Can "they" be translated

master's thesis

• Title: Can "they" be translated : Croatian language and non-binary expression
• Author: Marta Špoljar
• Mentor: Nataša Pavlović (mentor)
• Committee member: Kristijan Nikolić (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Mateusz-Milan Stanojević (član povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Nataša Pavlović (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; (Department of English language and literature); Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2021-09-22, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: HUMANISTIC SCIENCES; Philology; Anglistics

Abstract

With English speaking countries becoming increasingly more accommodating of non-binary gender expression, the issue of translating such expression into other languages becomes a pressing issue. Croatian, a highly gendered language, currently has no standardized forms that would correspond to the singular, non-binary use of “they” and “their”. Interviews with eleven non-binary users of both English and Croatian were conducted to gain an insight into their views of how non-binary genders could be and are currently being expressed in Croatian. The results suggest that non-binary people have clashing opinions on the use of plural forms for singular antecedents but that a practice of doing so exists. Participants also use the strategy of mixing up gendered terms in order to express their identity. They are wary of the use of neuter gender and find masculine gendered forms to be more gender neutral than the feminine ones. They overwhelmingly prefer paraphrasing that avoids gendered forms and are in favour of using archaic verb forms, such as the aorist and imperfekt, since they are gender neutral. Finally, the study finds the community hopes academics would pay attention to their language use and introduce it to standardized language. The openness of the community, along with the lack of papers written on the topic, calls for more academic research on non-binary language use in Croatian.

• Keywords: non-binary; genderqueer; translation
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:131:448061
• Study programme: Title: English Language and Literature (double major); specializations in: Linguistics, Literature and Culture, Translation, TEFL; Course: Translation; Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra engleskog jezika i književnosti (magistar/magistra engleskog jezika i književnosti)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2021-09-23 10:02:15