GENDER AND FAIR

LANGUAGE
GROUP 8
A. THE IMPORTANCE OF
LANGUAGE
Language plays a lot of important
roles in the existence of people
in their own community and as a
citizen of the world .The
following are some of these:
1.LANGUAGE IS VEHICLE FOR
THE TRANSMISSION OF CULTURE
 Language refers to a
symbolic system with
standardized meanings. It is
one of the most vital
components of the culture.
2. LANGUAGE IS A MAJOR MODE
OF COMMUNICATION
 Language is our major mode of
communication upon which information
transferred . People's in various societies
use a variety of terms that are used to
described kinship relationship , classify
animals and plants, and describe other
socio linguistic things and physically
phenomena.
3. LANGUAGE GIVE US OUR IDENTITY
 The relationship between language
and society as studied by
sociolinguists focus on the social
context of language. Social
interaction and ways in which
people use particular linguistic
expressions that reflects dialect
pattern of their speech community.
 4. LANGUAGE PAVE WAY FOR
CONTINUITY OF TRADITIONAL CULTURE
 It facilitates understanding of
various culture of the world. When a
language dies out, future
generations lost the vital part of the
culture that necessary to completely
understand it.
5. LANGUAGE CREATE GAPS
AND CAUSE DISCRIMINATION.
 Certain masculine language that connotes
importance in society such as managers,
political leaders, and managers that are
often referred to as male jobs. While
certain female associated works that
connotes Incompetence and low status
create wider gap between these sexes es
well as discrimination.
6. LANGUAGE IS NOT CONFINED
SOLELY ON VERBAL LANGUAGE
 While it is true that human beings do
communicate more through verbal language as
better accepted ways of getting connected
with others, non verbal communication that is
usually lumped into kinesis (body gesture )
proxemics, ( study of manipulation and
meaning of space and paralanguage or non
verbal ) sometimes convey an even a stronger
message that words can do. Non verbal
communication varies across the world, but
some appears to be uneversally understood and
or only understood by certain group who
created them.
B. ROLE OF LANGUAGE IN THE
TRANSMISSION AND PRESERVATION OF
(TRADITIONAL//TRIBAL) CULTURE
 In the study of Dorothy M. Still Smoking on
the Blackfeet Tribe (Blackfeet Reservation
the largest in population of Montana's seven
reservations and has been one of the most
traditional in the practice of cultural beliefs
and events), the result showed that as elders
recognize the crucial importance
of education for their survival, education is
nothing if it entails not being
able to speak the language.
 Other researches revealed the
importance of language in the identity of
people. Language is what they considered
as an important vehicle where their
uniqueness as people and the
treasures/wealth of their kind can be
preserved. The elders hold knowledge
sacred. This knowledge can only be
obtained through their language.
TIME OUT 1
APPLY
1. What would you lose if
you lose your language?
Express your own
personal thoughts in 3-5
sentences. Use the box
below for your answer
C. GENDER-FAIR LANGUAGE
(GFL)

Gender Fair Language otherwise
known as gender- inclusive
language is the language that
avoids bias towards a particular
sex or social gender.
1. AIM OF GENDER FAIR
LANGUAGE
 The use of gender fair language aims at
reducing gender stereotyping and
discrimination.
 Neutralization is achieved, for example, by
replacing malemasculine forms (policeman)
with gender-unmarked forms (police officer).

