Gender neutral language in Dutch: Difference between revisions
→Use of gender and genus in official documents and education
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The use of genderneutral pronouns is also increasingly adopted by certain progessive cis people, to increase usage with the goal of normalizing these words. Others could for example choose to use neutral pronouns on just anyone, sometimes with the exception of people who put pressure on the fact that they want to be called a he or she. This idea is not meant to assume that everyone is genderqueer, but rather to assume that genderneutral pronouns are norm and genderized pronouns are rather something archaic. This process is, however, slow, keeping in mind that genderneutral pronoun options are still not known to all citizens (see #Use of gender and genus in official documents and education). | The use of genderneutral pronouns is also increasingly adopted by certain progessive cis people, to increase usage with the goal of normalizing these words. Others could for example choose to use neutral pronouns on just anyone, sometimes with the exception of people who put pressure on the fact that they want to be called a he or she. This idea is not meant to assume that everyone is genderqueer, but rather to assume that genderneutral pronouns are norm and genderized pronouns are rather something archaic. This process is, however, slow, keeping in mind that genderneutral pronoun options are still not known to all citizens (see #Use of gender and genus in official documents and education). | ||
Arguments for '''hen''' as first person: | |||
-It sounds natural (think about the old pronoun "men") | |||
-Hen is also a synthetic genderneutral pronoun in other Germanic languages, like Swedish and German. | |||
-The traditional use of hen is socially in the process of being replaced with ''hun'', meaning the traditional use is already fading away''.'' | |||
Arguments against '''hen''' as first person: | |||
''-''Hen is traditionally (and still officially) used as accusative form of ''ze.'' | |||
-By those who support the use of hen as accusative of ze, it can be seen as poor language use. | |||
Arguments for '''die''' as first person: | |||
-Die means that or who. | |||
-Die is already used in east-Dutch dialects as a genderneutral pronoun | |||
-Die looks like the Indonesian genderneutral pronoun 'Dia', considering the reflection of descendants of ex-colonies. | |||
-Die also comes close to the Papiamento genderneutral pronoun 'e', (pronounced /ei/), considering the reflection of descendants of ex-colonies. | |||
Arguments against '''die''' as first person: | |||
-Die already has two other official uses: that and who. | |||
-In a few dialect regions, die is used as a male pronoun. | |||
-It does not sound natural, primarily to native Dutch people from the Randstad and from Friesland. | |||
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== Use of gender and genus in official documents and education == | == Use of gender and genus in official documents, speech and education == | ||
In high schools, teachers are not allowed to confirm neo-genderneutral language as valid in CE (Centraal Examen) exams, since it is viewed as incorrect by the state. They can, however, still allow students to make use of this type of language, if at SE (School Examen) exams. This is a choice of their own, and are still legally not required to check it in favor of neo-genderneutral language. | In high schools, teachers are not allowed to confirm neo-genderneutral language as valid in CE (Centraal Examen) exams, since it is viewed as incorrect by the state. They can, however, still allow students to make use of this type of language, if at SE (School Examen) exams. This is a choice of their own, and are still legally not required to check it in favor of neo-genderneutral language. | ||
In elementary school, genderneutral pronouns are still not a part of the curriculum. Teachers have the option to teach, but are not required to. This is part of the reason why still a lot of Dutch speakers are not aware of genderneutral pronouns. | In elementary school, genderneutral pronouns are still not a part of the curriculum. Teachers have the option to teach, but are not required to. This is part of the reason why still a lot of Dutch speakers are not aware of genderneutral pronouns. | ||
In biology, the Dutch refer to 'man' and 'vrouw' (aka 'geslacht'; genus) to specifically state XY or XX chromosomes. Although genus is built out of ten different components (like facial hair, body structure, etc. NB: 11 when one counts gender), the State refers specifically to the chromosomes as an indicator for [[genus]]. This is similar to the English "use of "male" and "female". When talking about animals, we tend to use diminutives, like "mannetje" and "vrouwtje", just like the Dutch commonly differentiate animals on in different contexts (e.g. through words like "bek", "ras", "voer" and "poot"). NB: Using a diminutive for your partner is therefore also seen as something playful rather than serious matter. | In biology, the Dutch refer to 'man' and 'vrouw' (aka 'geslacht'; genus) to specifically state XY or XX chromosomes. Although genus is built out of ten different components (like facial hair, body structure, etc. NB: 11 when one counts gender), the State refers specifically to the chromosomes as an indicator for [[genus]]. This is similar to the English "use of "male" and "female". | ||
When talking about animals, we tend to use diminutives, like "mannetje" and "vrouwtje", just like the Dutch commonly differentiate animals on in different contexts (e.g. through words like "bek", "ras", "voer" and "poot"). NB: Using a diminutive for your partner is therefore also seen as something playful rather than serious matter. The Dutch refer to animals (since they are seen as objects) with hij/hem/zijn, unless there is a specific reason to assume that the animal is female, therefore zij/haar is used. | |||
On official documents like passports, identification cards (IDs), driver's license and other official documents is the use of gender and genus a bit confusing to about just anyone. For example, IDs show as options for genus: 'M/V/X'. According to science, genus will never change with our modern-day knowledge, and thus would mean that people with XX will get assigned a 'V', XY will get an 'M' and people with any other natural variations of chromosomes will receive an 'X'. | On official documents like passports, identification cards (IDs), driver's license and other official documents is the use of gender and genus a bit confusing to about just anyone. For example, IDs show as options for genus: 'M/V/X'. According to science, genus will never change with our modern-day knowledge, and thus would mean that people with XX will get assigned a 'V', XY will get an 'M' and people with any other natural variations of chromosomes will receive an 'X'. | ||