Neutralizing Gendered Elements in Language

master's thesis

• Title (croatian): Neutraliziranje rodnih obilježja u jeziku
• Author: Renard Vandekar
• Mentor: Mislava Bertoša (mentor)
• Committee member: Anita Skelin Horvat (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Mislava Bertoša (član povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Ivana Simeon (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; (Department of Linguistics); Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2022-12-07, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: HUMANISTIC SCIENCES; Philology; General Linguistics

Abstract

This paper analyzes the concepts of gender in a social and grammatical context, comparing their relation and how the social is mirrored (and reproduced) through language. Emphasis is on how markers of gender as a social construct are removed, replaced with a more neutral element, or even with a novel element with the aim of rendering the extralinguistic gender of referents less important or unintelligible. With this aim in mind, two surveys were done to ascertain how native Croatian speakers and anglophones achieve that aim in the languages they speak, especially focusing on the treatment of nonbinary people as well as strategies they themselves employ. The results of both surveys are compared with each other, and the overall results discussed in relation to some proposed solutions for creating a more gender-neutral language. Conclusions are drawn on the popularity and willingness to use certain gender-neutral or gender-inclusive language patterns.

• Keywords: gender; grammatical gender; masculine; feminine; neuter; grammar; noun class; epicene; pronoun; preferred pronoun; singular they; they/them; nonbinary; genderqueer; transgender
• Keywords (croatian): rod; gramatički rod; muški rod; ženski rod; srednji rod; gramatika; imenska klasa; epicen; zamjenica; preferirane zamjenice; singular they; they/them; nebinarne osobe; genderqueer osobe; transrodne osobe
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:131:242647
• Study programme: Title: Linguistics (double major); specializations in: General Linguistics, Comparative Linguistics, Computational Linguistics, Aplied Linguistics and Cognitive Linguistics, Cognitive; Course: Aplied Linguistics and Cognitive Linguistics; Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra lingvistike (magistar/magistra lingvistike)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2022-12-08 13:15:07