 • Feminization relies on the use of feminine

forms to make female referents visible (i.e.,
the applicant… he or she instead of the
applicant… he).
2. HOW GENDER FAIR LANGUAGE CONTRIBUTES
TO THE REDUCTION OF GENDER STEREOTYPING
AND DISCRIMINATION
 The way gender is encoded in a language
may be associated with societal gender
equality (Stahlberg et al., 2007).
 Research has consistently revealed that
masculine generics evoke a male bias in
mental representations and make readers or
listeners think more of male than female
exemplars of a person category (Stahlberg et
al., 2007). Effects of linguistic forms on
mental representations were measured with
the help of various experimental
methodologies.
 However, feminization is not always
advantageous for women.
 Sometimes the feminine suffix has a slightly
derogatory connotation.
 Accordingly, a woman introduced as
professoressa ‘female professor’ was
perceived as less persuasive than a man or
than a woman referred to with the masculine
form professore (Mucchi-Faina, 2005). For
example, adult women were reluctant to
apply to gender-biased job
3. LANGUAGE POLICIES AS A
RESULT OF GFL
 Many countries have pledged themselves to an
equal treatment of women and men. The
implementation, however, of GFL has reached
different stages in different countries and speech
communities as follows:
a. The member states of the European Union and
associated states in the Treaty of Lisbon- European
Commission, 2007 recommended the wide use of
GFL.
b. UNESCO, 1999
c. National Council of Teachers of English, 2002
d. European Commission, 2008
e. American Psychological Association, 2009
 Literatures show that as early as in the
1970s, guidelines for GFL were introduced in
particular professional domains across
national and linguistic boundaries. Examples
of this are done by:
a. American Psychological Association (1975)
b. the McGraw-Hill Book Company (1974
c. Britton and Lumpkin, 1977
d. Sunderland, 2011)
e. Macmillan Publishing Company (1975).
 In the 80s, there were developments that
indicated a growing awareness that language does
not merely reflect the way we think: it also
 shapes our thinking. If words and expressions that
imply that women are inferior to men are
constantly used, that assumption of inferiority
tends to become part of our mindset; hence the
need to adjust our language when our ideas
evolve” (UNESCO, 2011, p. 4).
 The document not only became the most widely
recognized international standard for GFL, it also
regulates language use in internal documents and
publications of UNESCO
4. INDIVIDUAL LANGUAGE
BEHAVIOR IN THE USE GFL
 Along with other factors that affects GFL use is
individual behavior as well as the persons
gender. Accordingly, women hold more
favorable attitude toward GFL. Hence, the
better and wider use of GFL in the language of
women. Research studies, on the other hand
show mix results as some reveals that men
neglected the use of GFL while more women
were using it. Language use has been viewed as
associated with speakers’ sexist attitudes, so
much so that the use of sexist language has
been regarded as an example of subtle sexism
(Swim et al., 2004).
5. OVERCOMING GENDER STEREOTYPING
AND DISCRIMINATION WITH GENDER FAIR
LANGUAGE
 Studies showed that consistent use of GFL
like in the story telling and use in the
messages or text utterances increase the
probability of GFL. Language policies have
been successful in incorporating role nouns
with men and women in putting gender
stereotyped jobs in their mental
representations
6. OBSTACLES THAT PREVENT GFL FROM BECOMING A
LINGUISTIC NORM OR STANDARD AND PREVENT THE CHANGE
TOWARD AN EQUAL TREATMENT OF WOMEN AND MEN
 First, the male bias of linguistic asymmetries
in mental representations is backed by a
higher prevalence of men in certain social
roles that are highly uphold (e.g., heroes,
politicians).
 Second, the use of gender-unfair language in
masculine generics. Become disadvantageous
to women as feminine form jobshave
negativeconsequencies. So to protect
themselves, women avoids association with
such jobs to avoid labels of being
incompetence and of lower status
 Third, arguments against GFL have routinely
included the presumed difficulty of
understanding GFL texts (Parks and
Roberton, 1998). In all, there is a lack of
transfer of scientific knowledge which
prevents the understanding of linguistic
asymmetries as part of a broader gender
imbalance and hinders social change.
7. HOW DO MEN VIEW GFL
 At the on set, it seems that only women can benefit
from GFL. For men, GFL means an unwelcome loss of
their privileged position in language. Only in few
situations have they something to gain through GFL. If all
job advertisements would contain GFL, for instance, men
might be more included in traditionally female jobs
which used to be referred to in the feminine.
 Moreover, it will be fruitful to further investigate the
dynamics of GFL usage and its effects from cross-
linguistic and cross-cultural perspectives.Speakers’
willingness to use GFL in everyday life is crucial in order
to profit from the impact of GFL on the (linguistic and
social) treatment of women and men in society. But a
deliberate effort is required before the use of GFL can
become habitual.
8. USING GENDER-FAIR OR
NEUTRAL LANGUAGE IN WRITING
 The English language usage standards used to
tell us to use "man,""he," etc., when speaking
about any unspecified individual. This
standard has changed for several reasons such
as stated:
a. it inaccurately represents individuals who are
female or groups who are partly or wholly
female;
b. it misleadingly focuses on the sex of the
individual rather than what they are doing;
c. it indicates bias (even when you have no
intention of doing so).
 The most common attempt to correct the bias
in the use of pronoun is to use plural form of
pronoun such as (they, them, their, theirs).
a. "police officer" instead of "policeman"
b. "chair,""head," or presiding officer" instead
of "chairman"
c. ""executive" instead of "businessman"
d. "humanity" or "humankind" instead of
"mankind"
e. "manufactured,""machine made" instead of
"man-made"
PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THE FOLLOWING
SITUATIONS WHERE GFL CAN BE EXERCISED
OR OBSERVED:
a. Use plural nouns and pronouns instead of
singular genderspecific forms like:
 Student should read his syllabus at the
beginning of the term.
 Instead: Students should read their syllabi at
the beginning of the term.
b. Just remember that sometimes the meaning
of the sentence
 will not allow you to use a plural. So, you
will need to reword
 in order to avoid gender problems entirely.
c. The last example could be reworded to avoid
entirely the
 problematic possessive pronoun "his": A player
should not
 question the coach's instructions in crucial
moments.
 ▪ Problem: When a person watches too much
television, his
 brain turns to mush

