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Gender neutral language in French: Difference between revisions
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|Notice the epicene agentive suffix [https://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/-aire -aire]. | |Notice the epicene agentive suffix [https://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/-aire -aire]. | ||
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As singular [[wikipedia:Article_(grammar)|articles]] indicate gender ('la' and 'le'), this technique works best with plural forms. However, it also works with singular forms if the noun begins with a vowel, because the article automatically becomes ''l''', which does not express gender. A drawback is that there are not morphologically invariant occupational titles for all professions or functions in regards to [https://www.plus.ac.at/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Gender_in_German_MWerner.pdf ''Sexus''] | As singular [[wikipedia:Article_(grammar)|articles]] indicate gender ('la' and 'le'), this technique works best with plural forms. However, it also works with singular forms if the noun begins with a vowel, because the article automatically becomes ''l''', which does not express gender. A drawback is that there are not morphologically invariant occupational titles for all professions or functions in regards to [https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_gender natural gender], i. e. [https://www.plus.ac.at/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Gender_in_German_MWerner.pdf ''Sexus'']<ref name=":0" />, "a linguistic category for the sex of real life beings, both the biological sex of animals or the social identity of a person."<ref>"Natural Gender". ''Wikipedia. Simple English: The Free Encyclopedia'', Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., Last Modified Date: 14 March 2024, URL: https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_gender. Accessed 20 March 2026.</ref> | ||
In certain Swiss-French varieties, as in the canton of Vaud, masculine and feminine words ending in <é> resp. <ée> are pronounced differently (e. g., ''une employée'' [ynɑ̃plwaj<u>e:</u>]/[ynɑ̃plwaj<u>e:j</u>] vs. ''un employé'' [ɛ̃nɑ̃plwaj<u>e</u>]/[œ̃nɑ̃plwaj<u>e</u>]). However, this linguistically conservative pronunciation is becoming increasingly marginal: it is primarily confined to Switzerland and, in major cities and among younger generations, the pronunciation is gradually converging with the standard French norm, meaning that the distinction between /e/ and /e:/ (or /e:j/, remnant from [[wikipedia:Franco-Provençal|Franco-Provençal dialects]] spoken in the region before linguistic homogenization) is being [[wikipedia:Neutralization_(linguistics)|neutralized]], resulting in a single phoneme /e/ and causing ''employé'' and ''employée'' to be pronounced identically. As a result, here, these words are considered orally indistinguishable. | In certain Swiss-French varieties, as in the canton of Vaud, masculine and feminine words ending in <é> resp. <ée> are pronounced differently (e. g., ''une employée'' [ynɑ̃plwaj<u>e:</u>]/[ynɑ̃plwaj<u>e:j</u>] vs. ''un employé'' [ɛ̃nɑ̃plwaj<u>e</u>]/[œ̃nɑ̃plwaj<u>e</u>]). However, this linguistically conservative pronunciation is becoming increasingly marginal: it is primarily confined to Switzerland and, in major cities and among younger generations, the pronunciation is gradually converging with the standard French norm, meaning that the distinction between /e/ and /e:/ (or /e:j/, remnant from [[wikipedia:Franco-Provençal|Franco-Provençal dialects]] spoken in the region before linguistic homogenization) is being [[wikipedia:Neutralization_(linguistics)|neutralized]], resulting in a single phoneme /e/ and causing ''employé'' and ''employée'' to be pronounced identically. As a result, here, these words are considered orally indistinguishable. | ||
=== Fixed-gender [[wikipedia:Epicenity|epicenes]] and [[wikipedia:Collective_noun|collective nouns]] === | === Fixed-gender [[wikipedia:Epicenity|epicenes]] and [[wikipedia:Collective_noun|collective nouns]] === | ||
The table below shows gendered | The table below shows "naturally" gendered nouns (''Sexus'') on the left and "naturally" gender-neutral nouns (''Genus'', i. e. [[wikipedia:Grammatical_gender|grammatical gender]]) on the right. | ||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
|+Individual ''versus'' collective nouns<ref name=":11" /> | |+Individual ''versus'' collective nouns<ref name=":11" /> | ||
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==== [[wikipedia:Indefinite_pronoun|Indefinite pronouns and adjectives]] ==== | ==== [[wikipedia:Indefinite_pronoun|Indefinite pronouns and adjectives]] ==== | ||
Semantically, many indefinite pronouns (such as ''chacun'' or ''quelqu'un'') share the [+human] trait of personal pronouns, functioning essentially as unspecified human referents. However, because they are quantificational rather than referential, they lack a specific ''Sexus''. Consequently, enforcing binary grammatical gender (''Genus'') on these forms forces a specific morphological marker onto an inherently unspecified referent, invariably defaulting to the masculine generic in standard French. | Semantically, many indefinite pronouns (such as ''chacun'' or ''quelqu'un'') share the [+human] trait of personal pronouns, functioning essentially as unspecified human referents. However, because they are quantificational rather than referential, they lack a specific natural gender/''Sexus''. Consequently, enforcing binary grammatical gender (''Genus'') on these forms forces a specific morphological marker onto an inherently unspecified referent, invariably defaulting to the masculine generic in standard French. | ||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
