Can language ever be gender-neutral?
Recent news that the German Justice Ministry is pushing for the German language to be made more ‘gender neutral’ will probably bring a sigh of relief to us German-learners the world over. Don’t get me wrong, I love German, but years of grappling with genders (a girl is ‘it’, whilst a table is ‘he’ and a bag is ‘she’!? – what’s going on here!?) doesn’t always feel worth it, when I’m constantly asking ‘is it der, die or das App?’ only to be told by native Germans ‘I’m not really sure!’
For us English speakers, the idea of allocating an arbitrary ‘masculine’, ‘feminine’ or ‘neutral’ to random objects around us just doesn’t feel right, and causes many a problem for learners of all nationalities. Screwing up the gender isn’t going to cause an international incident, but the bad news is that you have to get the gender right to get any other aspect of grammar right as well, so it really is a necessary part of learning the language.
But maybe not for much longer! The current campaign intends to do away with overtly gendered ways of referring to people and professions. Currently, Germans have the (rather archaic-sounding) convention of referring to all professions, for example, as gender-specific, e.g. der Arzt / die Ärztin (doctor), der Student / die Studentin (student) or der Manager / die Managerin. It is common to see an endless array of forward slashes (‘der/die Bewerber/in’ (applicant) or the bizarre-looking ‘die TeilnehmerInnen’ (participants) as a way of getting around the modern need to incorporate both male and female variants into job ads etc. This is basically just a headache for everyone involved. Yes, we get that the job can be done by men and women! We don’t need a special word for everything that can be done by a woman. Instead, some suggest a gender neutral equivalent, such as ‘das Bundeskanzler’ (Federal Chancellor – i.e. Merkel) instead of the current feminine form (die Bundeskanzlerin) which draws attention to the fact she is a woman, rather than just being the leader of one of the world’s most powerful countries.
This is all hypothetical, and some theorise that the language might do away with all gender articles (der/die/das, ein/eine/ein) and simply refer to everything as ‘das’, or maybe the more commonly used ‘die’. But it certainly would be helpful to anyone trying to get their head around these rather arbitrary distinctions.
It’s not really just German that struggles with these gender distinctions though. Even when writing English there are some tricky situations to get around. Endless use of ‘he/she’ sounds just as awkward as constant ‘der/die’ or putting ‘In’ on the end of everything, but simply using ‘he’ all the time feels like a somewhat unsatisfactory solution. I often resort to writing ‘they’, as the closest to a gender-neutral equivalent that we have, although this can often sound odd, and is technically a plural. Fortunately, although we do have female versions of some professions (e.g. actress, policewoman), mostly you can just say ‘doctor, dentist, teacher’ and no one bugs you to put ‘female’ in front – which actually feels a whole lot more sexist than simply implying that gender has nothing to do with it. Perhaps we could do with a generic word that implies ‘he and/or she’ without needing to be too finicky about it every time. Somehow, though, I don’t see ‘it’ catching on as a way to refer to people! For now, we’re probably stuck with either slightly awkward or slightly sexist – but it’ll be interesting to see if the Germans manage to find a better solution.
Alex
15 cultural faux pas to avoid when travelling
Before you go on holiday, or on a business trip abroad, it’s a great idea to learn a little of the local language. But getting along with people is about much more than just the words you say. There are other rules too, so here are our top tips to avoid misunderstandings abroad.
1. Be very careful when exchanging business cards in Japan: they aren’t just cards, but representations of the giver and should be handled with some ceremony. NEVER write on a business card or put it in your back pocket, as this is considered disrespectful.
2. Don’t talk about work over dinner in New Zealand, even if you’re having a meal with your colleagues. It’s fine to talk business over lunch, though.
3. In Muslim countries it’s considered an insult if you show the soles of your feet, so watch how you sit.
4. If you’re in Hungary and you’ve been told your meeting is at ‘fél négy’ (‘half four’), don’t turn up at 4:30 – ‘fél négy’ actually means half an hour TO four, so you’ll need to be there at half past three.
5. On the other hand, if you’ve been invited to a gathering in France, always aim to arrive 15-30 minutes late, to allow the host time to get ready.
6. Making a circle with your forefinger and thumb as another way of saying ‘OK’ is seen as an extremely offensive gesture in Brazil. As is the ‘thumbs up’ gesture in Iran, and showing your palm in Greece. It might be better to just avoid hand gestures altogether…
7. In Germany, not making eye contact when you clink glasses is considered very rude. It also, apparently, means you’ll have seven years’ bad luck in the bedroom. So even if you’re not worried about being thought bad-mannered, it might be worth making the effort. Just in case.
8. In Bulgaria, nodding your head means no, and shaking your head means yes, which is the opposite of what most of us are used to. This is worth remembering or you could get yourself into all kinds of trouble.
9. It’s been illegal to bring chewing gum into Singapore since 2004, because of the damage being caused to public buildings and facilities by people leaving their gum behind. You can also be fined for not flushing a public toilet.
10. In Russia, if you’re giving someone flowers, make sure you give them an odd number. Even numbers are for funerals.
11. It’s important to show respect to your elders in Asia, so don’t call them by their name; instead use ‘Auntie’ or ‘Uncle’, even if you don’t know them.
12. When eating a meal in Spain, you’ll be expected to clear your plate, and leaving some food is seen as rude. In Russia, on the other hand, you’re expected to leave a little as a sign that your host has provided enough to fill you up. And in China, a polite belch when you finish eating is considered a compliment to the chef, although it’s frowned upon in many other countries.
