GENDER-INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE IN LITEARTURE: AN OBSERVATION OF

CHILDREN’S LITERATURE AS CONTEMPORARY ISSUE IN NIGERIA

BY

RUFAI AMINU
aminurufai7020@gmail.com
07067860577
&
MUKTAR SARKI
Sarkimuktar1967@gmail.com
09092010426
SCHOOL OF LANGUAGES
DEPARTMENT OF E NGLISH
JIGAWA STATE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND LEGAL STUDIES RINGIM

BEING A PAPER PRESENTED DURING THE 2ND ANNUAL NATIONAL

CONFERENCE ORGANISED BY THE ACADEMIC STAFF UNION OF JIGAWA
STATE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND LEGAL STUDIES, RINGIM. ON 9TH -
10TH FEBRUARY, 2021

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Abstract
In literature, language plays a significant role in meaning making. One can conclude that
literature is the use of language to share thoughts and feelings. However, depending on how
language is used, the writer’s efforts and intentions to send messages become successful or
otherwise. This paper sets out to observe the use of gender-inclusive language in children’s
literature. The paper takes into consideration, the main purpose of writing children
literature which as Thomas Harris argued, would be for boosting creativity, curiosity and
motivating their desire to explore and know. The paper therefore, argues that gender
inclusive language should be one of the criteria for selecting books for children, the
employment of which can make children become more motivated and want to explore and
know more. On the contrary, with gender biased language, children become demotivated as
the meaning of what they read is heavily depending on the language used and therefore this
determines the way they see and feel this world.
KEY WORDS:, Inclusiveness, Gender-Inclusive language and Children’s Literature

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INTRODUCTION
Literature is described as the living memory of a nation. For Charles Dickens, literature was

what gave him hope and an escape from despair in a childhood filled with grief and

humiliation. Many of us find joy and solace in literature. For others it is a path to knowledge,

a means of gender-biased mind and imagination. Literature allows us to imagine ourselves as

different persons as we are, to live different lives as we live, to tolerate in different places

than we are static keywords: literature allows us to live in palaces or, houses, cabins or

penthouses, wigwams etc. Through literature we imagine ourselves bolder and braver, richer

or poorer, kinder or meaner than we may be. There has always been the question of whether

are all books literature? Are only stories considered literature? One definition of literature

requires that the work be of good quality (Hillman, 2002). One of the importance and what

determines the quality of a text is among other things, the use of language in it. This is why

this paper explores into the use of gender inclusive language in children’s literature. This

contemporarily is becoming the proper way of making the language used in children’s books

accessible which is among other things, the criteria for selecting books for children. To lay a

foundation, the paper discusses the relationship between Language and literature, meanings

of children’s literature and its significance as well as the meaning of gender inclusive

language as it relates to children literature. On the concluding note, the paper observes that

the use of language by some writers of children’s books, has been limited to some aspects

like simplicity, illustration etc., neglecting such things like gender neutral language which is

inclusive and carries all categories of children along irrespective of their gender differences.

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CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND

Language and Literature

Language is a means of human communication. Certainly, the careful selection and use of

language in literary texts, is important for meaning construction. Osundare (2008) considers

the work of art as communication. Therefore, language is regarded as an essential tool in the

world of literature. Leech (2013) emphasizes that literary language is difficult to be

conceived as a describable language in its own right. Even though, Brumfit and Carter (1986)

argue that there is nothing like literary language, as one cannot separate or pinpoint what may

be termed as "literary register" as we have in other disciplines like medicine, engineering,

business and commerce. Language and literature are closely interconnected. It is argued by

Philip (1987) that if there is such a thing as literature, there must be literary language, for

literature is something that is expressed and recorded in language. Language has always been

central to the way we generate the meaning of a text. It is argued that language is involved in

a wide variety of human situations, perhaps every situation (Salzmann 2012). In this regard,

literature is involved.

According to Delahunty (2010), language is a system that connects thought, which cannot be

heard, seen or touched, with sounds, letters, manual signs or tactile symbols. Delahunty

further maintains that through language, one can be provided with clues that they can have

access to what others are thinking and or read each other’s‟ mind. To show how language

and literature are interrelated, Delahunty (2010) asserts that “when people communicate, they

produce texts”. Halliday (2004) emphasizes that the term “text” refers to any instance of

language, in any medium that makes sense to someone who knows the language. In this

regard, literature is a reflection of language and it has been observed that research on how

language operates in literature would always reveal, in the first place, the great influence of

language over literature and the wide gaps most studies leave for others to fill.

