Capturing socially motivated linguistic change. How the use of gender-fair language afffects support for social initiatives in Austria and Poland.
Gender-fair language consists of the symmetric linguistic treatment of women and men instead of using masculine forms as generics. In this study, we examine how the use of gender-fair language affects readers’ support for social initiatives in Poland and Austria. While gender-fair language is relati...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2015-10-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01617/full |
| _version_ | 1818026850791718912 |
|---|---|
| author | Magdalena Maria Formanowicz Aleksandra eCisłak Lisa Kristina Horvath Sabine eSczesny |
| author_facet | Magdalena Maria Formanowicz Aleksandra eCisłak Lisa Kristina Horvath Sabine eSczesny |
| author_sort | Magdalena Maria Formanowicz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Gender-fair language consists of the symmetric linguistic treatment of women and men instead of using masculine forms as generics. In this study, we examine how the use of gender-fair language affects readers’ support for social initiatives in Poland and Austria. While gender-fair language is relatively novel in Poland, it is well established in Austria. This difference may lead to different perceptions of gender-fair usage in these speech communities. Two studies conducted in Poland investigate whether the evaluation of social initiatives (Study 1: quotas for women on election lists; Study 2: support for women students or students from countries troubled by war) is affected by how female proponents (lawyers, psychologists, sociologists, and academics) are referred to, with masculine forms (traditional) or with feminine forms (modern, gender-fair). Study 3 replicates Study 2 in Austria. Our results indicate that in Poland, gender-fair language has negative connotations and therefore, detrimental effects particularly when used in gender-related contexts. Conversely, in Austria, where gender-fair language has been implemented and used for some time, there are no such negative effects. This pattern of results may inform the discussion about formal policies regulating the use of gender-fair language. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T04:38:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5df11169ae534c6eba7342883136238e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T04:38:34Z |
| publishDate | 2015-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-5df11169ae534c6eba7342883136238e2022-12-22T02:01:57ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782015-10-01610.3389/fpsyg.2015.01617147750Capturing socially motivated linguistic change. How the use of gender-fair language afffects support for social initiatives in Austria and Poland.Magdalena Maria Formanowicz0Aleksandra eCisłak1Lisa Kristina Horvath2Sabine eSczesny3University of BernUniversity of Social Sciences and HumanitiesTechnische Universität MünchenUniversity of BernGender-fair language consists of the symmetric linguistic treatment of women and men instead of using masculine forms as generics. In this study, we examine how the use of gender-fair language affects readers’ support for social initiatives in Poland and Austria. While gender-fair language is relatively novel in Poland, it is well established in Austria. This difference may lead to different perceptions of gender-fair usage in these speech communities. Two studies conducted in Poland investigate whether the evaluation of social initiatives (Study 1: quotas for women on election lists; Study 2: support for women students or students from countries troubled by war) is affected by how female proponents (lawyers, psychologists, sociologists, and academics) are referred to, with masculine forms (traditional) or with feminine forms (modern, gender-fair). Study 3 replicates Study 2 in Austria. Our results indicate that in Poland, gender-fair language has negative connotations and therefore, detrimental effects particularly when used in gender-related contexts. Conversely, in Austria, where gender-fair language has been implemented and used for some time, there are no such negative effects. This pattern of results may inform the discussion about formal policies regulating the use of gender-fair language.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01617/fullFeminismSocial ChangeGrammatical GenderPolitical correctnessGender-fair language |
| spellingShingle | Magdalena Maria Formanowicz Aleksandra eCisłak Lisa Kristina Horvath Sabine eSczesny Capturing socially motivated linguistic change. How the use of gender-fair language afffects support for social initiatives in Austria and Poland. Frontiers in Psychology Feminism Social Change Grammatical Gender Political correctness Gender-fair language |
| title | Capturing socially motivated linguistic change. How the use of gender-fair language afffects support for social initiatives in Austria and Poland. |
| title_full | Capturing socially motivated linguistic change. How the use of gender-fair language afffects support for social initiatives in Austria and Poland. |
| title_fullStr | Capturing socially motivated linguistic change. How the use of gender-fair language afffects support for social initiatives in Austria and Poland. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Capturing socially motivated linguistic change. How the use of gender-fair language afffects support for social initiatives in Austria and Poland. |
| title_short | Capturing socially motivated linguistic change. How the use of gender-fair language afffects support for social initiatives in Austria and Poland. |
| title_sort | capturing socially motivated linguistic change how the use of gender fair language afffects support for social initiatives in austria and poland |
| topic | Feminism Social Change Grammatical Gender Political correctness Gender-fair language |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01617/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT magdalenamariaformanowicz capturingsociallymotivatedlinguisticchangehowtheuseofgenderfairlanguageafffectssupportforsocialinitiativesinaustriaandpoland AT aleksandraecisłak capturingsociallymotivatedlinguisticchangehowtheuseofgenderfairlanguageafffectssupportforsocialinitiativesinaustriaandpoland AT lisakristinahorvath capturingsociallymotivatedlinguisticchangehowtheuseofgenderfairlanguageafffectssupportforsocialinitiativesinaustriaandpoland AT sabineesczesny capturingsociallymotivatedlinguisticchangehowtheuseofgenderfairlanguageafffectssupportforsocialinitiativesinaustriaandpoland |