Gender-neutral, Gender-fair, Gender-inclusive: Towards Conceptual Clarity across European Languages

“The volume, covering Germanic, Romance and Slavic languages, is an extremely valuable tool for achieving clarity in terminological issues concerning the current discussion on language and gender as well as gender-fair language in Western societies. As terminological questions are never just a dispute about labels, but uncover essential – though often implicit – conceptual foundations, the volume is highly recommended to all those working in the field of language and gender.” (Gabriele Diewald, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany)

“Gender-inclusive, gender-neutral, gender-fair — do these terms mean the same thing, and are they used consistently across languages? This volume delves into these questions, examining their ambiguity through qualitative and quantitative studies across nine European languages. Providing a crucial comparative perspective on their meanings and policy implications, it is an essential read for linguists, researchers, and policymakers striving for clarity and consistency in discussions on gender-inclusive language.” (Ann Coady, Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, France)

“The missing tool for linguistic gender issues: focused on a wide range of European languages and dealing with qualitative and quantitative data, the book offers fundamental reflections on the clarification of terminology, the role of language policies, the intersection between academic perspectives and social perceptions, the understanding of different strategies, their contexts of use and position on an inclusion scale.” (Antónia Coutinho, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal)

This edited book explores the ambiguity and overlap in the usage of terms such as “gender-inclusive”, “gender-fair”, and “gender-neutral” across various disciplines and languages, aiming to achieve conceptual clarity and advocate for standardisation. The authors examine different aspects of gender-inclusivity in European languages including Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Romanian, Spanish, and Swedish. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of fields such as Linguistics, Psychology, Anthropology, and Cultural Studies.

Falco Pfalzgraf is Reader in German Linguistics at Queen Mary University of London, UK.