47Fotos: JakeOlimb/iStock.com; privat
JUST JUDI 14/2019 SpotlightWhen I was a kid, there was a popular riddle: A boy
and his father are in a car crash. The father is killed,
but the boy survives. In the hospital, the surgeon sees
him and says, “I can’t operate on this boy — he’s my
son.” The riddle asked, “Who was the surgeon?”
The grandfather, stepfather, zombie-father were all
among the answers people gave. (In case you haven’t
got it: The surgeon was the boy’s mother.)
This is the thing about English: Gender is not em-
bedded in it the way it is in German, say. You can’t
even tell that riddle in German. You couldn’t call the
mother der Chirurg, and once you get to die Chirurgin,
the game’s over. Still, until it became more common
for women to be surgeons, the gender was not em-
bedded in the English word, but in our minds.
Today, fewer and fewer words for professions
specifically evoke a gender. Women are judges and
senators, surgeons and astronauts. Men now work as
nurses and secretaries. The idea that professions are
inherently male or female has dwindled.
Gone, too, are many gendered words such as “stew-
ardess,” “policeman,” “chairman.” “Flight attendant,”
“police officer,” “chair” or “chairperson” have taken
their place.
As society has become more tolerant, English has
become more gender-neutral, and the topic of pro-
nouns has gained importance.
“They” as a singular, gender-neutral pronoun
dates back to Middle English, but it is not considered
standard usage today. Still, it’s often used when the
identity of a person is not known or not specific, as in:
“Someone left me a note. I wonder what they want.JUST JUDI
Pronouns
are personal
Je toleranter wir werden, desto komplexer wird die Suche
nach dem perfekten Personalpronomen. Glücklicherweise
hält das Englische eine einfache Lösung parat.MEDIUM USadvocacy group
[(ÄdvEkEsi gru:p]
, Interessenvertretung
affect [E(fekt]
, beeinflussen
clumsy [(klVmzi]
, hier: umständlich
commonplace
[(kA:mEnpleIs]
, alltäglich, normal
dwindle [(dwInd&l]
, nachlassen
embedded [Im(bedId]
, eingebunden
evoke [i(voUk]
, heraufbeschwören
food for thought
[)fu:d fE (TO:t]
, Denkanstöße
gender [(dZend&r]
, Genus, Geschlecht
inherently [In(herEntli]
, von Haus aus
judge [dZVdZ]
, Richter(in)
marital status
[(mÄrEt&l )steItEs]
, Familienstand
riddle [(rId&l]
,^ Rätsel
say [seI]
, sagen wir mal
surgeon [(s§:dZEn]
, Chirurg(in)I can’t read their handwriting.” You can use “he”
or “she”/“his” or her,” too, but this might be seen as
clumsy.
Gender identity also affects pronoun usage. Today,
some official forms ask what your pronouns are and
offer more than two options for gender.
In 1972, American feminist Gloria Steinem first
published Ms. magazine, a title alternative to “Mrs.”
and “Miss,” which indicate a woman’s marital status.
At that time, calling a woman “Ms.” was revolution-
ary. Today, it’s standard English.
Last month, the second International Pronouns
Day was held. Organizations such as advocacy
groups and academic institutions participated. The
aim of this day is “to make respecting, sharing, and
educating about personal pronouns commonplace.”
New, alternative pronouns such as “ze” are com-
ing into use that are not mainstream English now
but perhaps will be in the future. Recently, columnist
Farhad Manjoo of The New York Times wrote that we
should use “they” for everybody, including ourselves,
and end the discussion. Whatever your pronoun is,
English is a living organism, and the subject is food
for thought.THE LANGUAGE PAGES
Welcome to the language pages
Over the next dozen or more pages, we give you the opportunity to learn
about grammar and vocabulary in an up-to-date context. We start off here
with a column that takes a very personal look at the English language.JUDITH GILBERT
Writer, editor, translator, and photographer
Judith Gilbert divides her time between New York
City and a small town in Bavaria.