Language
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Central Europe
German church opts for gender-correct language
Despite much criticism, the German Protestant Church (EKD) continues to use “gender-appropriate” wording in its communication. The German Christian press agency Idea reports that an EKD spokesperson has confirmed that. Friedrich Merz, leader of the Christian political party CDU, recently criticised gender language in public broadcasting. In Germany, the federal…
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Central Europe
German language experts appeal to end gender language on German broadcaster
Around 70 linguists and philologists call for an end to gender language on the German public broadcaster ÖRR. According to the language experts, these words are ideologically motivated. The starting point of gender language practice is “the assessment of the generic masculine as a discriminatory form of language, which we…
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Northern Europe
Norwegian dictionary includes genderneutral 'hen'
The national Language Council in Norway has decided to include the word 'hen' in the official dictionaries for the Norwegian language. It is the first gender-neutral pronoun in the dictionary. On Friday, language director Åse Wetås announced on Twitter that the term now appears in the online version of the…
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Northern Europe
Swedish students punished for swearing
The Swedish Tysnes school in Sunnhordland started a crackdown on swearing. During a trial of a few weeks, the school notified parents their child swore at school. Currently, Tysnes school has decided to continue its approach. The school, which includes students from grade 5 to 10, started a trial in…
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Western Europe
In French universities, gender-neutral pronoun “iel” gets more common
In French universities, the gender-neutral pronoun 'iel' -a contraction of the 'il' (he) and elle (she)- is becoming more widespread. Some professors already use these pronouns in their email signatures. The use of gender-neutral pronouns for non-binary or transgender people seems to be no longer a taboo, writes the French…
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Northern Europe
Christian teacher fired for refusing to say 'hen'
A Swedish teacher has been accused of discrimination after refusing to address a non-binary student with the gender-neutral pronoun ‘hen’. The Discrimination Ombudsman ruled that the teacher is guilty of a “serious form of harassment, by deliberately refraining from using the pronoun with which the student identifies”, Dagen reports. In…
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Western Europe
French dictionary under scrutiny for including gender-neutral word
One of France’s major dictionaries, Petit Robert, is under scrutiny after adding a gender-neutral pronoun in its online dictionary.The discussion is all about a three-letter word: ‘iel'. Translated, it is a combination of the pronouns he and she. According to the dictionary, ‘iel' is a personal pronoun subject of the…
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Central Europe
Gender correct language leads to controversies
The need for gender correct language leads in several countries to questions and controversies. Three examples from Europe. ## Norway In Norway, debate around the issue was sparked on Thursday when the Norwegian Broadcasting Council discussed two submitted complaints, newspaper Dagen reported on Thursday. The first complaint came from someone…