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Gender neutral language in French: Difference between revisions
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→Grammatically fixed gender nouns and impersonal formulations
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In certain Swiss-French varieties, as in the canton of Vaud, masculine and feminine words ending in '-é' resp. '-ée' are pronounced differently (i. e. 'une employée' [ynɑ̃plwaj<u>e:</u>]/[ynɑ̃plwaj<u>e:j</u>] ''versus'' '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 Franco-Provençal dialects, i. e. Patois, spoken in the region before linguistic homogenization) is being 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 epicene. | In certain Swiss-French varieties, as in the canton of Vaud, masculine and feminine words ending in '-é' resp. '-ée' are pronounced differently (i. e. 'une employée' [ynɑ̃plwaj<u>e:</u>]/[ynɑ̃plwaj<u>e:j</u>] ''versus'' '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 Franco-Provençal dialects, i. e. Patois, spoken in the region before linguistic homogenization) is being 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 epicene. | ||
=== | === Monogender epicene nouns and collective terms === | ||
The table below shows gendered language on the left and neutral — i.e. grammatical gender that has nothing to do with biological sex or gender identity — language on the right. | The table below shows gendered language on the left and neutral — i.e. grammatical gender that has nothing to do with biological sex or gender identity — language on the right. | ||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
|+ | |+Collective terms<ref name=":11" /> | ||
!Inclusive gendered language | !Inclusive gendered language | ||
!Inclusive neutral language | !Inclusive neutral language | ||
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|} | |} | ||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
|+ | |+Monogender (epicene) nouns<ref name=":11" /> | ||
!Explicit binary gender | !Explicit binary gender | ||
!Grammatically fixed gender | !Grammatically fixed gender | ||
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====Subject pronouns==== | ====Subject pronouns==== | ||
French only distinguishes gender in the third-person singular (cf. 'elle' and 'il'). Up until the 12th century, French knew the neutral subject pronoun 'el'/'al'.<ref>Marchello-Nizia, C. (1989): Le neutre et l’impersonnel. In: ''Linx'' ''21'', 173–179. 10.3406/linx.1989.1139.</ref> Today, 'el' cannot be reintroduced from Old French as it would sound identical to 'elle', the current feminin subject pronoun. As for 'al', it sounds like 'elle' in spoken Canadian French.<ref name=":5">Ashley, F. (2019): Les personnes non-binaires en français : une perspective concernée et militante. In: ''H-France Salon'' ''11''(14).</ref> It could, however, still be a viable option for the rest of the Francophone community.<ref name=":13">Alpheratz (2018): ''Genre neutre.TABLEAUX RÉCAPITULATIFS de mots de genre neutre (extraits)''. Online at: https://www.alpheratz.fr/linguistique/genre-neutre/ (retrieved 15.12.2023).</ref> Nowadays, according to the ''Guide de rédaction inclusive'' (2021:14) from the Laval University,<ref name=":11">Université Laval (2021): ''Guide de rédaction inclusive''. Online at: https://www.ulaval.ca/sites/default/files/EDI/Guide_redaction_inclusive_DC_UL.pdf (retrieved 12.12.2023).</ref> the ''Guide de grammaire neutre et inclusive'' (2021:5) from Divergenres,<ref name=":0" /> the ''Petit dico de français neutre/inclusif'' (2018) from La vie en Queer,<ref name=":6">La vie en Queer (2018): ''Petit dico de français neutre/inclusif''. Online at: https://lavieenqueer.wordpress.com/2018/07/26/petit-dico-de-francais-neutre-inclusif/ (retrieved 15.12.2023).</ref> and Wiki Trans (2019),<ref name=":7">Wiki Trans (2019): ''Comment parler d'une personne non binaire ?'' Online at: https://wikitrans.co/2019/12/25/comment-parler-dune-personne-non-binaire/ (retrieved 15.12.2023).</ref> the most widely adopted subject (neo)pronoun is 'iel'. It was added to the prestigious dictionary ''Le Robert'' in 2021.<ref>Radio Télévision Suisse (2021): ''L'entrée du pronom "iel" dans Le Robert provoque des remous''. Online at: https://www.rts.ch/info/monde/12651159-lentree-du-pronom-iel-dans-le-robert-provoque-des-remous.html (retrieved 15.12.2023).</ref> Alongside 'iel', Canadian French also uses 'ille'.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5" /> In metropolitan France, the pronoun 'al', proposed by | French only distinguishes gender in the third-person singular (cf. 'elle' and 'il'). Up until the 12th century, French knew the neutral subject pronoun 'el'/'al'.<ref>Marchello-Nizia, C. (1989): Le neutre et l’impersonnel. In: ''Linx'' ''21'', 173–179. 10.3406/linx.1989.1139.</ref> Today, 'el' cannot be reintroduced from Old French as it would sound identical to 'elle', the current feminin subject pronoun. As for 'al', it sounds like 'elle' in spoken Canadian French.<ref name=":5">Ashley, F. (2019): Les personnes non-binaires en français : une perspective concernée et militante. In: ''H-France Salon'' ''11''(14).</ref> It could, however, still be a viable option for the rest of the Francophone community.<ref name=":13">Alpheratz (2018): ''Genre neutre.TABLEAUX RÉCAPITULATIFS de mots de genre neutre (extraits)''. Online at: https://www.alpheratz.fr/linguistique/genre-neutre/ (retrieved 15.12.2023).</ref> Nowadays, according to the ''Guide de rédaction inclusive'' (2021:14) from the Laval University,<ref name=":11">Université Laval (2021): ''Guide de rédaction inclusive''. Online at: https://www.ulaval.ca/sites/default/files/EDI/Guide_redaction_inclusive_DC_UL.pdf (retrieved 12.12.2023).</ref> the ''Guide de grammaire neutre et inclusive'' (2021:5) from Divergenres,<ref name=":0" /> the ''Petit dico de français neutre/inclusif'' (2018) from La vie en Queer,<ref name=":6">La vie en Queer (2018): ''Petit dico de français neutre/inclusif''. Online at: https://lavieenqueer.wordpress.com/2018/07/26/petit-dico-de-francais-neutre-inclusif/ (retrieved 15.12.2023).</ref> and Wiki Trans (2019),<ref name=":7">Wiki Trans (2019): ''Comment parler d'une personne non binaire ?'' Online at: https://wikitrans.co/2019/12/25/comment-parler-dune-personne-non-binaire/ (retrieved 15.12.2023).</ref> the most widely adopted subject (neo)pronoun is 'iel'. It was added to the prestigious dictionary ''Le Robert'' in 2021.<ref>Radio Télévision Suisse (2021): ''L'entrée du pronom "iel" dans Le Robert provoque des remous''. Online at: https://www.rts.ch/info/monde/12651159-lentree-du-pronom-iel-dans-le-robert-provoque-des-remous.html (retrieved 15.12.2023).</ref> Alongside 'iel', Canadian French also uses 'ille'.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5" /> In metropolitan France, the pronoun 'al', proposed by linguist Alpheratz in their book ''Grammaire du français inclusif'' (2018), has gained some recognition. The table below presents the primary gender-neutral subject pronouns found in the French-speaking world. | ||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
|+ | |+ | ||