Egalitarian language

So here we are again. March 8. International Women's Day. What can we say that's remotely new and relevant to a course of English as a Foreign Language? Nothing I haven't said a hundred times before. Still, allow me to reiterate some platitudes.

When it comes to discussing languages and gender issues, I believe something must be distinctly understood. Every language is, in essence, a set of conventions. So any given tongue is whatever its speakers want it to be. And the choices that every era makes tend to mirror the standards of that specific time in history. It, therefore, follows that a society in which religion played a dominant role should include a lot of religious references. Just consider the realm of greetings and think of the words adieu in French and adiós in Spanish. They both mean "to god". They are not alone. In English, we can use these two expressions to bid someone farewell:

• goodbye, which is basically a hurried version of "god be with you"
• godspeed, a (now old-fashioned) salutation which means "may God cause you to prosper"

So, does the use of those words make you religious? I hardly think so. Many "secular" speakers still say Oh my god! even if they don't believe in any sort of deity. The word is simply part of the history of the language. For similar reasons, many non-sexist speakers may still use words which are (at least etymologically) slightly sexist. Take the adjective hysteric, for example. It obviously refers to a woman's uterus. Yes. The Greek term hysteria means exactly that: "womb", "uterus". The rationale behind that term is that only women can be overemotional and unstable. I know. It's kind of toe-curling. Yet, we find a parallel case in the verb manhandle, which means "to treat someone roughly". The assumption is that only men do that, not women. The word, by the way, was first used in 1851, not the Middle Ages (when man simply meant person). So it is, technically, "etymologically sexist".

All that said, it stands to reason that an egalitarian society should reflect that particular ethos in its very language. Therefore the English which is spoken now should be less discriminatory than it used to be. So let's forget "etymological sexism" and think of everyday language usage.

You have an obligation to try and be sensitive to language transformation. If only because what feels "inappropriate" is usually "unacceptable". And I'm not talking about the dreaded PC culture, which started out fine but and has been known to defeat its purpose in some respects. No. I'm referring to forms of expression that simply feel out of step with the times. The sentence somebody has left his umbrella, for example, sounds dated and inaccurate to me. My reaction here is not political or ideological at all. It's simply practical. Why should I assume that the person who left the umbrella in question is a man? Likewise, the phrase the man in the street, (meaning an average person) also feels sexist and dated. I personally refuse to use it because it doesn't make much sense to me. Times change and so does language use. And if you're still not convinced, consider this last example.

Upon setting foot on the Moon (1969) Neil Armstrong famously uttered the line "a small step for a man a giant leap for mankind". Granted, the wordplay man/mankind may have been inspired, but many of us feel that humankind, a word coined in 1560 by the way, would have aged better. I know. I know. It's not fair to pass judgment on past events by using present-day criteria. The 1960s were different. Back then, a female astronaut stepping onto the surface of the Mars would have seemed preposterous. Yet, that's exactly what the Netflix series Away (2020) presents in its first season finale. Watching that scene doesn't strike me as artificial or contrived in any shape or form. Today's zeitgeist is simply quite different from that of 50 years ago and our word choices should also describe that reality.

As English learners you should all be sensitive to the times you're living in and be ready to make appropriate choices. Speakers are now establishing the expressions that will be standard in the future. I am aware that foreign students don't exactly have a horse in this race. They are expected to listen and follow suit. Still, certain novelties should not surprise them because we know from experience that some changes can happen from top to bottom. Remember the ill-fated pronoun thon? It was suggested as a gender-neutral alternative to he and she in 1858. Needless to say, it didn't catch on. Why? Well, speakers rejected it. That's why. Is it going to be embraced by those who claim to be "woke" (to use the parlance of our times)? Only time will tell. Nevertheless we should not forget that dramatic changes do occur from time to time. At the end of the 19th century thou was still used as a pronoun for the second person singular. Then came you and English grammar was forever changed. Still, for now I think we ought to stick to what is standard. In a situation in which gender is irrelevant or simply unknown... what are you going to say? Someone left his or her umbrella? Someone left their umbrella? Someone left an umbrella? Just remember that your choice may help change the future.