Gender colon

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everyone
The colon as gender sign
for the including abbreviation
of Beidnennung "each / every"

Gender colon (from English gender [ˈdʒɛndɐ] "social gender") refers to the use of a colon (colon) within the word as a means of gender-equitable spelling in German in order to make male and female also other genders and gender identities typographically visible and to include them ( compare Divers , Third Gender ). The traditional character , which is only used as the middle of the sentence , is used to avoid the generic masculine (employee) in order to abbreviate the denotation (employee) . The colon is inserted between the masculine person name and its movied feminine ending (employee: inside) . In the singular , a person can be called that is not male or female ( non-binary ): Alex is a: e staff: in . Incongruous is the colon if there are no male readable label results, such as "College: in" ( colleague missing) or Umlautungen as "physicians: in" ( doctor missing). The spelling with a colon is a variation of the gender gap proposed in 2003 (employees) and the gender asterisk proposed in 2009 (employees) . While reciting the colon or other is gender signs with a " gender-break " like a dash spoken: ; Screen readers read it out with a short pause. The use of the colon inside the word is not part of the official spelling . The city ​​of Lübeck and some media have been using the gender colon since 2019. In contrast, the German language society does not recognize the colon, other gender symbols or gender breaks as a suitable means of implementing non-discriminatory language. Mitarbeiter-innen

Screen reader

Inside the word or between two articles (der: die) , the colon causes a small pause when the screen reader ( Mitarbeiter: in) reads it aloud ; this corresponds to the effect of a glottal stroke (see pronunciation of gender signs and GfdS criticism ). Because it is easy to read, the gender colon fulfills the barrier -free nature for visually impaired or blind people; Braille displays usually only process the output of a screen reader. In Lübeck , the decision was made in favor of the colon because it is not spoken when the city website is read aloud, in contrast to other gender symbols. The HRM editorial team also expressly points out the accessibility for the visually impaired.

history

The possibility of using the colon for gendering in the German language first came into circulation at the end of 2015, when the organizers of the Fusion Festival announced the “lucky winners” of a ticket lottery. In 2016 the festival website spoke of “Fusionist: inside”. In 2016, a post in the feminist blog kleindrei researched the origins of the use of the gender colon . When asked about this, Lann Hornscheidt ( gender-neutral title : Profex Drex for Prof. Dr. ) was not yet familiar with the spelling and advocated it as a possibility. Regarding the question of who invented it, it was only possible to find out that the notification of winnings at the time "had written a: r".

The colon, formerly colon , belongs beside the point of the oldest punctuation of the German language . It has been used for over 1000 years, initially only to mark a pause in speaking or as a reading aid for word division; from the 17th century onwards he is faced with enumerations, quotations and direct speech. Usually the colon is used as a transition and announcement character.

At the end of 2018, a report on Deutschlandfunk mentioned the gender asterisk: "Recently you can sometimes see a colon at this point." In April 2019, the online magazine Jetzt.de said that the gender colon was a variant of the gender slash ("Schüler / in" ). A few months later, when asked what he thought of the gender symbol , the linguist Karsten Rinas said: “The colon would definitely be easier to read than the star, but the question of how to deal with it in language culture is certainly not yet definitive answered. "

spelling, orthography

The use of a colon inside a word is not part of the official spelling rules .

German Spelling Council

In November 2018, the Council for German Spelling (RdR) analyzed the occurrence of gender asterisk , gender gap and Binnen-I in various types of text and existing guidelines, but did not yet take the colon into account. On further development the council wrote:

“As before, there will be different spellings in different groups and communities to represent the different genders . These must be noted and checked, but they cannot each claim to be universally valid and binding for the written language . [...]
The Council will continue to analyze the use of writing in various media and groups of writers. "

Duden

In April 2020, the Duden Handbook for Gender Equitable Language declared:

"Currently, in spring 2020, these possibilities, i. H. Binnen-I, Genderstern, Gendergap, Colon and Mediopunkt are not yet part of the official spelling, but the first three are recognized as widespread and legitimate means of striving for gender-equitable written expression and are at least also at the meetings of the German Spelling Council discussed [...]. "

In August 2020, the 28th edition of the spelling dudens was published with a three-page overview of gender- equitable language use , in which no rules or norms are specified, but only options that can currently be found in German for gender-equitable formulation. Regarding the colon it is explained: “The official regulations do not cover spellings like the following: […] with gender gap (underscore; colon): pupils; Students: inside ”.

distribution

After the constitutional rulings on the third legal gender option “ diverse ” in 2017 in Germany and 2018 in Austria, numerous adapted guidelines on gender-sensitive language were published ; After internal coordination processes, some authorities and administrations officially decided to dispense with bisexual pair forms and to use the colon as a gender symbol in abbreviated spellings to include all genders and gender identities .