! | ! | ||
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In the discourse surrounding gender-inclusive language in French, the distinction between compounds that [[wikipedia:Portmanteau|blend]] or [[wikipedia:Concatenation|concatenate]] gender-marked [[wikipedia:Agent_nouns|agentive suffixes]] (e.g.: ''direct<u>eur</u>'''ice''''') ''versus'' lexical (e.g.: ''sœur'' and ''frère'' → ''adelphe'') and morphological [[wikipedia:Lexical_substitution|substitutions]] (→ cognitive approach) respectively [[wikipedia:Morphological_derivation|morphological derivations]] (→ structural approach), such as the epicene derivation 'direct<u>aire</u>', are usually referred to as ''inclusif'' vs. ''neutre'' in queer-positive communities. | In the discourse surrounding gender-inclusive language in French, the distinction between compounds that [[wikipedia:Portmanteau|blend]] or [[wikipedia:Concatenation|concatenate]] gender-marked [[wikipedia:Agent_nouns|agentive suffixes]] (e.g.: ''direct<u>eur</u>'''ice''''') ''versus'' lexical (e.g.: ''sœur'' and ''frère'' → ''adelphe'') and morphological [[wikipedia:Lexical_substitution|substitutions]] (→ cognitive approach) respectively [[wikipedia:Morphological_derivation|morphological derivations]] (→ structural approach), such as the epicene derivation 'direct<u>aire</u>', are usually referred to as ''inclusif'' vs. ''neutre'' in queer-positive communities. | ||
However, the concatenation of gender-marked agentive suffixes adds the missing gender, i.e. | However, the concatenation of gender-marked agentive suffixes adds the missing gender, i.e. natural gender/''Sexus'' [[wikipedia:Sememe|sememe]] to the given [[wikipedia:English_nouns|personal noun]], turn [[wikipedia:Agent_noun|agent nouns]] from single-gender personal noun to dual-gender masculine/feminine personal noun.<ref name=":0" /> Accordingly, they could theoretically be cognitively interpreted as neutral, to the extent that these forms could theoretically be cognitively processed as genderneutral, i. e. ''neutre''. Because the use of these neologisms remains peripheral in spoken French, psycholinguistic research has yet to disconfirm this possibility. | ||
Conversely, agent nouns categorized as ''neutre'' — such as epicene derivations (e.g., ''coiffaire'', which attaches the gender-unspecific suffix ''-aire'' to a verbal root) or lexical substitutions (e.g., ''Monestre'', 'Mx'), as discussed higher — are inherently inclusive of all genders, making the label ''inclusif'' equally applicable to them. The pragmatic interchangeability of these labels renders them inadequate for differentiating the morphological mechanisms used to generate gender-inclusive neologisms in French. For this reason, the following table categorizes these strategies based on their structural properties — blend words being more [[wikipedia:Analytic_language|analytic]], and non blend words (epicene derivations; lexical substitions) being more [[wikipedia:Synthetic_language|synthetic]]. | Conversely, agent nouns categorized as ''neutre'' — such as epicene derivations (e.g., ''coiffaire'', which attaches the gender-unspecific suffix ''-aire'' to a verbal root) or lexical substitutions (e.g., ''Monestre'', 'Mx'), as discussed higher — are inherently inclusive of all genders, making the label ''inclusif'' equally applicable to them. The pragmatic interchangeability of these labels renders them inadequate for differentiating the morphological mechanisms used to generate gender-inclusive neologisms in French. For this reason, the following table categorizes these strategies based on their structural properties — blend words being more [[wikipedia:Analytic_language|analytic]], and non blend words (epicene derivations; lexical substitions) being more [[wikipedia:Synthetic_language|synthetic]]. | ||
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Florence Ashley argues that the order in which the feminine and masculine morphemes are combined does not matter.<ref name=":5" /> Usage, intelligibleness and personal preference ultimately determine which forms will gain traction. However, the prosodic sequencing of syllables in French can impact intelligibility. For instance, in the pronunciation of 'naïvif' (neutral form) as [na'i'<u>vif</u>], contrary to 'naïfive', the end of the word is acoustically identical to 'vif' (i. e. 'vivacious') and can thus lead to confusion. | Florence Ashley argues that the order in which the feminine and masculine morphemes are combined does not matter.<ref name=":5" /> Usage, intelligibleness and personal preference ultimately determine which forms will gain traction. However, the prosodic sequencing of syllables in French can impact intelligibility. For instance, in the pronunciation of 'naïvif' (neutral form) as [na'i'<u>vif</u>], contrary to 'naïfive', the end of the word is acoustically identical to 'vif' (i. e. 'vivacious') and can thus lead to confusion. | ||
==== Gender-neutral suggestions for some gender-specific nouns (''Sexus'')==== | ==== Gender-neutral suggestions for some gender-specific nouns (natural gender/''Sexus'')==== | ||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
|+Gender-specific nouns (''Sexus'') and current gender-neutral suggestions | |+Gender-specific nouns (''Sexus'') and current gender-neutral suggestions | ||