Gender neutral language in English: Difference between revisions
imported>Sekhet m (Reverted edits by 140.103.56.157 (talk) to last revision by 192.181.137.64) |
imported>Heaventwig (→Titles: Clarified that the existing main article on titles covers only replacements for Ms, Mr, and the like; added subsection on honorifics; within that, added a paragraph on Ma'am/Sir, and a list of altenatives with some citations.) |
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===Titles=== | ===Titles=== | ||
'' | ''For gender-neutral replacements of titles like Ms and Mr, see main article at [[Gender neutral titles]].'' | ||
==== Honorifics ==== | |||
===== Ma'am/Sir ===== | |||
Standard English doesn't have a gender neutral word that's used in the same way as Ma'am and Sir — a formal form of address used in some places to show respect, and commonly required for use by customer service professionals. People have created some words to fill this lexical gap, but they remain uncommon words. People have also suggested using other words in place of Ma'am and Sir, but they tend to fail the tests of formality and simplicity that customer service professionals (and their managers) apply to such usage. | |||
{{Common word|word1=Friend|meaning1=Neutral, informal; may evoke Quakerism, as Quakers refer to themselves and each other as Friends.|ref1=|word2=Excellency|meaning2=Neutral, extremely formal; used by characters in Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch books.|ref2=https://katemacdonald.net/2018/03/20/ann-leckies-provenance/}} | |||
* '''shazam.''' Neutral, coined by a highschool student wishing to address a nonbinary teacher with a formal term of respect.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/groups/1601168520209978/|title=Facebook Groups|website=www.facebook.com|language=en|access-date=2020-11-18}}</ref> | |||
* '''zam.''' Neutral, based on shazam.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/groups/1601168520209978/|title=Facebook Groups|website=www.facebook.com|language=en|access-date=2020-11-18}}</ref> | |||
===Common nouns=== | ===Common nouns=== | ||