13. Never say anything disrespectful about the king in Thailand, as this could land you in prison for several years.
14. Make sure you’re appropriately dressed before going to church in Italy. This means your shoulders, knees and midriff should all be covered, or you won’t be allowed in.
15. In Malawi, it’s common for people of the same sex to hold hands; this is a sign of close friendship, so don’t worry if someone tries to take your hand. It’s a compliment. Men and women holding hands is rare, though, and may be frowned upon.
As always, if anyone has any others, we’d love to hear from you!
Bye – or Auf Wiedersehen!
Our intern, Lorena, leaves us today to go home to Germany, and she’s been thinking back over her experiences in London and how she’s made the most of her time here to practise her English.
The time is running too fast. But I can’t say goodbye, because I think it means something sad is happening. But I am not dead, I am alive and I can come back to London. It takes me only one and a half hours on the airplane. So, I want to say ‘Auf Wiedersehen’. This means: see you again.
I want to say thank you to EuroTalk. This brilliant team work very well together and gave me a good feeling to work here. They showed me a good insight into the working life.
Now, I have been for six months in London. I enjoyed the time in this very big and exciting city, and I’ll go back to Germany with a smile. For everyone, who is thinking about going to another country: Do it! Don’t think too much about it. Nobody can take this experience from you. And you will see, you will leave the country with new impressions and you will be happy.
With Symeon at the Bett show last month
I came to London to improve my English skills. I did it, because I started sometimes to dream in English. If you are doing this, than it is a good sign. At first, if I listen to people in a shop, it takes some time to understand, what they are talking about. But you listen every day, than you understand more and more. Also I started to read a book: Eat Pray Love. I watched the movie in Germany, so I knew a little bit what the story is about. By reading the book, I expanded my vocabulary. Three weeks ago, I went to a cinema to watch the Disney movie Frozen. After I left the cinema, I was astonished how much I understood. And I really enjoyed this movie.
Moreover, if I am in the train, I read the newspaper. As time has gone on, I have understood more articles. It gave me a good feeling, because then I know what’s going on in London (news, politics…) And what I did also always, when I listen to music, I try to translate, what the singer wants to say. With fast songs, I found it sometimes hard to understand. But now I understand more. The important thing is to speak with the English people. Around the corner, there is a lovely pub. I love this pub. And I went there during the week to talk with the publican. It was always funny to talk with him and so I improved my English too.
I worked in a charity shop too, and before I went there each day, I drank a hot chocolate in a café. And I tell you, every time I sat there, I came to talk with people. I don’t know why. Someone told me I have a friendly face. Anyway, in the end I talk with the people and they asked me why I was in London. Talking is the best way to learn a language.
Auf Wiedersehen!
Lorena
Getting to know you: ‘Hallo’ from Lorena
My name is Lorena and I am from Germany. I just finished school and now I’ve started a placement at EuroTalk for five months. This is my third week in the company and it is very exciting. I am working on a project to help EuroTalk promote their maths apps in Germany. I’m having fun thinking about this task and I have a lot of ideas!
On my third day at EuroTalk, Wednesday 18th September, I went to the Junior Language Challenge at the Cranmore School in Surrey. It was the semi-final for London (South). At one o’clock we arrived at the school and prepared the iPads so that the children could use the Greek app.
About thirty thrilled children were ready to start! 🙂
… And after the welcome, it was finally happening.
The children were split up in two groups of thirteen and each group played the games. The children with the best score came into the final. The teachers and some parents could follow which position the children were in, because there was a whiteboard with the current score. For the children it was a very exciting situation and the teacher and parents were pretty curious.
After the challenge I saw only smiling kids! They were so happy and very proud of the certificates they got from EuroTalk.
The three finalists from London (South) – Salvatore, Rebecca and Aalaya
The semi-finalists with their certificates 🙂
And for me was it an interesting day and I got some impression of how EuroTalk promotes languages for children.
Lorena
Me with Dick and Franco from EuroTalk
Know Your Colour Code
Here at EuroTalk we love discovering interesting facts about the world around us, so from now on, on the third Wednesday of each month (or thereabouts!) we’ll be sharing some of these with you. The theme for this month is colours…
Be a man: be yellow
If you call someone ‘yellow’ in England, you’re calling them a coward. In Japan, the opposite is true; yellow is the colour of courage, and while Westerners usually see pink as a feminine colour, in Japan it’s very masculine; it conjures up the memory of fallen samurai.
Poisoned Pens
In China, writing someone’s name in red is unlucky and it usually means you want to cut them out of your life; just make sure you don’t have red ink on your hands if something bad happens to them!
Feeling blue? You’ll regret it in the morning…
In English it’s fairly common to say you’re ‘feeling blue’ if you feel sad. But in Germany, to be blue (‘blau sein’) is to be drunk.
White: it’s the new black
Weddings in the West are all decked out in white, but the same is not true of China, where white is the colour of mourning. Instead, brides wear red, as the colour symbolises good luck.
Purr-fect Opposites
In many cultures, a black cat is seen as lucky: in Japan, it’s believed to attract suitors, and in Scotland a cat arriving at your home is a sign of prosperity coming your way. But in America, the same animal is considered bad luck, particularly by gamblers on their way to the casino.
Colourful Confrontations
Useful information if you find yourself in a fight in Europe… In English, the result might be known as a ‘black eye’, whereas in Germany it’s blue (‘blaues Auge’), in Spain it’s purple (‘ojo morado’) and in France it’s known as an ‘oeil au beurre noir’ (literally ‘eye in black butter’)!
If anyone has any other examples of colour-related facts, we’d love to hear them!
