The (potential) use of gender-inclusive language is being discussed controversially in the public sphere. Opinions on it have increasingly been voiced by individuals as well as organisations. These include state institutions, private associations, subject specialists such as linguists, and private individuals / laypeople. Views of and attitudes towards the use of gender-inclusive language cover a broad spectrum between extreme ends, and even subject specialists hold conflicting views. Research on gender-inclusive language is very much a current trend in linguistics, including the so-called ‘genderless’ languages. However, the focus is mostly on structural issues, while sociolinguistic research on attitudes towards the use of gender-inclusive language is mostly missing. Some scattered work in this area has been published, but a more thorough understanding and conceptualisation of attitudes is still needed. Furthermore, a multilingual, comparative perspective is still missing. This edited volume will address these shortcomings.

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2022 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Other, grade: 2,6, University of Dortmund, language: English, abstract: This paper aims to investigate attitudes towards gender-neutral language in Germany. The two hypotheses that are put forward are that firstly, females are more open to gender-neutral language than males, and secondly, younger people are more open to gender-neutral language than older people. A survey was distributed through Facebook and other social media channels to gather data about the different attitudes that resulted in 146 valid answers. Furthermore, the participants were divided into four generations and the genders male, female, and divers. After comparing the different groups, the two hypotheses could both be verified.

The (potential) use of gender-inclusive language is being discussed controversially in the public sphere. Opinions on it have increasingly been voiced by individuals as well as organisations. These include state institutions, private associations, subject specialists such as linguists, and private individuals / laypeople. Views of and attitudes towards the use of gender-inclusive language cover a broad spectrum between extreme ends, and even subject specialists hold conflicting views. Research on gender-inclusive language is very much a current trend in linguistics, including the so-called ‘genderless’ languages. However, the focus is mostly on structural issues, while sociolinguistic research on attitudes towards the use of gender-inclusive language is mostly missing. Some scattered work in this area has been published, but a more thorough understanding and conceptualisation of attitudes is still needed. Furthermore, a multilingual, comparative perspective is still missing. This edited volume will address these shortcomings.

This is the second of a three-volume comprehensive reference work on “Gender across Languages”, which provides systematic descriptions of various categories of gender (grammatical, lexical, referential, social) in 30 languages of diverse genetic, typological and socio-cultural backgrounds. Among the issues discussed for each language are the following: What are the structural properties of the language that have an impact on the relations between language and gender? What are the consequences for areas such as agreement, pronominalisation and word-formation? How is specification of and abstraction from (referential) gender achieved in a language? Is empirical evidence available for the assumption that masculine/male expressions are interpreted as generics? Can tendencies of variation and change be observed, and have alternatives been proposed for a more equal linguistic treatment of women and men? This volume (and the previous two volumes) will provide the much-needed basis for explicitly comparative analyses of gender across languages. All chapters are original contributions and follow a common general outline developed by the editors. The book contains rich bibliographical and indexical material.Languages of Volume 2: Chinese, Dutch, Finnish, Hindi, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish, Vietnamese, Welsh.

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 2, University of Hannover, course: Language and Gender, 5 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: In the following paper I will deal with the concept of gender-neutral language. I will begin by looking at certain false generics that are commonly used in English Language and consider the position of gender-neutral language theorists to these false generics. Due to the fact, that the gender-neutral language theory offers very general recommendations and guidelines i felt difficult to do a corpus analysis. That is why I tried to concentrate only on the main positions of gender-neutral language theory and focus on central issues within he scope of this approach. I concentrate on two particular false generics that are at the focus of gender -neutral language theory; "Man" as a generic form used in the English language to define male and female and the ambiguous use of the pronoun "He" in contexts where both sexes are to be addressed. In the second and third chapter I will take a closer look at these false generics and exemplify how they create misunderstanding and actually promote a male centred perception. In the fourth chapter I will deal with the guidelines and recommendations of language planners and gender-neutral language theorists and work out their main positions. It will be argued, that language change is not an easy undertaking but requires perseverance and consistent argumentation. The biggest challenge for language planners who want to implement genderneutral language is perhaps the persistent resistance towards the understanding, that gender - neutral language is not an issue concerning only feminists. I will conclude by evaluating the gender-neutral language theory in terms of its practicability and give a personal opinion on the approach.

The idea that the language we speak influences the way we think has evoked perennial fascination and intense controversy. According to the strong version of this hypothesis, called the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis after the American linguists who propounded it, languages vary in their semantic partitioning of the world, and the structure of one's language influences how one understands the world. Thus speakers of different languages perceive the world differently. Although the last two decades have been marked by extreme skepticism concerning the possible effects of language on thought, recent theoretical and methodological advances in cognitive science have given the question new life. Research in linguistics and linguistic anthropology has revealed striking differences in cross-linguistic semantic patterns, and cognitive psychology has developed subtle techniques for studying how people represent and remember experience. It is now possible to test predictions about how a given language influences the thinking of its speakers. Language in Mind includes contributions from both skeptics and believers and from a range of fields. It contains work in cognitive psychology, cognitive development, linguistics, anthropology, and animal cognition. The topics discussed include space, number, motion, gender, theory of mind, thematic roles, and the ontological distinction between objects and substances. Contributors Melissa Bowerman, Eve Clark, Jill de Villiers, Peter de Villiers, Giyoo Hatano, Stan Kuczaj, Barbara Landau, Stephen Levinson, John Lucy, Barbara Malt, Dan Slobin, Steven Sloman, Elizabeth Spelke, and Michael Tomasello

Advances in Intergroup Communication is a timely contribution to the field. It reflects developments in older, more established intergroup settings (e.g., gender, sexual orientation, organizations) whilst introducing newer studies such as the military and political parties. It also pays attention to emerging trends in new media and social networks and considers the developing field of neuroscience of communication. The volume brings together authors from different geographical areas (North America, Europe, and Australia) and from different disciplines (particularly communication, linguistics, and psychology). Contributions are organized around five themes, corresponding to the five sections of the book: defining features and constraints; tools of intergroup communication; social groups in their context; intergroup communication in organizations; and future directions.