Naturally, social and political events leave their mark on the development of the language. Today, the English language is changing at an incredible rate. Over the past 10 years, political correctness has become almost the main global trend.
In this article, we will analyze how exactly the political situation in the world is changing the English language. Ready? Go!
Brief Gender Excursion
Let's start with the gender issue. More and more countries and jurisdictions recognize that there are more than two genders and that society cannot be divided only into men and women.
Initially, the question was raised only from a physiological point of view. The very first case of the official adoption of the "third sex" was in Australia in 2003, when a person with a gene mutation in court proved that he can not be called either a man or a woman.
For nerds: he (or she) had Klinefelter's syndrome, when in the genome, instead of two sex chromosomes, there are three - XXY.
In Europe, especially in Germany, where the policy of absolute tolerance was actively implemented, this case received a wide response. But if the issue with same-sex marriages was legislatively resolved more actively - in general, the requirements of homosexuals and how to legally fulfill them were clear, then with non-binary gender everything was more complicated.
According to the UN, intersex people make up 0.5 to 1.3% of the world's population, which is a lot. That is, there are 38 to 100 million people in the world who identify themselves differently than men and women.
We will not try to explain the differences between agender, bigender, gender fluid and a number of other genders. In the legislative sphere, they are all usually grouped under the term “genderqueer”, which means “special gender”. By the way, the word itself appeared in 2008 at the suggestion of the British media.
Today the "third sex" has an official status in Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Austria, Canada and a number of other Asian countries. So far, everything is complicated in the United States, but five states have already allowed the issuance of documents indicating the gender of X.
Gradually, socio-political issues began to change languages. Let's analyze the most pressing problems of the English language that are associated with them.
Mr, Mrs, Miss or Mx? Gender neutral messages in action
What could be offensive in common usage? It turns out, very much even in the opinion of intersex people.
Previously, there was no common address for non-binary genders in English. Actually, in some 19th century there was no concept of non-binary genders. The calls were quite common.
Mr, Mister - Mister, for men
Mrs, Missis - Mrs, for married women
Miss - Miss, for unmarried women
It was also possible to apply by title or rank. That is, Lord or Professor is also a perfectly valid appeal. But not so long ago, another appeal became popular:
Mx - Mixter - Mixer
It applies to non-binary people and transgender people. Because there is no gender designation in it.
Gender-neutral appeal itself appeared back in 1970, but the British began to popularize it not so long ago. In 2014 , the Royal Bank of Scotland formally incorporated this appeal as official in correspondence. A little later, the Royal Mail began to use the Mx appeal. Moreover, in 2015, it began to be used at the official level in government agencies. For example, in official correspondence with the House of Commons, the Department of Labor and Pensions, the Office of Revenue and Customs, and the National Health Service.
In the same 2015, the term "Mx" was included in the Oxford English Dictionary.
That is, if you are in official correspondence with British companies or government agencies, then it is quite possible that Mx. Even if your gender is known. There have already been precedents when Mister or Miss was sued for appealing because a person identifies himself somehow differently.
However, some companies treat this trend with exclusively English humor. For example, on the RailCard website , where you can buy tickets for British rail, you will be asked during check-in to indicate how to contact you. And there are as many as 44 options!
In addition to the standard Mr, Mrs, Miss and the new Mx, you can find the titles Baron, Duke and Lord, status messages Rt Hon and Hon, professional Her Honor, His Honor, Judge and Prof, as well as religious Prebendary, Rabbi, Sister, Canon and many other. You can choose for every taste.
No "he" and "she", Or a little about gender-neutral pronouns
Pronouns are more complicated than appeals. Because in modern English there are no pronouns that could be used as gender neutral. Not "it", in fact.
The following option is most popular today:
We have a new teacher. They will come tomorrow.
We have a new teacher. They will come tomorrow.
"They" is essentially a replacement for the usual pronouns "she" and "he". That is, in this way they mark a person who defines himself differently than “man” or “woman”.
Despite the fact that the trend has become relevant only in the last 5 years, the very definition of the pronoun "They" as a neutral pronoun singular is far from new.
Back in 1795, a group of scientists, including linguists Lindy Murray, Joseph Priestley and Hugh Blair, proposed using "they" as a common third person singular pronoun. That is, it had to combine "he" and "she". And although then the initiative did not find a large number of supporters, now this option is gaining popularity again. Despite the fact that it sounds unusual, it has linguistic prerequisites.
Among other historical attempts to "find" a gender-neutral pronoun, it is necessary to highlight the work of William Marshall, who in 1789 discovered the dialectal pronoun "Ou" in historical chronicles.
«Ou» — «he», «she» «it», . , XIV .
«Ou» — «he» «heo», . , , . «she», XII , - . , , . — . , «they» .
Another linguist, Robert Baker, proposed using the pronouns "one, ones" instead of "one, his" in 1770. In his opinion, the lack of an analogue to "one, hers" was not too honest, so he proposed a neutral option. True, his idea was considered overly pedantic. Nevertheless, it “surfaced” as references many times, but each time it was deemed irrelevant. Looking forward to next time soon.
In recent times, there have also been several artificial attempts to create gender-neutral pronouns. But, to be honest, they look ridiculous.
Here is a table with possible gender neutral pronouns. In modern English, this is an apocryphal - that is, they are not canonical norms of the language. But there are organizations that are actively promoting their use. If the trend for the empowerment of non-binary people intensifies, then it is possible that in 5-10 years such options will appear in official English.
In fact, such artificial constructions claim to be original, but at the same time they are rather clumsy and have no linguistic and cultural background. And judging by the fact that they have not received even minimal distribution, these options will remain concepts.
The English language is a constantly evolving system. And any socio-political changes leave their mark on the language. Tell us, what do you think about these trends? Write in the comments.
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