By: Carolyn Jacobson
Presenter: Bassam Shaikh
English 393
Introduction
Practice of assigning masculine gender to neutral
terms reflects the society in which the language
evolved.
Historically, English evolved in a male dominated
patriarchal society.
English is always changing and one can notice the
shifts that have occurred in the language in past 100
years
The term “Man”
“Man” was a generic term, referring to all humans, but
has narrowed to become a word referring to adult male
human being.
For example, an Anglo-Saxon writer refers to a
seventh-century English princess as “a wonderful
man.”
Also when Thomas Jefferson declared “all men are
created equal”.
Modern dictionaries link “man” with males.
The Pronoun Problem
The first grammars of modern English were written in
the 16th and 17th centuries to help the boys from upper
class to study Latin.
The authors wrote for male audience.
The pronouns reflected the male culture dominance.
"He" started to be used as a generic pronoun by
grammarians who tried to change a tradition of using
they as a singular pronoun
In 1850 an Act of Parliament gave official sanction to
the recently invented concept of the "generic" he.
Solving the Pronoun Problem
They as a Singular--Most people, when writing and
speaking informally, rely on singular they as a matter
of course: "If you love someone, set them free" (Sting).
Using He or She.
Eliminating Pronouns- instead of “a first grader can
feed and dress himself”, you could write, "a first grader
can eat and get dressed without assistance.”
He/she or s/he, using one instead of he.
The Practical Side
Author mentions that this is not about freedom of
speech but an issue of audience and awareness.
Gender neutral language has gained support among
book publishers and professional & academic groups,
such as, American Psychological Association and
Associated Press.
Newspapers like the New York Times and the Wall
Street Journal avoid such language.
Conclusion
English language is becoming more gender neutral as
it is evolving.
We need to be conscious of the expectations of
workplaces where guidelines are given to focus on
using gender neutral language.
For example, many law journals, psychology journals,
and literature journals do not print articles or papers
that use gender-inclusive language.
Questions?
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