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Children’s Literature

Children’s literature is good quality trade books for children from birth to adolescence

covering topics of relevance and interest to children of those ages through prose and poetry

fiction and nonfiction (Lynch- Brown et al, 2014). Children’s literature could be easily

defined as “books for kids.” However, there are many different definitions of children’s

literature and even varying definitions for literature and children. Children’s literature

includes books of higher calibre, representing complex plots or concepts in both word and art.

Children literature, as further opined by Schneider, J.J. (2016), is often defined as a collection

of books written for children, read by children and or written about children. But this may be

too simplistic for a not- so- simple genre. There is the question of the level at which a text can

be considered meant for the children.. Children books have been everywhere, in stores, in

bookshops and can be accessed by everyone easily. Quality in writing has to do with

originality and importance of ideas, imaginative use of language and beauty of literary and

artistic style that enable a work to remain fresh, interesting and meaningful for many years.

The best children books offer readers enjoyment and memorable characters and situations as

well as valuable insights into the human condition.

The significance of children’s literature

Literature is an essential component of a language teaching programme for young learners.

The educational value of literature and storytelling has always been undisputed. They offer a

means of complying with the linguistic, psychological, cognitive, social and cultural

objectives of teaching young learners. Literature extends knowledge, promotes intellectual

and emotional insight, enriches the mind and harmonizes the soul. Well-selected works of

children's literature make a particularly useful source of authentic language input that is both

appealing and exciting to children from kindergarten through to secondary school. They

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contain predictable, repetitive patterns that reinforce vocabulary and structures, provide

relevant themes for young learners, and are often highly generative. They present an excellent

starting point and a rich context for a multitude of language learning activities that actively

and creatively involve children, allowing them to link the story to their own lives as well as

use it as a springboard to relate to other areas of the curriculum.

According to Janet Schulman, (1998), the educational and emotional benefits of reading to

children are expressed in the metaphor that “books help give children a leg up on the ladder

of life”. Hence, literature for children is expected to give them personal fulfilment and

academic gains.

Gender- inclusive language

According to the GNL guidelines of European Parliament, (2018), Gender inclusive language

is a generic term covering the use of non- sexist language. The purpose of gender inclusive

language is to avoid word choices which may be interpreted as biased, discriminatory or

demeaning by implying that one sex or social gender is the norm. Using gender inclusive

language helps in reducing stereotyping promotes social change and contributes to gender

equality.

The general purpose here is to reduce as much as possible the use of gender-specific terms. In

these languages, the linguistic strategy most usually used is neutralization. In order to avoid

gender references, one can use gender-neutral terms, i.e. words that are not gender-specific

and refer to people in general, with no reference to women or men (‘chairman’ is replaced by

‘Chair’ or ‘chairperson’, ‘policeman’ or ‘policewoman’ by ‘police officer’, ‘spokesman’ by

‘spokesperson’, ‘stewardess’ by ‘flight attendant’, ‘headmaster’ or ‘headmistress’ by

‘director’ or ‘principal’, etc.). This gender-neutral trend has led to the disappearance of the

older female forms, with the previous male form becoming unisex (e.g. 'actor' instead of

'actress'). Gender inclusive language is also used, replacing, for example, ‘he’ as a generic

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reference by the term ‘they.” In another dimension, gender inclusive language works where

every noun has a grammatical gender and the gender of personal pronouns usually matches

the reference noun. As it is almost impossible, from a lexical point of view, to create widely

accepted gender-neutral forms from existing words in those languages, alternative approaches

have been sought and recommended in administrative and political language. It is logical

therefore to argue that the best position and stage to adopt gender inclusive language is

children’s literature. The reason being that by implication, the children’s culture and their

perception of world depend on the form of the text they mingle with.

