Gender neutral language: Difference between revisions

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''See also: [[Glossary of Japanese gender and sex terminology]].''
''See also: [[Glossary of Japanese gender and sex terminology]].''


Japanese does not have grammatical gendered structures (i.e. conjugations or noun endings), but there are many gendered aspects of the language. Specific information, such as the gender of a person being referred to, is often implied through other context in the conversation. There are however, specific sets of vocabulary that are assigned to narrow demographics. For example, the first-person singular pronoun (i.e. "I" or "me") is different depending on the gender of the speaker: 僕 ("boku") is generally used by young men, while women tend to use あたし ("atashi"). There is also a neutral pronoun, 私 ("watashi"), although it's more formal. Certain words and expressions semantically refer to only one gender group, such as (伯母ちゃん) obaachan for a grandmother or old woman.
Japanese does not have grammatical gendered structures (i.e. conjugations or noun endings), but there are many gendered aspects of the language. Specific information, such as the gender of a person being referred to, is often implied through other context in the conversation. There are however, specific sets of vocabulary that are traditionally assigned to narrow demographics. For example, the first-person singular pronoun (i.e. "I" or "me") is different depending on the gender of the speaker: 僕 ("boku") is generally used by young men, while women tend to use あたし ("atashi"). There is also a neutral pronoun, 私 ("watashi"), although it's more formal.