronoms sont _ _ _” in the center. A rainbow in the colors of the LGBTQ+ flag pops up in the left corner and two people stand side by side, looking at each other and smiling. In the right corner another person shows the dashes of the central inscription to be filled in with pronouns.
New typographical strategies are also catching on and are used to make the masculine and feminine forms coexist in the same sentence:
- the slash, as in “le/la fonctionnaire nommé/e à ce poste s’acquitte des tâches suivantes” (“the employee appointed to this position performs the following tasks”)
- parentheses, as in “l’administrateur(trice) nomm(é)e à ce poste s’acquitte des tâches suivantes” (“the administrator appointed to this position performs the following tasks”)
- period, as in “l’administrateur.trice nommé.e à ce poste s’acquitte des tâches suivantes”
- midpoint, as in “l’administrateur·trice nommé·e à ce poste s’acquitte des tâches suivantes”
Gender inclusive language in Mandarin Chinese
In Mandarin Chinese there are no grammatical genders and numbers. For example, without any context, the word 学生 (xuésheng, which means student) can be translated either as feminine or masculine, singular or plural. Same thing happens for most adjectives.
Mandarin includes the third-person pronoun tā (他), which had fallen into disuse in the 20th century as Western influence pushed toward more rigid binary gender roles.
Recently, this third-person pronoun has made a comeback, and many people use it in the pinyin form, ta. It is used only in written communication, in all situations where the gender of the person being talked about is unknown.
In an interview for the Ariana magazine, which focuses on social justice in Asia, Hong Kong transgender activist Joanne Leung says:
“Some mainstream companies including China Central Television and JDB Group [a beverage manufacturer] are also using ta in their advertisem*nts or Weibo posts when gender is irrelevant.”
According to RADII, the independent platform of Chinese creators, younger generations are increasingly using the pronoun TA even if they are not part of the queer community. Bilibili, the Chinese streaming platform, for example, is using the sentence “Videos of TA” instead of “His/Her videos” in creators’ profiles.
Gender neutrality in other widely studied languages
Two other less widely spoken but highly studied languages that are witnessing interesting evolutions in terms of gender inclusive language are Italian and German.
Gender inclusive language in Italian
In Italian, as already seen for other Romance languages, the predominant question is how to overcome the grammatical rule of the generic masculine. One topic that always ignites public debate is the use of feminine job titles, opposed by the more traditionalist speakers.
The issue of nonbinary gender suffixes has also assumed great importance. The most widely used – and debated – are the asterisk (as in “ragazz*”, instead of ragazzo/a) and the phonetic symbol schwa /ə/ (as in “ragazzə”, instead of ragazzo/a).
Two people look at the camera and smile happily: they are standing in the street, together holding a colorful flag and wearing blue eye makeup and sequins.
Gender inclusive language in German
German has three genders (masculine, feminine and neuter, with their respective three articles der, die, das.
As we have seen for other languages, the masculine plural is often used here to refer to both men and women: teachers address mixed classes by saying Schüler (“students,” masculine).
Techniques to overcome these grammatical habits are different. Where possible, people resort to gender neutralization, using paraphrases that avoid using gendered words. You can use neutral expressions and terms such as Mensch (human), Person (person), Fachkraft (specialist).
Another option is making the feminine form visible with:
- double form, as in “Leser und Leserinnen” (male and feminine reader)
- splitting, as in “Leser/innen”
- mixed forms such as “Leser_innen”, “Leser:innen”, “Leser*innen”, where the graphic signs _, : and * are meant to include male, female and also those who do not identify with gender binary
Conclusions
Learning a language also means getting closer to the social issues that are important to the hearts of its speakers. Nowadays, getting to know notions of inclusive language, and gender inclusive language in particular, is essential to closely follow the evolution of society.
Whether you are talking about women’s rights or the struggles of the LGBTQ+ community, becoming familiar with gender inclusive languages is one way to help create a world that is more inclusive, accessible and welcoming of human diversity.