City administrations

Lübeck

In the Hanseatic city of Lübeck , a majority of the citizens' assembly initially voted for gender-equitable language in June 2019 ; in September the majority in the main committee of the citizenship decided that all political proposals should be formulated in a gender-sensitive manner. At the turn of the year 2020, the city administration published a language guide with business instructions that stipulates the "gender colon" and gender-neutral formulations. With this “we want to address all people; Women and men and those who do not describe themselves as women or men ”, so the guidelines for gender-sensitive language (“ employees: inside, residents: inside ”). The new language regulation should be used in all correspondence in all areas of the city administration, including in the company's own operations. According to Lübeck's equal opportunities officer Elke Sasse, the colon is "easy to understand" and does not disrupt the flow of reading; the character does not pull the word apart like the underscore or the asterisk and still includes all persons.

The local Lübeck news would not follow the gendered spelling, explained their editor-in-chief; only now and then is the term used in articles. The conservative German Language Association called the gender colon an illegal "hideous monstrosity". Lübeck's mayor Jan Lindenau ( SPD ) replied to concerns: “As an administration, we want to communicate in a non-discriminatory manner” (see General Equal Treatment Act ). Members of the administration would not have to fear sanctions if they did not use the colon or other recommendations on gender language.

Colleges

In addition to gender-neutral formulations , the Technische Universität Dresden has been using the gender colon for internal and external communication since January 2020 - pair formulas or internal I are rejected as being bisexual.

From April 2020, the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar will use the colon, alongside asterisks and underscores and gender-neutral formulations; Here, too, bisexual expressions are rejected.

media

In November 2019, the internet platform parliamentwatch.de declared that it would generally use the colon as gender-sensitive language on its website : "Users: inside, citizens: inside participation"; The little-three research from 2016 was linked as a background.

In January 2020, the news website netzpolitik.org stated that it used "spellings with gender asterisks, colon or both genders [...] to make the diversity of the genders visible [...] gender never came in just two variants, es is a spectrum of possibilities . "

In March 2020 before International Women 's Day, the body of the Federal Association of Communicators pressessprecher.com announced that it would only use the gender colon: "Politicians: inside". The sister magazine HRM Online had justified the use of the colon back in January: "In addition to men, we also explicitly address women and people who cannot be assigned to either the male or the female gender".

criticism

In mid-2020, Missy editor Marie Hecht criticized the gender colon for not being suitable for the deliberate deconstruction of a bisexual language, "because it can be quickly overlooked [... it] can not yet replace the inclusive character of the gender asterisk ."

Society for the German Language

In mid-2020, the Society for the German Language published its guidelines for the GfdS on the possibilities of gendering , which also address problems of the gender colon:

“The German Language Society does not recommend the colon. It usually serves as a transition and announcement mark and causes quite a few grammatical problems:
This is the case with umlaut - not: doctor: in, farmer: in .
[...] with inflected forms - not: colleague: in, doctor: inside, the student: inside .
[…] Better not: the: the student: in and their: his parents, a: e good: r student: in . […] Better not: the students: in and their parents . [...]
If personal designations with a colon are read out, they give the impression that only the female gender is meant. "

In August 2020, the GfdS announced in a press release that, in addition to the gender colon, “gender asterisks and the like do not conform to German spelling” and are not a suitable means of implementing a non-discriminatory language (see GfdS criticism of the gender star ).

See also

Current collection of materials Portal women: gender language  - current materials

literature

  • Society for German Language : Guidelines of the GfdS on the possibilities of gendering. In: The Language Service. No. 1–2, 2020, Section 4. d) Colon ( online at gfds.de).
  • Gabriele Diewald , Anja Steinhauer : Duden handbook gender-equitable language: How to gender appropriately and understandably. Published by the Duden editorial team. Dudenverlag, Berlin April 2020, ISBN 978-3-411-74517-3 , pp. 126–127: Underline u. A .: "Pupils, pupils: inside ..." .

