On language and society

The survey project is on hold until I get more frequent access to internet service.  In the meantime here are some thoughts on language and society because my friend Paul V sent me a link to this page about gender-neutral language and asked what I thought about it. 

I think that it's interesting because language is not a static thing (and thank goodness we don't have a regulatory body for the English language like I hear they have in France for French because then it'd really be a radical concept to conceive of language as something immensely democratic).  Language seems to be the ultimate democratic movement.  It is truly of the people and by the people.  It's always in flux and it reflects the society which created it.  Which makes sense until you think about how language shapes thought as well --as any good constructivist will tell you.  And then you get to realize that if society creates language then language equally creates society as well; they are mutually constitutive.  So it's a chicken and egg argument.

Which leads to the short answer: I think we will have a gender-neutral language when we have a gender-neutral society and vice versa.

So is it "worth it" to try to promote the use of gender neutral terms?  Honestly I don't really know.  I think it can't hurt.  I do it in some situations.  I say "they" a lot for a non-specific unknown person, even if that person is singular and not plural.  Technically it's currently incorrect grammatically but it didn't used to be a few hundred years ago.  (I learned that in a linguistics class and I'll try to get a citation for it soon).  That one change solves like 99% of everyday non-gender-neutral language I've found.  Letter carrier instead of mailman is another one I've used.

When I most run into non-gender-neutral language is in church.  They sing the doxology in the Mennonite church I go to.  I say "Creator, Son and Holy Ghost" instead of "Father, Son and Holy Ghost" in the last line.  And I change the Hail Mary slightly when I pray the rosary (yes, I do that sometimes): Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you AND ALL women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus".  I think the orthodox version says blessed are you AMONG women.

My linguistics professor used to talk about prescriptive grammarians versus descriptive grammarians, the latter being those who describe the way people talk and the former being those who try to get people to talk a certain way.  She said prescriptive grammarians are kinda out of vogue right now and haven't been very successful in getting the unruly masses to "talk right".  Language evolves naturally; it's really hard to direct it.  With that in mind, I might argue that putting one's efforts into creating a feminist society is just as if not more useful than trying to get people to talk a certain way or use feminist or gender-neutral words.  But it's also nice to help things along a bit if you can.  But that's just my opinion.

Comments

[Anna]

Gender neutral language - it would be nice. I myself am a stickler, I must confess, to feminist language issues. Boys become "men" at about 16 and girls stay "girls" well into womanhood. In the more gender neutral zone, "guys" has now become a way to refer to a group of men, a group of men and women, and even to a group of women. I insist on using "folks" instead - though I admit I slip and say "guys" myself sometimes. But I am not a "guy" - women are not "guys." Am I making too much of it? Like you hinted at - maybe yes, maybe no. I guess the feminist me is always on the lookout for backsliding on gender issues so I continue to harp on such things as language.

Sorry for the long comment - I've actually been thinking and writing about this issue lately myself. Sorry!

[barb]

Anna,
Never apologize for a long comment! lol... thanks. yeah, I like "folks" too. I use it a lot myself. It has a nice homey feel to it too.

[Duane]

Hi, Barb. Just found your blog and really appreciate a lot of what you are saying and how you say it. I'll look forward to hearing your views from within Venezuela. Carol taught me to say/sing (though I still sometimes stumble during worship) "Creator, Christ and Holy Ghost". Our First Church of the Brethren (Chicago) choir will sing a version of "Mothering God" on Mothers' Day, which includes the phrase, "Mothering Christ." A retired (male) seminary prof in the choir grimaced a little at that one during rehearsal.

For me the third person's name is the one that gives pause. Ghost has such different connotations from those of Spirit, but the extra syllable just won't fit. I guess I'll just learn to live with the ghost. On the other hand, ghost puts the same sort of spin on the divine as Jesus' statement about coming "like a thief in the night." I knew there was a bright side.