Gender equality comes in many forms, one of which is language. When I first studied in America, I was struck by the insistence on gender-neutral words such as “police officer”, “firefighter” and “chairperson”.
The gravity of this issue did not sink in immediately. After all, other languages like Malay and Chinese do not have this issue. Nonetheless, this is an important issue in English worth addressing.
In English, gender is emphasised, and the male gender is elevated over the female gender. Technically, “man”, as in “mankind”, refers to both men and women. However, in perception and understanding, it is often not the case.
It is well established that when children are told to draw a fireman or policeman (technically, both these nouns denote both men and women), they invariably visualise and draw a male in those roles.
Unsurprisingly, girls often do not picture themselves growing up into those professions, much less as a chairman of a corporation.Furthermore, male nouns often have better connotations than their female counterparts in English. For example, “master” has positive connotations of superiority, accomplishment and achievement, whereas “mistress” has negative ones of stigma and infidelity. Similarly, “bachelor” enjoys a benign connotation whereas “spinster” implies unwantedness and being past one’s prime. These examples also show the close connection between language and the culture it originates from.
Gender inequality is by no means confined to the English language and, by extension, the English culture. Customarily, we consider language as an extension of culture reflecting its norms, attitudes and worldviews.
The Chinese language has many specific kinship terms (little sister, elder brother, younger uncle from mother’s side, etc) reflecting the emphasis and importance of family relationships.
The English language has many specific terms related to animals and meat (bull, cow, cattle, beef, etc) reflecting a focus on animal husbandry. The Malay language has specific words for different ways of carrying stuff (pikul, kandar, junjung, etc) reflecting deep roots in agriculture.
The diversity of languages and cultures also means that direct literal translations may not accurately convey the intended meanings. In other words, a non-literal and culturally informed equivalent may be more appropriate. For example, the title of my doctoral dissertation “Beyond Business” is best translated non-literally as “Bukan Sekadar Perniagaan” (not just about business).
I recently came across “artificial intelligence” translated as “kecerdasan buatan” in Malay – this intrigues me as “artificial” has connotations of questionability, unnaturalness and forgery that are absent in “buatan”. This also calls to mind that some words or concepts cannot be accurately translated – for example, try translating “manja” in Malay or “pai seh” in Hokkien to English!
The English culture, similar to many other cultures, is traditionally biased towards the male gender, and this is reinforced by the language. The presence of many gender-specific words in the English language makes speakers of English unconsciously think in terms of gender.
While it is conventionally assumed that culture determines language, the reverse arguably also happens. The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis in anthropology states that language influences the speakers’ thinking, culture and worldview. For example, in the Zuni language, the colours blue and green are classified together, and thus speakers see a single “blue-green” colour.
The Hopi language does not have specific nouns for units of time, and thus speakers experience time as a singular process rather than distinct units. The extent of the influence of language towards thinking and culture is debatable, but it has generally been established that the relationship is bi-directional.
Gender-equality in language should not be viewed as a fad, fashion or gimmick. Through my publications and this current article, I hope to make a modest contribution to this issue. It is not just about semantics; it is about establishing a balanced mindset that promotes gender inclusivity and equality.
THINKING ALLOWED
Penang
