Blog
Skills For Success
What is inclusive language?
Inclusive language opens communication to diversity. It allows us to express respect for the other person, regardless of their identity, appearance or age. By speaking inclusively, we can express our openness to any background, religion, experience of illness, experience of one’s gender or sexuality in conversation with a child.
Inclusivity inspires mindfulness – both in the choice of words and in the tone of the conversation, so that we express respect and equal value for our emotions and feelings, and avoid hierarchies, culturally based on age. A person who is experiencing a particular trait (e.g. finding themselves on the transgender spectrum) will probably be more knowledgeable than you, in terms of current terminology. He or she may also be, due to minority stress and fear of rejection, sensitive to words that stigmatise and stereotype. Therefore, in order to express support and respect, it is worth expanding your knowledge of the language we use to talk about groups at risk of discrimination by choice. Everyday language is full of simplifications and stereotypes. It reflects the false assumption that we are all white (hence, after all, the colour ‘flesh’), that we are divided into men and women (the ‘opposite’ sexes) and that this results in a set of ascribed characteristics and capabilities (‘women’s talk’ and ‘men’s decisions’). The language we use has the power to downplay crimes (when, instead of rape, we talk about ‘child sexual abuse’) and the power to stigmatise and disparage (when, instead of people with disabilities, someone talks about ‘cripples’ or ‘disabled’).Neutrals, or words in polish coined as neutral versions of gendered words with alternative inflectional endings (e.g. -um, -cze, -o), are also in use. In writing, one may encounter so-called ixatives; this term refers to the replacement of the signs differentiating the feminine and masculine with an x, e.g. didxm, mojx partnerx. A placeholder (e.g. did_m) or other characters are also sometimes used in place of the x. It is worth noting that these are potential forms, not codified in the grammatical system of the Polish language.
Inclusivity – more than a trend
Diversity, non-binary, tolerance…these are extremely important themes in today’s world. However, they are not insignificant trends that will pass quickly. Business Insider has predicted that between 2021 and 2023, inclusivity will start to influence how society functions and will shape our choices, such as where to work. Hence the rise in popularity of inclusive language, which is finding more and more applications in different areas of our lives – its role is beginning to be as important in social communication as it is in medical records or official letters.
So what is inclusive language? Following the official definition of the Council of the European Union, it is a language:
- free from prejudice,
- without any allusion to gender,
- avoiding stereotypes,
- respectful of diversity.
In other words, inclusive language is language that treats everyone equally, regardless of gender, race, orientation, disability, age, background, religion or even worldview.
How do we use inclusive forms?
When referring to men, we use masculine forms, i.e. teacher, employee, and when addressing women, we use feminine forms, the so-called feminatives, e.g. teacher, employee. On the other hand, if we want to address both men and women we can use two forms at the same time, e.g. teachers and female teachers, employees and female employees. But how can we include non-binary people who do not identify with either gender in the communication? In this case, we have a number of inclusive forms at our disposal that will allow us to go beyond the patterns and include tolerance in our language. We can use inclusive forms in speech and writing in several ways:
Special signs
One of the more popular techniques we can use to ensure that we do not exclude anyone in our written communications are special characters. The use of the so-called floor (_) or asterisk (*) allows us to keep room for interpretation for different audiences.
Examples:
- * forgot password.
- _ was satisfied with the service.
Collective nouns
Another method in inclusive language is the use of collective nouns. This avoids referring to gender at all and instead addresses the whole.
Examples:
State (instead of Mr/Mrs),
student body (instead of male/female students).
Gender-neutral wording
The next inclusive form is the so-called personatives, which are gender-neutral expressions. In these expressions, the word person appears, e.g. speaker. This allows us to address the audience without referring to their gender. We can also use all forms at once, e.g. male students, female students, people studying.
Impersonal constructions
In inclusive language we can use any impersonal constructions, i.e. the imperative mode, which will allow us to avoid references to gender.
Example:
- You need to fill in the questionnaire (instead of candidate needs to fill in the questionnaire),
- Please complete the form.
Feminatives (and splitting)
So we can use *feminatives (the aforementioned recipient). However, this is not the only option. Another option is to mention both genders, e.g. ‘And you can become a mechatronics men /mechatronics woman’. This is known as splitting.
Why start using inclusive language in your brand communication?
Including words and phrases in your communication that do not imply discrimination shows that the company/person working for it is willing to listen to and understand the needs of customers_women/men and employees_women/men from different social groups.
The use of inclusive language also improves the company’s prestige and increases its attractiveness in the eyes of clients_women/men.
Companies that are committed to fighting discrimination and creating an inclusive environment tend to have greater support among the online community and social media users.
With such a strategy, a company can attract a wider range of customers, as well as increase the loyalty of existing ones. Inclusive language carries more meaning that more people can identify with. It allows you to engage a wider audience and increase the effectiveness of your communication.
– Język równościowy, w Razem mamy siłę: STOP DYSKRYMIANCJI!”; program obywatele dla Demokracji, finansowanego z Funduszy EOG.
English