Web links

Wiktionary: Colon  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Christine Ivanov: "Employees: inside" - genders with a colon. In: sprachbewusst.de. February 11, 2020, accessed April 29, 2020.
  2. ^ VG: Lübeck - gender language: colon for technical reasons. In: hl-live.de. January 29, 2020, accessed on March 18, 2020 (project by freelance journalists).
  3. ↑ a b HRM editorial team: Why do we use double points from now on. In: HRM Online. January 20, 2020, accessed March 18, 2020.
  4. ↑ a b Katharina Meyer zu Eppendorf: “All action is political” - a plea for gender with a colon and a conversation with Lann Hornscheidt. In: kleinedrei.org . September 26, 2016, accessed on March 16, 2020 (Meyer zu Eppendorf was the founder of the student magazine Philipp in 2014 and editor-in-chief until 2017).
  5. ↑ Program announcement: No ticket - no entry. In: Fusion-Festival.de . 2016, accessed March 16, 2020.
  6. ↑ Self-presentation: Lann Hornscheidt. Own website, December 2019, accessed on July 19, 2020 (photo from 2013).
  7. ^ Marie Beschorner: History of the German language: The development of punctuation. In: Uni-Bielefeld.de . May 9, 2009, accessed on March 18, 2020 (preparation at the Faculty of Linguistics and Literary Studies); Quote: "Until the 9th century, the point (it is the oldest sat symbol) and the colon are common symbols [...] The colon , which initially mostly fulfilled a function similar to the point [...] (ie marked pauses in speech), [...] stands before enumerations and before direct speech [...] ”.
  8. ↑ a b Society for German Language : Guidelines of the GfdS on the possibilities of gendering. In: The Language Service. No. 1–2, 2020, Section 4. d) Colon ( online at gfds.de).
  9. ↑ Monika Dittrich (editor): He, she, *: The gender question in the spelling council. In: Deutschlandfunk . November 15, 2018, accessed March 18, 2020.
  10. ↑ Berit Dießelkämper: Main thing: Gender - What forms of gender-sensitive language are there? In: Jetzt.de . April 20, 2019, accessed March 18, 2020.
  11. ↑ Karsten Rinas , interviewed by Florian Felix Weyh: Punctuation: Linguist on comma rules, callsigns and gender asterisks. In: Deutschlandfunk . August 11, 2019, accessed on March 18, 2020 (section on gender language: "Could it be that the colon will get a new function?").
  12. ^ Council for German Spelling - press release: Recommendations on “gender equitable spelling” - resolution of the Council for German Spelling of November 16, 2018. Mannheim, November 16, 2018 ( PDF: 422 kB, 2 pages onrechtschreibrat.com).
  13. ↑ Gabriele Diewald , Anja Steinhauer : Duden handbook gender-equitable language: How to gender appropriately and understandably. Published by the Duden editorial team. Dudenverlag, Berlin April 2020, ISBN 978-3-411-74517-3 , p. 127: Note on standardization .
  14. ^ Duden -Redaktion: Duden: The German orthography. 28th edition. Dudenverlag, Berlin 2020, ISBN 978-3-411-04018-6 , pp. 112–114: Gender equitable use of language , here p. 112 ( online at duden.de).
  15. ↑ a b Kai Dordowsky, Jan Wulf: gender colon: Lübeck new rules trigger debate. In: Lübecker Nachrichten . January 2, 2020, accessed March 18, 2020.
  16. ↑ Hanseatic City of Lübeck , Women's Office: Guide to gender-sensitive language in the Hanseatic city of Lübeck. December 2, 2019, pp. 3–4 and 10–11 ( PDF: 704 kB, 12 pages on luebeck.de; info page ); Quote: “At the Hanseatic City of Lübeck we want to address everyone. Women and men and those who do not describe themselves as women or men. [...] (e.g. employees). If such a comprehensive formulation is not possible, the gender colon is used (e.g. residents: inside). This requirement applies to all correspondence from the administration [...]. "
  17. ↑ Katalin Valeš: The Lübeck colon and the local press. In: genderleicht.de . January 22, 2020, accessed March 18, 2020.
  18. ↑ Göran Schattauer: "Horrible, monstrous, illegal" - "Lübeck: inside": Language guardians call for rebellion against gender writing. In: Focus Online . January 3, 2020, accessed March 18, 2020.
  19. ↑ Luisa Houben: Gender-sensitive language - annoying or necessary? In: ZDF . January 13, 2020, accessed on March 18, 2020 (Pros and Cons: Mayor Jan Lindenau vs. Sabine Mertens, VDS ).
  20. ↑ Technische Universität Dresden , Equal Opportunities Officer: AG Language: Status and Outlook. Dresden, January 15, 2020, p. 8 ( PDF: 208 kB, 12 pages on tu-dresden.de; info page ).
  21. ↑ Bauhaus University Weimar , Equal Opportunities Office: Changing language together: Suggestions for gender-sensitive formulation. Weimar, April 27, 2020 ( PDF: 484 kB, 3 pages on uni-weimar.de; info page ).
  22. ↑ Editor: About us: Equality, environmental protection and social commitment. In: parliamentwatch.de . November 2, 2019, accessed on March 18, 2020 (see also the last section on gender-sensitive language ).
  23. ↑ Editor: Why we use gender-sensitive language. In: netzpolitik.org . January 13, 2020, accessed March 18, 2020.
  24. ↑ Editor: Gender-Equitable Language: Two Points for a Hallelujah. In: Pressessprecher.com . March 6, 2020, accessed March 18, 2020; Quote: “From now on, press spokesman online […] we use communicators: inside, sometimes maybe also communicators, if we mean everyone who communicates professionally. If it makes sense, we will write speaker in the future: in instead of just speaker, journalist: in instead of just journalist. We report on managers and politicians, we are happy about each: n guest author: in instead of just about every guest author. "
  25. ↑ Marie Hecht: Gender-sensitive language: where is the freedom? In: New Germany . May 9, 2020, accessed August 25, 2020.
  26. ^ Society for German Language : Press release GfdS: Gendersternchen and Co. do not conform to German spelling. In: GfdS.de. August 13, 2020, accessed August 25, 2020.