Gender Inclusive Language in Children’s Literature

Everything we read constructs us, makes us who we are, by presenting the image of children

as girls and women, as boys and men (Mem Fox, 1993). Children’s books play an important

part in developing children’s language skills, but it also plays an important part in

transmitting a culture to the child. It is a fact that gender roles are an important aspect in our

culture and society, thus children’s books contribute to the image children develop of

themselves. It is a contemporary issue that gender bias exists in the illustrations, content, and

language in many children’s books today. The unequal representation of gender roles in

children’s literature as often appears in the use of language has influences on gender role

development and socialization. Since we read children’s books to students and babies as such

a young age, these become one of the biggest indicators of societal norms for them. Paterson

& Lach (1990) suggest the idea that “Picture books offer young children a macrocosmic

resource through which they can discover worlds beyond their own life-space.” Since

children have such a limited variety of real world experience these books teach them things

they would have learned from those real life experiences. It doesn’t matter if these books are

still relevant to how things work in today’s society or not, they take them as fact because they

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do not yet have the ability to think critically. Therefore careful selection and use of language

is highly needed to achieve all these.

Criteria for choosing books for children

Teachers need to choose texts that have universal appeal, with an identifiable theme, such as

courage, love, hope, sacrifice, kindness, etc. This makes it easier for children to relate to them

as well as providing a good starting point for a variety of theme based activities. The

storyline or plot should be clear, uncomplicated and easy for children to follow. The ending

should be particularly appealing. Children enjoy happy endings. For very young learners,

picture books and stories that are accompanied by colourful illustrations that synchronize

with the text are essential. They help children to stay focused and assist them in

understanding the text better. Good illustrations also provide an excellent opportunity to

exploit key vocabulary. The language of the text is of course crucial. It does not necessarily

need to be very simple. It is a good idea to look more for literary devices such as repetition,

rhyme and onomatopoeia which make the story more interesting, enjoyable and easier to

remember. Diversity is essential in text selection, and as we have seen, there is no shortage of

varieties available. It is important to vary the themes and genres of the chosen texts. Teachers

should aim to include stories from a range of different cultures to help foster positive

intercultural attitudes and help children appreciate the differences between cultures. Folk

tales and fables are particularly effective in this regard. Non-fiction books can fit together

well with fiction. For example, a picture book such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar can be

followed up with informational books on related topics like food or the life cycle of a

butterfly. The following questions are useful when choosing material for the classroom:

 Is the language level accessible?

 Does it provide comprehensible input?

 Do the literary devices help children understand and enjoy the story?

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  Will the children find it interesting .and engaging?

 Are the illustrations clear, attractive and big enough for all the class to see

 Can the story be linked to other curriculum areas?

 Will it provide a positive learning experience and a desire to continue earning?

 What kinds of values and attitudes are projected?

 Will these be acceptable to my students?

 Will it help students to become more aware of the outside world

 Does the story have potential for a variety of follow-up work

Observations

 The big observation this paper has is that writers of children’s literature have been

restricting their use of language to some aspects like simplicity and some relevant

concepts which they feel children will understand, ignoring or rather neglecting use of

gender inclusive language which helps foe easy accessibility.

 Another observation is that the absence of gender inclusive language in the children

text has every tendency of demoralizing them to always want to read.

Recommendations

 One of the biggest recommendations for all of us to keep in mind while choosing

books is to look for books portraying both gender in a neutral way with active and

dynamic roles. Several different approaches can be taken to teach gender equality in

the classroom. Two of these include collectively analyzing gender assumptions in the

text and raising questions about the main characters and their portrayal.

 The second suggestion would be that when choosing books for children, it has to be

done with caution making sure that the accessibility of the language involves the

language being gender inclusive. This will positively redesign the children’s mind in

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their perception of their culture, society and the world in general. It will also motivate

their reading ability as it makes them always want to read.

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References

Brumfit, C. & Carter, R. (1986). Literature and Language Teaching: Oxford University

Press.

Crystal, D. (1998). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Willey Online

Library.

Delahunty, G.P and Garvey, J. (2010). The English Language: From Sound to Sense
(Perspectives on Writing). Parlor Press.
Fowler, R. (1981). Literature as Social Discourse, the Practice of Criticism. Batsford

Paterson, S., & Lach, M. (1990). Gender stereotypes in children's books: Their prevalence.
Gender & Education, 2(2), 185. Retrieved from Academic Search Elite database

European parliament, (2018). Gender Neutral Language. Guidelines for European

Parliament.

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