▪ TRY: Watching too much television turns a

person's brains to mush
d. Use First Person ("I") or Second Person ("You")
D. SEXISM IN LANGUAGE(CAN
BE ANOTHER LESSON)
 What Is Sexism In Language?
 It is used of language which devalues
members of one sex, almost invariably
women. And thus, foster gender inequality. It
discriminates against women by rendering
them invisible or trivializing them at the
same time that it perpetuates notion of male
supremacy.
LANGUAGE ARTICULATES
CONSCIOUSNESS
- It not only orders our
thought but from infancy, we
learn to use language to give
utterance to our basic needs
and feelings.
LANGUAGE REFLECTS CULTURE
It encodes and transmits
cultural meanings and
values in our society.
LANGUAGE AFFECTS
SOCIALIZATION
Children learning a language
absorbs the culture
assumptions and biases
underlying language use and
see these as an index to their
society’s values and
attitudes.
LANGUAGE THAT EXCLUDES WOMEN
OR RENDERS THEM INVISIBLE
The use of the generic masculine is the classic
example of this. *Subsuming all humanity in
termsman, father, brother and master. This
can be corrected by usingGender Fair
Language (GFL).
The following are examples of these terms
and their respective
alternativeforustopracticebetterfairnessoftre
atingwomenandmenusingGFL.
 Sexist Gender-Fair
Man Human being, human, person,
individual
Mankind, men, people Human beings, humans,
humankind, humanity, human
race, human species, society,
men, women
Workingmen Workers, wage earners
Man on the street average person, ordinary person,
the common tao ancestor
Forefather Layperson, non-specialist,
nonprofessional
Layman
The generic masculine reflects gender
inequality in that women are never
seen in terms of general or
representative humanity. Men
represent the universal or the
human to which women are the
other.
LANGUAGE THAT TRIVIALIZES WOMEN
OR DIMINISHES THEIR STATURE
Feminine suffixes such as -ess, -ette, -trix, or -
enne, make unnecessary reference to the
person’s sex suggest triviality, unimportance,
or inferiority of women occupying such a
position.
Current Usage: alternative Current Usage: Alternative
language to be used language to be used
Actress: Actor Hostesses: hosts
Authoress: Author Poetess: Poet
Aviatrix: Aviator Proprietress: Proprietor
Comedienne: Comedian Suffragette: Suffragist
Executrixes: Executors Usherette: Usher
Heroines: Heroes
USE OF SEX-LINKED MODIFIERS SOUNDS GRATUITOUS, IS
PATRONIZING AND SUGGESTS THAT THE NORM OF SOME
OCCUPATIONS IS FOR A PARTICULAR SEX
Current Usage: Alternative
Lady Doctor, “doctora” : doctor
Woman Writer: Writer
Female Lawyer: Lawyer
Girl athlete: Athlete
Male nurse: Nurse
Male Secretary: Secretary
Heroic women: heroes
Working mothers: wage earning mothers
: mothers working outside the home
Employed mother: mothers working outside the home
Working wives: wives working outside the home
GENDER POLARIZATION OF MEANINGS
IN THE USE OF ADJECTIVES
Examples:
 Forceful men are perceived as charismatic
while forceful women are labeled
domineering.
 Light hearted men as seen as easy going while
women of the same nature are frivolous.
 Forgetful men are called absent-minded while
forgetful women are termed scatterbrained.
 We describe angry men as outraged, while
angry women are hysterical.
The terms womanly, manly, feminine,
masculine depict each sex as being solely
associated with particular attributes. Use
adjectives that specify every shade of
meaning. For example: sensitive, determine,
strong, nurturing. They clarify as well as
enrich one’s use of language.
LEXICALGAP
 In the English Language, there is absence or
lack of words that refer to woman’s
experience,e.g.
 Men are ”Hen pecked” but women are not”
Cock pecked”.
 We refer to men’s “virility” but there is no
equivalent words for women’s experience.
 There is “patronage” but no “matronage”.