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Gender neutral language in French: Difference between revisions

Content correction in "Proximity agreement"
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*'''Proximity agreement:'''<ref>EPFL (2023): ''L’accord de proximité''. Online at:https://www.epfl.ch/about/equality/fr/langage-inclusif/guide/principes/accord/ (12.12.2023).</ref> Up to the 18th century, in adjectives and past participles, the masculine gender didn't prevail over the feminine in cases where the genders could theoretically be congruent: proximity agreement prevailed.<ref name=":2" /> This congruency allows for equality between grammatical genders instead of the masculine-over-feminine hierarchy that was decided in the 17th and 18th century by the French grammarians Malherbe, Vaugelas, Bouhours and Beauzée:
*'''Proximity agreement:'''<ref>EPFL (2023): ''L’accord de proximité''. Online at:https://www.epfl.ch/about/equality/fr/langage-inclusif/guide/principes/accord/ (12.12.2023).</ref> Up to the 18th century, in adjectives and past participles, the masculine gender didn't necessarily prevail over the feminine in cases where the genders could theoretically be congruent: proximity agreement coexisted along with the masculine-over-feminine rule.<ref name=":2" /> For a long part of ancient French history, proximity agreement was the most widespread way to make adjectives, past participles, etc. agree (cf. Anglade 1931:172).<ref>Anglade, Joseph (1931): ''Grammaire élémentaire de l'ancien français''. Paris: Armand Colin, 157-196. Online at: https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Grammaire_%C3%A9l%C3%A9mentaire_de_l%E2%80%99ancien_fran%C3%A7ais/Chapitre_6.</ref> Today, this agreement could allow for equality between grammatical genders instead of the masculine-over-feminine hierarchy that was suggested in the 17th and 18th century by the French grammarians Malherbe, Vaugelas, Bouhours and Beauzée:
**« Le genre masculin, étant le plus noble, doit prédominer toutes les fois que le masculin et le féminin se trouvent ensemble. » (Claude Favre de Vaugelas, ''Remarques sur la langue français''e, 1647).<ref name=":1" />
**« Le genre masculin, étant le plus noble, doit prédominer toutes les fois que le masculin et le féminin se trouvent ensemble. » (Claude Favre de Vaugelas, ''Remarques sur la langue français''e, 1647).<ref name=":1" />
**« Lorsque les deux genres se rencontrent, il faut que le plus noble l’emporte. » (Bouhours 1675).<ref name=":3" />
**« Lorsque les deux genres se rencontrent, il faut que le plus noble l’emporte. » (Bouhours 1675).<ref name=":3" />
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