Paris (AP) —It’s a neutral pronoun that proves nothing: a non-binary pronoun added to the respected French dictionary has ignited a fierce linguistic controversy in the country.
Last month, Le Petit Robert introduced the word “iel” (a fusion of “il” (his) and “elle” (her)) in its online version. Although the term is becoming popular among young people, it is not yet widely used or understood by many French speakers.
Initially, changes were largely overlooked, but this week there was fierce debate in a country that takes pride in its human rights traditions and protects its cultural heritage from foreign interference. One camp has traditionalists, including some political leaders, who criticize the move as a sign that France is lurking towards an American “awakened” idealism. The other is a new generation of citizens who accept non-binaries as a standard.
“In dictionaries, it is very important to include the pronoun” iel “in the reference. This is because it reflects how the use of this term is currently accepted, “said Dorah Simon Claude, a 32-year-old PhD student. “
“It’s also a way to stay in a conservative corner, ignore French users, and confront the academy francaise, which continues to look down,” they added.
Education Minister Jean-Michel Blankel is not in the same camp. He went to Twitter on Wednesday and said, “Comprehensive writing is not the future of French.” A 56-year-old former law professor warns that school children should not use “iel” as a valid term, even though it is included in Le Robert, who has been regarded as a linguistic authority on French since 1967. Did.
François Jolivet, a member of President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party, also revealed his disgust. He suggested that non-binary pronouns are a sign of concern that France is embracing the “awakened” ideology.
Jolivet wrote to the 400-year-old Academy Francaise, a French fortress, saying that Le Robert’s “lonely campaign is an obvious ideological invasion that undermines our common language and its influence.” Insisted.
Charles Bin Bennett, general director of the Le Robert edition, jumped into the dictionary’s defense in a statement Wednesday. Instead of deciding which term to use, Le Petit Robert said he was elucidating the meaning of the word and is now growing nationwide in currency.
“The meaning of the word iel cannot be understood by itself,” said Bin Bennett.
“Robert’s mission is to observe and report on the changing and diverse evolution of French,” he said.
In 2017, Académie Française warned that the move to make French more gender-neutral would create “a different, non-uniform language that could be unreadable and confusing.”
Gender languages like French, unlike English, are considered a particular hurdle for advocates of non-binary terms, as all nouns fall into either male or female.
Not all European countries are moving at the same speed as France. In Greece, where every noun has three possible genders instead of two, there are no official non-binary pronouns, but the groups that support them suggest using “it”.
In Spain, the answer the following year was very clear after former Deputy Prime Minister and feminist Carmen Calvo asked the Royal Spanish Academy for advice on the use of a comprehensive language in the Constitution. “Comprehensive language” means “male use”. To refer to men and women. “
——— Associated Press writer Arnopedrum in Paris, Derek Gatopros in Athens, Greece, and Alberto Arse in Valbuena, Spain.
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